Shifting gears: the North Carolina beach scene

 

Hello dear friends and family! Greetings from beautiful North Carolina.

As planned, Steve and I left Georgetown, SC on July 27th and sailed overnight to Carolina Beach, NC.  We've been blessed with calm seas and mostly advantageous wind direction for the last few legs of our journey.  The sail was pleasant and event-free, except for a short-lived squall as we were heading from Georgetown to the inlet.  It was my turn to be at the helm with shifting winds and loss of steerage 😕, but there's no better way to learn than by doing and we managed to get through it without issue....other than Steve's brief panic when he looked out the window from the galley and saw we were headed towards land and the shallows instead of out to sea!

Once moored in Carolina Beach, we had fine weather and a change of scenery from the small historic towns we'd been visiting in South Carolina.

The mooring field was conveniently located near a dinghy dock that was basically across the street from the beach so Jake had twice-daily walks on the beach.  Not a bad life...

              View from our mooring and the Boardwalk at Carolina Beach

The highlight of our time in Carolina Beach was a visit from Will, our son-in-law, and his mother, Dana, who are both lots of fun and share our love of the ocean and nature. Our daughter, Jess, was not able to join due to the timing of her research but I've been promised another visit soon!

Our son-in-law, Will, and his mother, Dana

Jake loves company too :-)

After Will and Dana's departure, Steve and I took the opportunity for some boat maintenance.  He worked on scraping barnacles from the hull, while I scrubbed the "moustache" off the water-line.  Working in the water feels great, especially when the afternoons are as hot as they've been.  The day after the photo below was taken, we saw an alligator swimming towards the dinghy dock.   Had I seen that earlier, I certainly would've thought twice about jumping in!

Keeping Starry Night Ship-shape

One of the cool things about the cruising lifestyle is meeting kindred spirits in a place and then crossing paths again later in the journey.  We had met a young couple with two dogs, while we were at the marina in Titusville, and learned that they were new to sailing also, and planning to head up the eastern seaboard during this summer too.  We exchanged phone numbers and I had been occasionally reaching out to find out how their trip was progressing.  Michael and Karli had been one or two stops behind Steve and I for a month or so, and then on one of our last days in Carolina Beach, I got a text from Karli saying that they could see Starry Night from where they were anchored!  We invited them for dinner the night before we left Carolina Beach and had a great time.  Hopefully we'll catch them again somewhere in the Chesapeake!

After a lovely week in Carolina Beach, we set our course for Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks of NC. 

Our luck with sailing conditions continued for the first portion of the journey to Okracoke, but as predicted we were becalmed during the second half.  Thank goodness for motors!

Sunrise during journey from Carolina Beaach to Ocracoke in the Outer Banks

The challenge for this particular leg of our trip was the shoaling that is prevalent along the coast of NC, which renders the red and green ATONs (aids to navigation) useless as you proceed through the Ocracoke inlet. Thanks to technology, though, I have an app (AquaMaps) which correctly reflects the depths through the inlet. In addition, one of the local mariners hailed us as we were passing and showed us where to deviate from the incorrectly marked channel and how to safely make our way to the anchorage.  We had read in one of our cruising guides that the locals would do that, and it was really nice to be recipients of that kindness.

                                      Anchorage at Silver Lake, Ocracoke, North Carolina

Many people have asked what my favorite place has been so far.  That's a really hard question to answer, particularly if I try to choose one place considering our entire journey through the Caribbean and the US.  If I stick to locations within the U.S. though, Ocracoke is my new favorite.  It is very laid back and absolutely wonderful if you're a nature-lover. Steve and I have really enjoyed exploring the island and checking out the critters.

Beach on the western shore of Ocracoke, site of Jake's morning walks

Family cemetary on Ocracoke

                                                    Hermit Crab                                                                         Sea Hare (sea slug)

Ocracoke is home to the "Banker Ponies", so-called because they live on the (Outer) Banks. They are actually not ponies, but small feral horses which are descended from Spanish breeds.  They arrived to the island in the early 1500's.  It is thought that they may have been aboard Spanish Galleons, many which wrecked off the coast, and swam to shore.  Another theory is that they were brought by one of the explorers who came to colonize the Americas. 

The Banker Ponies are now living in a managed environment on the island, due to concerns for the environment of the island and the ponies' well-being.  Yesterday, Steve and I rented bikes to make the 15 mile round-trip to see them. 

Banker Pony

180 acres have been allocated for the Banker Ponies

Atlantic side of Ocracoke Island

In addition to the lovely natural environment, Ocracoke also has an interesting place in history.  Silver Lake, where we have been anchored, was dredged in the 1931 and was formerly the site of a naval installment, which provided anti-submarine defense and coastal patrol against German U-boats during World War II. Before this installation was commissioned in October 1942, 75 U.S. and ally vessels had been sunk by U-boat attacks that year. No other vessels were attacked once the base was active.

Further back in history, Ocracoke was one of the  haunts of the famous pirate Edward Teach - better known as Blackbeard.  It was here that Blackbeard was attacked and killed by Lt. Maynard, who was commissioned to do so by the governor of Virginia, who he feared would disrupt commerce.

Tomorrow we will set sail towards Virginia Beach!