Morehead City and the best welcome ever!!
Arion's West Indian Adventure
Hermione & Douglas Pattison
Mon 11 Jul 2016 11:44
The first night was largely uneventful, but the second night we had two horrible squalls which hit us. At one point we had lightening totally surrounding us and we really thought we might get hit. We were very lucky!
During this passage we had both noticed a vibration throughout the boat and in the wheel when using the engine. It got worse and worse, to the point that we knew we would have to haul Arion out to have a look…. uh oh we thought. Little did we know that this event would lead us to have one of the best stopovers of the whole trip. Arriving at the inlet, we dropped anchor and got out our pilot books to ring around yards for a haul. We found ‘Russel Yachts’ in Morehead City who could take us out that very afternoon. Looking over in the direction of Morehead City my heart sank- it was industrial, built up and I knew we would be here for a while.
On arrival at the dock, we were met by several friendly faces, all there to help us. Before we knew it, Arion was out of the water and sitting in her new slot in the yard. The bottom looked AWFUL- the ICW is not kind to boat bottoms and barnacle bill had definitely visited! In fact, there was so much growth that we had baby crayfish coming in through the head inlet, which was a nasty surprise every time you pumped out! Douglas and Russel had a good look at the prop and diagnosed that it needed a new cutlass bearing (of course I had no idea what any of this was before- so I have had an education!!). Douglas changed the bearing and Arthur helped him to clean the bottom. Meanwhile we were getting to know the other faces in the yard and get our own bearings.
Our first visitor was Neil, our neighbour on our starboard side. He arrived with an enormous plate of Brownies which his wife had baked for us. He stayed for a drink and we had a very jolly evening, learning all about Morehead City. He told us the best place for breakfast was a short walk away and we ended up going there a couple of times for a a real, rib sticking US breakfast with waffles, pancakes- the lot!! Neil arrived the next morning and asked us if we would like him and his wife to take us to the Aquarium nearby. They were so generous and treated us to such a lovely afternoon. We saw all sorts of aquatic life, including otters which was a highlight for me. The children seemed to love the sharks and spent ages gazing into their tank! Jean bought the children some pens in the gift shop afterwards which they were very excited about (normally Mummy races through the gift shop keeping her purse firmly shut!!!!!!) and it is a lovely reminder of our day with them. They also took us to their house and showed us around.
Our next visitor was Ray, our neighbour on the Port side! He lives a short walk from the yard, and very kindly offered to drive Douglas to any shops which he might need to go to. Douglas took him up on the offer as there were a few things he needed. This was incredibly helpful to us as the bus system here is not amazing.
Just up the road in Morehead City is a fantastic library. I noticed on the board outside that they had a range of activities for children. During our stay Arthur, Alice and I joined in on as many as we could and I met some other lovely local mums, all of whom offered to drive us around, do our laundry- you name it!! We got to know the librarians pretty well as we were in there nearly every day. There is a designated Children’s room with drawing, puzzles, games and of course books. It was also Air conditioned- super for getting out of the intense heat for a little bit each day. Also close by is a gorgeous play park made from timber. It is a castle, pirate ship, lighthouse all rolled into one. I discovered this on the first day when we arrived. Douglas was dealing with the boat, and so the children and I wandered off to find it. Sitting down on the bench while the children ran around, I was so tired I fell asleep. It was rather embarrassing as some of the other mum’s had clearly noticed. I did not mind however as I was just SO tired after 2 nights at sea, and virtually no sleep the night before ( because of the squalls!).
9 years ago, Douglas asked me to cut his hair, which I did. It was a total disaster and he told me that I was never allowed to do this again. So I was a little surprised when he asked whether I would cut his hair. I reminded him of 9 years ago, but he was desperate, so I took the scissors to it with a certain amount of anxiety. Actually- I think I did a pretty good job considering I really am not good at cutting hair. I think the worst bit was the fact there was so much of D’s hair blowing around the yard it took forever to clear up! He looks much smarter now.
We realised that we were going to be in Morehead for the 4th July and before we knew it, Ray had invited us to join him and his family for their celebrations. We had the most wonderful evening at their house- Kim his wife is an incredible cook and it was fantastic to meet their friends and family. Their granddaughters are exactly the same age as Arthur and Alice, so they had a great time playing together. Later on was a fabulous fireworks display.They had shut off the road outside Ray’s house and we all spilled outside into what felt like our own private area!! The fireworks were seriously impressive and although scared of the noise at first, the children soon were ‘ooo-ing and ahhhh-ing with the rest of us. During the evening I got chatting to one of Kim’s friends Cathleen, who used to cook on charter boats. The next day she had dropped off two of her precious cook books for me- such a lovey gesture and I have been thumbing through ever since trying to jazz up my repertoire for the family!!
We took Ladybird around to Beaufort one afternoon, which is where we were originally aiming for. What a lovely little town- beautiful buildings and although I hate this word- very ‘cute’!! We had a great afternoon and Douglas bought me some new flip flops as I had been walking around for 4 days in an odd pair, which was just too weird for most people!!!! (one flip flop had broken, and I could only find one other flip flop from a pair that Anne gave me- I turned the boat upside down but could not find it, so think it must be deep in the bilges somewhere….!)
The whole time we were in this state (N. Carolina) I kept saying to Douglas that I was sure our friend whom we had met in Road Town, Tortolla, was from here. Finally, on our last full day, before we were hauled back in, I had a chance to tidy the boat which was a total mess, having been turned upside down for various works and looking for flip flops. Suddenly I found the scrap of paper with Holt’s details on. Not only did he live in North Carolina- he lived in Morehead too!! Douglas immediately got on the phone and an hour later Holt had arrived and was taking us out to lunch. I was wonderful to catch up with Holt and hear his news and lucky that we had found that scrap paper just in time! He kindly dropped us off at Walmart so we were able to re provision and lovely Ray picked us up.
When it came to leaving this lovely town, neither of us wanted to go. It really feels like we have a Morehead family now. Everyone was unbelievable helpful and kind to us. They all went out of their way to help and give up their time for us. We will stay in touch with them all, and (if you are reading this) hope to welcome you in England sometime soon.
I find it so funny that we almost never came to Morehead City. Douglas and I are so glad we did and this was a very memorable and wonderful stopover. We are going to have to come back now just to see our lovely new friends!