We're Off
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Thu 29 Dec 2011 22:47
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Leaving Beaufort
I opened my eyes this morning at five
past seven and could not hear or feel a thing. Bearing in mind yesterday we were
bobbing about post-storm front and very unsure if the weather this morning would
have settled or not. We had seen the dock master to pay for the extra day, and
he offered us a special long term rate which would have been so easy to accept
as we have fallen into a nice pattern here. Each day a few chores, a bimble out
for an hour in one of the marina cars or a gentle wander. Home via the General
Store and the best ice cream in the world, a few games, supper and watching an
episode or two sat up in bed. Perfect.
It is hard to picture yesterday when
the floating dock was actually higher than the boardwalk and there were white
horses all around Beez, wind gusting to twenty eight knots. We would have loved
to have taken a picture but it was raining so hard visibility was zero.
Bear pottered around doing his final
jobs saying, we may as well leave there is a light frost
on the deck. Definitely time to leave. So from being so settled here
to slipping the lines at half past seven was all quite a quick business. This is
one of those docks you have to leave at slack tide or the water comes through
like a rinse cycle in an industrial washing machine. We slid out on this
glass-like water and as we pulled away the dock master waved.
Moments later we were in the channel.
Then we took this ‘guard of honour’ as a good
omen
Passing the
entrance to ‘Tommy the Fridge Man’ the only movement on the surface of
the water was from Beez herself
We could see the
old peoples home in the distance and I heard an
audible sigh from the skipper as we passed it. I think he feels lucky to
have not been collared
We were soon passing under Morehead City Bridge, it felt good to be on the
move
Something as sailors we have never
seen before – zero wind
Our first opening
bridge
The familiar scene of
the ICW
A new one on us was to see a Billy goat wandering along. Many
dolphins playing and fishing
Bear took these shots of tail-slapping
A very pleasant first day with thirty
four miles behind us
We settled happily in Mile Hammock Bay. There was an unexpected side-show from a
yacht that came boring past us and firmly went aground
One last look at our
‘guard of honour’
ALL IN ALL A
VERY GOOD DAY
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