Leaving Beaufort/Morehead City, the Intracoastal Waterway turns north away from the coast and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Our cruising "Plan", given the current pattern of 3-4 day storm blows every week or so, has us moving up the protected waters of the Intracoastal on it's river and canal systems to "staging points", where we can hole up if needed before making the first of several large, open water crossings. Ahead lie crossings of the Neuse River, Pamlico Sound/Pungo River, Alligator River/Albemarle Sound and Currituck Sound before we leave North Carolina and enter the waters of Virginia.
We've been fortunate in the prior open water crossings of the St Mary's, St Andrew, Cumberland, Doboy and Sapelo Sounds of Georgia to have good weather and calm seas. It seems that we are in a more turbulent part of the season and coast now.................
On our first leg we have a day to travel up Adams Creek to the southern limit of the Neuse River, the first of "those" open water crossings and winds are picking up as another storm front approaches. Our plan is to make our way to the southern side of the Neuse River and if the weather/winds are favorable, to go across and make the crossing and if not, to anchor in one of two creeks (Back Creek or Cedar Creek) just south until conditions improve. That was Plan A and B.
By the time we reach the Back Creek the winds have become steady and we find the creek shallow (4-5 ft at most), full of crab pots and exposed to the winds. After trying to anchor 3 times behind the best tree line we can find and having the anchor drag we move on to the Cedar Creek only to find it already full of other boats.
Plan C (now) is to make the crossing of the Neuse and find a marina to tie up. We call ahead to find several marinas full with folks already hunkered down but are able to make a reservation at Whitaker Point, a place almost directly across the river from the outlet of Adams Creek. As we leave the mouth of Adams Creek we enter 2-4 ft rolling swells. Luckily the winds are behind us so with some tacking to make our way across, we literally surf the waves across the Neuse.
Arriving at the marina we enter the narrow channel to the marina and encounter another trawler fighting the direct winds/seas to come out. We notice they're flying a looper burgee and hail them on the radio to find out why they're leaving a relative safe haven and find out there's no one at the marina to help catch lines and the marina is too exposed to the winds and waves to safely dock.
From there we both head north and into the winds for a short, lumpy ride to Oriental, NC, "the friendliest town to boaters", where we've already called two marinas and found them full. At this point Plan D is shaping up to be, "find a dock, any dock or enough room in some back cove to anchor". The last marina we know of has a spot for us, but it's all the way back in an inlet where the winds are blowing straight in. This means that there is some risk we won't be able to have the power to reverse and turn in to our dock. As we get closer there is a crowd of a half dozen other boaters with bumpers and line handling gear to help "catch us" and bring us in. Whew!
We spend the next several days riding out the winds/storm in the company of a half dozen looper boaters, trading stories and sharing weather info and future cruising plans and of course docktails.
This pattern is repeated several more times as we head north and make crossings of/seek shelter in: Belhaven/Pamlico Sound, Alligator River/Albemarle Sound, Coinjock/Currituck Sound. At each stop the mix of looper boats (and other cruisers) changes slightly but we all realize that this is what this part of the journey is going to be like and settle in to watching the weather/winds and finding/loading another boating/weather app!
Our 3rd Great Loop burgee bites the dust.
But thanks to the generosity of accomplished "Gold Loopers" (they've completed the Loop and can now fly a "Gold Burgee"), the crew of Hydrophilic, gives Happy Happy their white ("in progress") burgee to fly proudly!
After the storm, a sunny day in Oriental, NC.
The new owner of the Dowry Creek Marina in Belhaven celebrates Derby Day with a roast pig.
A gaggle of Loopers full of pig!
The town of Belhaven is lucky to have the Spoon River Artworks & Market as a local restaurant.
A Looper flotilla crossing Albemarle Sound
Waiting for good weather was worth a smooth crossing of Currituck Sound.