November 3-On the Water Again

Our two day visit from Gale was finally officially over. Yes, Dear Readers, we spent two days pushed up against the dock in Belhaven because we had gale force winds. The weather forecast said that would change today, so everyone in the marina had been talking about leaving first thing this morning. Now, the Belhaven Marina had packed us in so that it could accommodate as many boats as possible. In case you didn't know, LUX is a big boat. We always get asked to be at the end of the pier if there are a lot of boats. So, yes, we were the last of four boats on the short pier in Belhaven. A short pier with deadheads in the water on the other side. This, of course, meant everyone was anxious to know our plans for this morning. Most specifically, they wanted us out of the way ASAP!

At 5:30 AM this morning, Carol was up turning on the hot water. By 6:15, we were out of the marina and on our way. Next stop, Beaufort.

Meanwhile, it is still cold. So, we made banana bread after breakfast. This particular voyage is well on the way to becoming known as the voyage of the daily oven users!

It is one in the afternoon, and it has been an exciting day so far. We started out with a bald eagle sighting. He was just sitting there on a green daymark.

As we sailed along, the rest of the fleet came out of Belhaven to follow our lead.

Yes, all those arrows are boats following along behind us. Yes, we are all headed to Beaufort. And, yes, the latest news is not good. Seems they are working on the railroad bridge in Morehead City. It will only open between Noon and 1 PM and after 3... Or maybe 5 depending on which report you wish to believe. So, we have decided to be adventurous and take another route. We are going to try the Beaufort Channel. It opens on the half hour until 4.

Of course, it just got exciting here in the ICW. We had a sailboat in front of us going half the speed of everyone else. 

We had a big Cabo Rico sailboat behind us running full bore. And, coming right at all of us was a large tug. We try to pass the slow boat. It speeds up and takes the middle of the channel. The Cabo tries to pass us AND the slow boat at the same time. It can't overcome hull speed. And the tug just kept coming.

The Cabo just kept going. It finally pulled up as we were passing the slow boat. It passed the slow boat on the port as we were passing on the starboard. I'm just glad this is a wide section of the ICW. Wow!