Oriental, NC!

First I want to say that we are watching the tropical weather and hoping for the best for all the sailors out there....especially Charm and Meshugga!!

We were up early again and set out on the last leg towards home.

Familiar grounds up the ICW from Swansboro to Beaufort/Morehead City.

 

We always feel close to home when we are in sight of the port.  Still several hours from Oriental.

aa

As we were near the Neuse side of Adams Creek we were approaching a low visibility rainstorm.  We slowed down,  turned the radar on and had our nav lights on as well.  Out of the gloom this sport fisher boat was full throttle cruising in the opposite direction and this photo was after he had come out of a thicker rain shower.....Not safe!

 

 

But soon we were past the rain and it was a lovely but hot day!

Stopped at River Dunes for a fuel top off. 

Finally back at the home dock!!

 

 Now the work really begins....

 

 

And the final word today is that we will be renaming the boat Oasis.....a nice simple and easy to say name!

Swansboro,NC

 Getting pretty close to home now!  Yesterday we thought we would continue the outside run to Beaufort, about  70 miles. So at dawn we went out the inlet. And quickly decided that the seas were just going to be uncomfortable with strong winds on our nose. Didn’t sound like any fun so we decided to regroup and motor the intercoastal Waterway instead.

Pleasant cruising but slow!!!  The current was against us almost all  day....

As we got close to Camp Lejeune near Jacksonville, NC - we started seeing these training "things".  I'm sure they practice war with these.

Near Topsail or Onslow beach....not sure because our navigational maps don't really have a lot of land based detail.

 

It was clear that school's out and families are enjoying themselves at the beach! Calm little cove on the ICW just a few hundred feet from the ocean side.

 

Lots of secluded waters too.  Pretty light traffic for a summer day.

We had to pay close attention to the time as we had a couple of bridges that only open on the top of the hour....missing one of them would mean having to hover for a very long time!  Fortunately, we  timed them perfectly.

After a long day with slow speeds, we made it to familiar ground at Swansboro. 

Beautiful sunset...will be home soon!!  Now the work will really begin!

Still Nortbound!

We did come in at the Masonboro inlet. Anchor right off of the inlet for an early morning start. 

Choppy in the inlet but pretty soon it flattened out nicely  

Beautiful sunset and much cooler than South Florida !

Northbound

 All is well, the seas are a bit larger and the wind from the south is pushing us along. 

First time sailing the jib with the roller furler.  Not too bad!

Making good time, lovely sunset again. 

 

And a beautiful moon!

We will go in at the Masonboro Inlet and enjoy the evening before heading back out in the morning for Beaufort. If we just made a straight line to Beaufort like we’d planned, we would arrive in the middle of the night in rather yucky conditions. 

Northbound

 All is well, making fairly good time motor sailing with one engine at low RPM.  Kind of lumpy seas but nothing harsh. 

We did get to witness the “heavy” Space X rocket launch, but it was very far away. Sunset was pretty cool.

Northbound

 Yesterday we saw the silhouette of a Manta anchored off the ICW. I radio them, it’s Osprey a single hand. Nice to chat, can’t pass a fellow Manta without saying hello. 

Up at dawn and underway. We will exit the ICW at Ponce inlet and head to Beaufort,NC. Should take about 3 days/nights. 

Last bridge of the trip!

We should have internet via the Starlink for the trip.  Out the Ponce Inlet, we expect an easy motor sail to Beaufort. 

Northbound ICW

 We had a nice treat.  We were about a half mile South of the Canaveral bridge when they launched a SpaceX rocket  

It was silent until a couple of minutes after the rocket disappeared, then we heard the huge rumble of the engines, taking that long for the sound waves to get to us!

Uneventful but very hot and calm motoring for hours.  We saw storms in front of us as we approached Titusville. We needed to top of The fuel tanks anyway, so we pulled into the Titusville city Marina. 

Good fuel prices and easy access. The stormy sky looks pretty cool.

After fueling, we just decided to call it a day. Anchored just a mile or two north of Titusville. We’re treated to a lovely sunset, the storms actually did cool things down a bit.

Northbound, ICW

 Just hours of ICW motoring   An occasional rain shower thrown in…

It was actually kind of nice to have the foggy weather as it kept the crowds of motorboats away on a weekend day

We didn’t have very good speed, running only one engine to conserve fuel. Made about 70 nautical miles …

Northbound, ICW

 We’re off the dock and hidden northbound towards Oriental! At least this first day we’re going to stay in the ICW. Just because the boat is new to us and want to get a feel for things. 

Lots and lots of bridges today, but this is familiar grounds.

Don’t really have a good idea of a return date, we just have to be north of the Florida line by June 30. Shouldn’t be an issue. We want to get back to the dock as soon as possible and plug-in for air conditioning!

West Palm Beach, FL

 Missed including this photo yesterday for some reason.  Really happy to be able to see out of the salon windows!  Makes it so much more cheerful.

West Palm Beach, FL

 Finally finishing up the purchase of Gypsy, just a few loose ends to finish up tomorrow....it's been a long few months but I think everyone agrees it was worth it.   Alan saying his goodbyes to the boat that has been his home for the past 5 or so years.

Just a brief photo tour....we're tired.

Things are a bit of a mess - we'll get things ship shape.

The repair to the fiberglass we've been waiting on is almost complete and well done.

 

I'll get more details as time goes.  For now, we're ready for a rest!

 

West Palm Beach, FL

 We're in a bit of a holding pattern waiting on some paperwork to complete the sale.  Banks are closed for Juneteenth so we can't actually close until Thursday.

We've been having supper every night with Alan - he sent this photo from the previous night.  Weird red light in the bar, but fun little place.

West Palm Beach, FL

 OK, so we're really at Riviera Beach but these towns all just run into each other within a mile or two....

The surveyor, Matt Hoxie, arrived right on time and got busy investigating all the installed items.  Alan and Matt taking a quick break before we head over to the haulout lift.

 

After a brief wait in the current for a boat to leave the well, Alan steers the ship into the lift area.

I will give a shout out to the staff at Crackerboy in Riviera Beach - very professional.

In the slings and lifted in just a few minutes.

The owner of the yard came by to say hello.  He's very proud of his son and his business!  Nice fellow.

The bottom looks great as it was painted just a few months ago....not a fan of the red bottom paint so that will get changed to blue at the next haulout....

After Matt thoroughly inspected the hull and found nothing of note, back into the water in less than an hour.  Charge for the haulout was only $642 so we were quite pleased (other yards quoted more than twice that price!).

Alan captained the boat one last time back to the slip.....

After a short rest, we went out for a pleasant meal....we'll get some "training" tomorrow on a couple of the systems and start to get to know this boat.