Friday – 06 November
The day started out gray and gloomy but by mid day it was a gorgeous sunny day with a beautiful favourable wind that enabled us to unroll the genoa and motor sail for a bit. By taking advantage of the wind we were able to go faster and reduce the engine RPMs thus reducing fuel consumption.
Fuel consumption is not that great of a concern as Bob was pleasantly surprised that after 4 days being on the move he was hard pressed to put even 15 gallons/57 liters of diesel in the tank. As we watch the powerboats whiz by us, it is hard not to compare the fuel costs of those bigger engines and of our sailboat that also takes advantage of the wind.
A lot of the rivers in North Carolina are larger than we expected and we find ourselves farther from land than you would think. But…. the rivers are also quite shallow so even though there appears to be a vast expanse of water, we are limited to where we are able to go and are restricted to at times a pretty narrow channel within.
The sights along the way varied from houses along the shore, to woods and even a working fish house which offers very economical dockage for transients. Something to consider for our trip back up in the Spring, but the aroma of the fish house may definitely deter us.
Our destination was to be River Dunes Marina on Grace Harbor. The approach is a man-made channel with an entrance that is almost hidden. Thankfully there were channel markers guiding the way, but even with those we questioned if we were heading in the right direction.
The marina is nestled in the midst of an extensive housing community that is still being developed. The marina plays hosts to boats of all size and type, including mini-mega yachts.
We originally planned to spend two nights here, enjoying a bit of resort living and R&R, taking advantage of the pool, spas, and steam showers. But in looking at the forecast for high winds on Sunday, we opted for extending our stay and spending a 3rd day safely tied to the floating docks with full finger piers.
Saturday ended up being a delightfully beautiful and sunny day, and we took the opportunity to get a little exercise and borrowed a couple of the courtesy bicycles and cycle around the miles of space the community will grow into.
Upon our return, Bob opted for a nap, and Christina enjoyed a dip in the pool and a soak in the spa…..aaaah….. quite a treat.
We had reserved the courtesy car for the late afternoon and took it into the town of Oriental, NC up the road. Did a small bit of provisioning and then enjoyed a light supper in a pub before racing back to the boat, trying to beat the rain as the sky was getting dark fast. We did get back to the marina before the rain, but didn’t get everything onboard before the downpour….so a bit wet but with contented stomachs we hunkered down below for the evening.
As predicted, the winds picked up over night and the boat rocked and rolled while tied to the dock. Sunday is being spent listening to the wind and enjoying a quiet day aboard.
We did venture out for one of our favorite things to do on a cool and dreary day….enjoying the hot tub/spa for a wonderful soak and jets to soothe the muscles. We need one of these on the boat!
Tomorrow, weather permitting, we head to Beaufort, North Carolina.