October-November 2006
Back in the Chesapeake we found that winter was well on the way and even saw unseasonable frosts! Our colour radar unit was mis-delivered to Cambridge Mass and when retrieved was broken. Raymarine replaced screen, motherboard at carcass at their expense and had it back to us in 3 days. Finally we were off south towards the ever beckoning sun!
We took several days to leave the Chesapeake Bay with a mixture of calm and windy weather - all cold! We sheltered amongst the warships and lots of other yachts in Norfolk, Virginia before entering the ICW again. The route has been full of snowbirds looking for better weather!
Returning to the cypress swamps was fun, the water is brown and clear and the landscapes desolate. We saw a pair of bald eagles by one of the canals and snatched a distant photograph. We have been so enthralled by the wildlife that our combined Christmas and Birthday presents has been a pair of gyro-stabilised Nikon binoculars so we had a perfect view!
We found beautiful anchorages but also the odd night in a marina with access to a washing machine and a restaurant. At Coinjock we had a 32 oz rib eye steak between us and took half home for another meal - delicious and cheap! This just makes the stopover a perfect one.
The next stage is through estuarine marsh and across the vast tideless estuaries of Albermarle Sound, Pamlico Sound and the Neuse River. These are very shallow and kick up an appalling short sea when the wind blows.

A still Chesapeake morning - the enlargement shows all the gossamer flying from the rigging
A row of historic signs in Beaufort NC
The first of the shrimp boats in North Carolina - the sounds of krill crunching on bottom growth have arrived
The Ward House in Beaufort NC was built in 1795 and is on the waterfront
A Beaufort live oak sports other plants growing all along its boughs
A pair of Bald Eagles sit atop a dead tree in the cypress swamp - you can just see the white head on one in the enlargement
Typical cypress swamp along the route throuh a NC canal
The water in the cypress swamp is very brown but still clear - caused by tannins from the rotting trees

We found wooded creeks and low salt marsh for anchoring at night and the pelicans returned to remind us that it really is getting warmer. We are 300 miles south of Cambridge MD and it notices - just like Scotland versus the South Coast.

The weather went back to more usual for early November with temperatures up to 85 and brilliant sunshine, although still colder at night. Light winds have meant motoring but who cares when the weather is great.
Our next planned marina stop was Beaufort, North Carolina and this coincided with the passage of a vicious front. We have been safely in a marina today while winds of between 30-40 knots rage above us. All the boats anchored in the same creek dragged and they are in for a restless night with anchor watches - poor souls. We are going back to the marina restaurant for more fine seafood at reasonable prices - why has the UK become so expensive?
Beaufort is one of the ante-bellum towns that seems to have escaped the ravages of the Civil War. The buildings go back up to three centuries and there is more history than usual here. We walked the whole town in an afternoon and felt there was not enough to delay us very long if it were not for the weather.
This afternoon we have been shopping for fresh foods and had our first encounter with a Piggly Wiggly! This is one of the local supermarkets and it was as good as any other.
If the weather abates tomorrow we will start down the coastal part of our North Carolina journey behind the island chain. Back to worrying about tides and depths across the inlets at low water but its all good fun. We are really looking forward to consistent warmth now but it won’t be long. We are not going to rush this next phase...

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