BEAUFORT AND ORIENTAL, NC

 BEAUFORT AND ORIENTAL, NC

JUNE 29 TO JULY 16, 2017

Beaufort, NC is a small one street town that depends on tourism and fishing for income.  Good restaurants and interesting stores along that one street about one quarter mile long.  There is an Olive Oil store with over 100 different varieties of Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Wine Vinegar.  One can sample all these at your leisure without anyone pressuring you into buying something.  The only hiccup will be your stomach: it can only handle so much olive oil and balsamic vinegar before it rebels.   There is a most excellent Maritime Museum there that has few rivals for its size and location.

There are two ways to get to Norfolk, VA:  the outside route around Cape Hatteras (249 nm) and the ICW (177 miles).  With good Wx, I would choose to take the outside route because it can be sailed and not so demanding on attention to the helm, and the cost of diesel.  We needed to go to Oriental, NC for some needed routine maintenance.  There is an excellent boatyard there named Sailcraft.  The rates are reasonable, the staff friendly and they encourage DIY.  The only drawback is getting into and out of Whittaker Creek.  It is shallow:    anything over 5.5 ft is going to touch bottom somewhere; we draw 6ft.  The mud is soft so no damage is done other than taking the antifouling off the bottom.  Our friends of Camomile chose the outside route.

Oriental is only 25 miles from Beaufort.  We got underway at 0930 hrs on June 29th and arrived off the entrance buoys at 1445.  After a few groundings, we made fast at Sailcraft at 1515 hrs.  Immediately, we saw on the hard - Tamure, a Valiant 40 belonging to our friends Scott & Kitty.  Another Valiant 40 was being worked on by a DIYer and across the way was a Valiant 42.  That’s more Valiants than we have seen in the entire circumnavigation.

We hauled out on June 30^th and remained on the hard until July 12^th.  We accomplished quite a few things:  1) two coats of Petit Ultima SR Antifouling, Buff and Wax Hull, Touch up scratches on Awlgrip paint on hull, New Anodes and Grease MaxProp, New Life lines, Rigging inspected and tuned, Put new bearings in D400 Wind Generator, Change gear oil, engine oil and spark plugs and fuel filter on Yamaha outboard engine, Change engine oil, lube oil and anode on Beta 50 diesel engine, Remove Heat Exchanger stack and O-rings on Beta 50, Install new hot water heater.

By the time we finished this and were back in the water, the water level in Whittaker Creek was too low to get  out: we didn’t want to rub off the new antifouling on the keel by trying to get out so we waited for the water level to rise 12 inches.  Whittaker Creek is basically a wind driven phenomenon:  it undergoes a small horizontal movement of water with tidal changes but very little vertical rise and fall.  A SW wind will cause the water levels to fall and a North or East Wind will cause them to rise.  If the wind is calm, the water levels will rise a little.  I’m sure there are some other influences there but I don’t know what they are.  Anyway, we were trapped in Whittaker Creek until a rise in water levels.  Day after day, I watched the water levels rise and fall on the dock pilings:  3 to 4 inches at most.  Finally on Saturday July 15^th and
Sunday July 16^th, the water came up 12 inches; we are out of here!  Left the dock at 0720 hrs and free of Whittaker Creek at 0745:  touched bottom briefly one time.

Oriental considers itself the Sailing Capital of North Carolina.  This may or may not be true but what is certain is that it is a boating community.  Just about everything is tied to the yachting/fishing community.  It is one of the most friendly, welcoming places anyone is likely to visit.  Unpretentious is the best word to describe the place:  the ostentatious display of wealth is not evident;  Donald Trump would not fit in here!  Oriental is considered the Yankee Capital of Pamlico Sound because so many Northerners have migrated here.  The place is a little too remote and gets too cold in the winter but we sure do enjoy coming here.