Where did we leave off the narrative???

At the risk of repeating stuff, here goes. After leaving Swansboro we anchored in Adams Creek at Cedar Point. The wind was up ( 20 knots or so) so we snuggled in close to shore and had a good night’s sleep. Next morning it was off to Ocracoke Island. As we entered the Nuese River the wind was on the quarter and up went the sails. WOW! We flew down the river with our best average speed since leaving the Sea of Abaco. As we had to head up for the entrance to Ocracoke the wind came around too much on the nose and we had to motor for 45 minutes. Possibly the hardest passage since Brunswick, GA back in January. Green water crashing over the bow. No real problem just intense concentration.

Silver Lake the anchorage in Ocracoke is really neat. Almost round with good holding and room for 20 or more boats. You can only get to the island by free ferry or boat. The next day friends from Richmond came down to ride with us to Mateo. Long day. Another clousy day with green water coming over the bow the whole time. We were lucky that there were no touchy stomachs in the crowd! Fun; with a great dinner waiting for us at the end of a long day.

Sunday it was off to Elizabeth City,N.C. across the Albermarle Sound. Another wonderful sunny day as we could sail to within a couple of hundred yards of the city docks. The problem with that sound was that there were so many crab pots it looked like kids had sprinkled sprinkles on the water. No straight lines between them. Pass three then stear to right; pass three stear to the left! Now, in Elizabeth City the docks are FREE. The hospitality is second to none. The places in the USA that stand out as cruiser friendly are Elizabeth City, Vero Beach and Marathon’s Boot Key harbor in that order.

We arrived in the middle of a hydroplane regatta, yeah noisy. I stopped  a Coast Guard patrol boat and they told us to wait 5 minutes and they would have a 15 minute break in the action and we could cross to the city docks. We got in and watched the last three heats of racing before it was all over. Just about enough noise for us.

Beyond free dockage Elizabeth City, The Harbor of Hospitality, has cruiser’s wine, beer and cheese on the dock nightly hosted by the mayor. The tradition is over 25 years old, started by Joe Kramer and Fred Fearing the original Rose Buddies. Fred and Joe would meet the cruising boats and offer a rose to the ladies from Joe’s garden. After Joe’s death the rose bushes from his yard were brought to the city dock and replanted. Fred carried on the tradition until well up into his nineties. We knew Fred from previous trips and were very sad to hear that he passed away a year ago. The good news is that the city is keeping the Rose Buddies tradition alive.

They have a wonderful art gallery here and today we will explore the Museum of the Albermarle and tomorrow we plan to leave to go up the Dismal Swamp canal.

I am having "post coital depression" as my effing vacation comes to an end. I will miss all of this and it is only looking forward to seeing our family and friends that keeps us heading north.

Coming home, J & A