5/8/17

Here's a boat keel anchored in Beaufort.  The spot he picked was fine until the winds came from the other direction and he swung into shore.

Same day in Beaufort.  Oops!

One more oops - no one aboard this boat and when the winds picked up to 30 knots their anchors dragged.  This boat was still on the beach when we left for Oriental.

Wild ponies or horses on Carrot Island, Beaufort.

More horses.

Our stay in Beaufort included a beach walk on Carrot Island.  It was near low tide as we hiked through the muck to the sandy beach picking up sea shells along the way.  Just off the beach we found a herd of 24 horses grazing in the marshy grass.
While in Beaufort the winds picked up with a passing front and we had a ton of rain.  You can see Persephone in the background of the last boat up on the beach picture after the storm had passed.

Next stop - Oriental.  Feels like home.  We met up with many cruising friends on their boats and in their homes.  Cousins Dick and Georgette are close by too.  On borrowed bikes we rode to the marinas where friends were staying, biked to the grocery store, biked around during the town wide yard sales.  We spent a lot of time at The Bean, the local coffee shop right at the town dock.  There were potlucks to attend, projects to help out with, always something going on.  Jerry is always sought after for consult on a variety of boat projects.  He loves to help out, talk about boats and boat systems and diagnose. 1400 bicyclists came in last weekend and set up their tents all over town for their bike event in Oriental.  Imagine a town of 900 hosting 1400!  Our friends Don and D organized an entertaining and informative presentation at the Town Hall about their recent trip to Cuba on their boat.  I even took my guitar to open mic night at the Silos Restaurant and played a couple of songs.  Staying almost 2 weeks is a record for us.  We will be on our way today heading north.