Day 5: Belhaven to Beaufort

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It's our last day before we sail in the open ocean. Belhaven was beautiful this morning, and we were under way at first light. It's Tuesday, and we can't believe we've been traveling every day since Friday.

Sunrise was spectacular, as usual.
Today's run was a mixture of narrow rivers and wide open sounds.

It seemed the sea gulls had expectations of us that we were unable to meet. They might not be able to distinguish between a recreational boat and a fishing boat. They were all over us for a while today.
We got some great news during our trip today. The insurance company approved our request for an exception, and we will be able to go South of Morehead City tomorrow. The plan is to take the ocean route to Wrightsville Beach and continue on in the ICW to Southport. It's our longest day of the entire trip, and if conditions allow, we plan on cruising at 13 knots instead of our usual 9.5. 

Our boating days involve five to ten hours of sitting at the helm with very little physical activity. So, I have taken to creating my own workout to my music. Today, Ann secretly filmed me. Exercise can be hazardous, as you can at the end of this clip.
Arriving in Beaufort was a bit stressful. The chart showed some trouble spots, and the markers were confusing. Ann and I worked as a great team to follow two different sets of charts on the iPad and the Garmin MFD, and made it in with no issues. I felt like we've gotten much better at this. Boating from Annapolis to Stuart, Florida involves a lot of challenges, and there is no substitute for experience. The trip is 95% routine and 5% anything but. 

We walked around historic Beaufort and saw this cool landmark.
In the evening, we went out to dinner and did some grocery shopping for provisions. The marina loaned us a van, which is quite a perk. We're definitely staying here again! Here is the loaner car available to boaters for free on a first come first serve basis.
We had our first mishap of the trip today due to human error. As boat mishaps go, this one was pretty minor. I had been tinkering with the AC panel breakers. I like to take the load of the generator when transferring back to shore power. Well, apparently, I turned off the breaker to the crew quarter fridge and freezer and failed to reset it. So, we lost a bunch of food, and I was a bit embarrassed. If this is our most serious error on this trip, I'll be pleased (and surprised).

I'm excited about tomorrow's run. It will be exhausting and challenging but also exhilarating. As we pull of the dock, the tide will be up 3.7 feet, giving us a nice margin of error getting out of the shallow area. The waves are forecast to be 3 feet with a 5.5 second period, coming from our starboard stern quarter. That shouldn't be too bad. If it feels really rough, we'll run closer to shore where the waves are lower. Of course that will make our longest trip of our journey even longer. Ann will take bonine to prevent motion sickness, just in case. I usually don't have any issues, so I won't take anything.

And last but not least, a huge birthday shoutout to Stephanie Butler tomorrow!!! We'll be thinking about you on your special day.

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