Sunday, October 13
Loud music accompanied our arrival at Dudley’s Marina in
Swansboro North Carolina late Sunday afternoon.
“It’s the annual Mullet Festival!” the dockhand informed as he caught
our lines. Chas and I couldn’t wait to
see a festival of southern guys sporting mullet hair styles. Or was it all
about the fish?
We scurried across the bridge into town, but everything was
just closing up. A friendly patron of
the local watering hole informed us “You didn’t really miss anything. No hair, no fish!” It was mostly a festival
comprised of junk food and crafts. Darn!
Our plan was to rent a car Monday in Swansboro, drive back to
Great Bridge for our Jeep, then follow each other to Chas’s home in Sanford for
a brief layover. Gary and I were happy for
the opportunity to see our wonderful Daughter-in-law Kerry and our “grand dogs”
Maggie, Bell, and Gracie. It took us a
while to warm up to the newest addition to the family, Sonic the Hedgehog. Still not so sure about Sonic….
Wednesday we departed Swansboro for an anchorage near Camp
Lejeune. All evening we could hear the
very nearby helicopters doing take-off and landing exercises. Chas fell asleep feeling as though he was
back in Iraq or Afghanistan.
A stop in Southport North Carolina is always a favorite, but
we made it a short one in order to take advantage of favorable conditions out
on the Atlantic. Captain Gary and Chas were confident we could do a comfortable
overnighter, maybe even two, and make it all the way to St. Augustine on the
outside. That would be a dream come true!
Their confidence was contagious. The seas were calm, winds light and
variable. I pictured Mother Nature
thumbing through her logbook of cruisers.
“Hmmmmm…looks like I was pretty rough on Tessa last spring. Maybe it’s time to cut them a break.” And she most certainly did.
Storms built first to starboard along the coast, then later
to port out at sea. Chas took a picture
of the storms surrounding Tessa, with sun breaking through straight ahead, right
on our course. After the first uneventful
overnighter, Gary and Chas presented several options where we could go
inside….or keep going on the Atlantic. My
new best friend Mother Nature was cooperating, so I was all about continuing outside
to avoid the South Carolina and Georgia Intracoastal hassles. My dream of St.
Augustine was slowly becoming reality.
We felt absolutely victorious tied up to the St. Augustine
Municipal Marina dock! Even though there are many miles ahead of us, we are
finally back in FLORIDA.
Monday, Chas flew back to North Carolina for a job
interview, so Gary and I have been on our own since then. I sure miss hearing
them talk (aka argue and debate) electronics and Perkins issues for hours in
the cockpit, while all I had to do was read and relax. But as long as my bff MN and I continue to
feel the love, we will be fine. Next stop Miami this weekend of October
26/27. South Florida turquoise waters
are beckoning!
3 comments:
We found you! Dave and Arlene sitting at Topsy Turvy missing you two. Will follow your blog.
Been wondering how you are doing. Glad the trip is going along pretty good!
Found the blog! It was more than just a pleasure seeing you guys again. I'm glad the timing worked out this trip.
Hope to see you again before you get out of here, but will continue to watch the winds to see if there's a window of escape.
-Ed G.
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