Voyage 2008: Chapter 4

31 May 2009, Heading to Hobucken, 35 14.61 N/ 076 35.46 W

Left our anchorage at Cape Lookout at 0830 and headed for our usual stop over at RE Mayo in Hobucken NC. We usually bypass Beaufort NC due to an unfavorable experience there a couple of years ago. Further, it is becoming increasing difficult there for the anchoring cruiser.

We got the current from the Inlet to the canal but did not see a favorable current the rest of the day. And it was hot! Fortunately, we had a favorable wind throughout the day so we did a lot of motorsailing. We arrived at RE Mayo at 1830. As it is Sunday, there is nobody around though we are surprised with the lack of commercial boats on the dock. Portions of the dock are being rebuilt which is a good thing.

01 Jun 2009, Hobucken to Belhaven NC, 35 31.86 N/ 076 37.27 W

Last night was not very comfortable. The mosquitoes came with a vengeance at dusk, We managed to close up the boat for their full assault. However, some of them broke through. Today is a lazy day as the wind is out of the NE and it will be mostly on the nose. Our destination is modest as Belhaven is only 24 nm away. We went to RE Mayo for ice, shrimp, and fuel. We had a chance to talk to the local fisherman and found that regulation and fuel costs have chased many of the commercial fishermen away. We saw evidence of that with the nearly empty pier. We met Mr Roy again and he was gracious as always. Mr Roy Watson owns RE Mayo.

We left RE Mayo at 0830 running at 2200 RPM (slow). We didn't pick up RPMs until we entered the Pamlico River heading directly into the wind. Once we entered the Pungo River, we reduced speed and raised the genoa. That was fine for a couple of hours until we were about an hour from Belhaven. Back to motor alone. We passed the breakwater at 1300 and anchored near R "8" at 1330.

A quick lunch followed and then we deployed the dinghy and headed for the boat ramp near the Boy Scout building. We toured the town where we noticed the friendly people but the lack of business in the historic downtown region. We stopped by the ACE hardware to buy a spare whistle and then stopped at 'Farm Boys' for a quick soda. Did I mention that it is still hot! Back to the boat for a great pasta dinner by chef Ann, some real work, and then to bed.