2019: New Bern NC

25 October 2019

Depart: Fairfield Harbour Anchorage off Neuse River, New Bern, NC 1:00

Arrive: Trent River Anchorage, New Bern, NC 2:20

Distance: 5 nm

Our original plan this morning was to leave early and move to a spot nearer downtown New Bern. With the New Bern Grand Marina packed to capacity, we had a couple of anchorage areas in mind as our destination. Before we got going, our friend Ralph, who had invited us to visit, called us to say we should stop over for a visit at his house.

We moved from the anchorage to the dock behind his house. With two boats we had to get creative with docking, we got the boats tied up just fine. Getting off "Home Too" looked to be an impossibility until Ralph showed up with a ladder.

Cathy holding ladder at bow of "Home Too"

When we found out Ralph had been called into work tonight, we changed our plans to spend the morning at his house, have lunch, and then travel to New Bern. Ralph and his dog, Chewy, joined us on board with Cathy and Franklin.

Ralph and dog Chewy

After lunch on Sunset Delight, Ralph gave us a tour of his house as it is being rebuilt after hurricane Florence devastation.

Reading the reviews of the two anchorages, we selected a spot just after the railroad bridge in New Bern on the Trent River. 

Approaching the draw bridge

Views of New Bern ...

Train crossing the railroad bridge shortly after we came through

As soon as we got the anchor set, Clark started the task of getting the dinghy ready to transport us into town.  On step number one, remove the flag pole so we can swing the dinghy, we had an immediate failure.

The screw that holds the flag pole in place would not turn and could not be removed.  Having used a variety of tools, when Clark finally got the screw out, he found it showed signs of crevice corrosion. The next task should have been simple, i.e. pull pole out of holder. Unfortunately, water had gotten into the holder and the wood swelled. That sucker was not coming out of there without putting up a real good fight.

To remove our flag, Clark has to stand on the gunwale at the stern of the boat. Today, yanking on the flag pole with all of his strength, he was afraid that if it finally let go, he and it would go flying off the back of the boat into the water. He invited me to join him up on the gunwale to help. In the past I would have told him he was crazy to even think I would climb up there on a ledge, but he “made” me do it at home to help with his varnishing project, so I knew I could do it again.

To get up on the “ledge” I have to step up on the gunwale at the front of the cockpit and walk along the ledge until I get to the stern and then turn and go across the stern until I get to the middle … all rather scary. Once there, Clark had me hold the flag pole with one hand while I held onto the boat with the other. Then we worked together pulling and rocking the flag pole until it finally gave way. Fortunately, neither of us fell off the back of the boat in the process.

Once removed, he worked on the screw to make it work again, and sanded down the pole to fix the swelled wood issue. He said that the sanded-down wood needed to be coated with something to protect it. Fortunately, I brought my acrylic spray with me that I use for my painting. Since it claims to be water resistant and dries quickly, it seemed to be ideal. I sprayed it and left it to dry. Removing the flag so we could get the dinghy down, only took about one-and-a-half to two hours. Actually lowering the dinghy was done in a flash in comparison!

“Home Too” does not have a dinghy, so we stopped by to pick them up to go into town. Four of us on the dinghy with our miscellaneous bags made for a cozy situation to say the least. We landed at the public dock near the pump out station at the New Bern Grand Marina and climbed out to walk around town until dinner time.  

City Hall in New Bern, NC

Christ Church Pumpkin Patch 

It would not be New Bern without their selection of bears. We saw some of them as we walked through town.

Bernie at the Euro Store in New Bern

If the above bears don't meet your fancy, you can paint your own.

Rows of paint-able bears

We even saw an antique car on our stroll complete with a suitcase on its boot.

Clark and I met Pat and Dick on “Dream Catcher” when we did the Great Loop in 2015-2016, and they live in the New Bern area. When I knew we would be in town, I contacted Pat and they met us for dinner at Morgan’s Tavern.  Clark said the trout special he had to eat was the best he had ever eaten – it disappeared in record time!

We had a great time catching up with Pat and Dick. The time flew by, and all too soon, we had to say goodbye to get back to the boat. Before heading back to the dinghy, we stopped at a place in town for some provisioning. Given the season, it was already dark for the trip back to the boat. We dropped Franklin and Cathy off at their boat and then returned to ours for the “fun”, twenty-minute job of resetting the dinghy on top of Sunset Delight.

2019: Dowry Creek to New Bern NC

24 October 2019

Depart: Dowry Creek Marina, Belhaven, NC 8:30

Arrive: Fairfield Harbour Anchorage off Neuse River, New Bern, NC 4:15

Distance: 63 nm

We heard the temperature would drop significantly overnight, and when we woke in the morning the thermometer showed 49 degrees. With a bright sun, however, it felt much warmer. With the temperature change, I had to wipe the panels of the full enclosure as they were covered with dew.  By the time we left the docks, we had a gorgeous day for travel with clear, sunny skies and just-right temps!

Because trees blocked the early view to the east, Clark was able to grab a sunrise picture first thing this morning.

Sunrise at Dowry Creek, Belhaven, NC

About 8:00 boats started departing the marina, and we knew we would once again have a lot of company on the way south. About 20 after 8, “Home Too” pulled away from the dock and then waited for us to pull out of our slip to join them.

"Home Too" departing Dowry Creek Marina

Because of our direction of travel, we had a bright sun and lots of glare off the water to start our day.

Morning sun hitting the water

Once we turned onto the Goose Creek cut, we lost the sun glare.

"Home Too" on Goose Creek cut (ICW)

 Besides snowbird boaters heading south, we saw a few local boats.

Tug / tow - "Beaufort Belle"

Local fishermen

Kenny on “Daybreak” texted his location to Clark as we traveled. We figured he was just ahead of us near Goose Creek, and we would pass him by when he stopped at R.E. Mayo for fuel and seafood.

Coast Guard station Hobucken, NC

R. E. Mayo Seafood and Fuel

Fishing trawler at R.E. Mayo

"Daybreak" provisioning at R. E. Mayo

We exited the Goose Creek cut, entered Pamlico Sound briefly, and made a turn onto the Neuse River for a side trip to New Bern. For the first portion of the Neuse River, until we reached the ICW turnoff, we had plenty of company on the water. Afterwards, boat traffic trimmed down significantly. 

Something we could see up ahead looked rather peculiar with what appeared to be a giant, black triangle up in the air.  I asked Clark, “What am I looking at?” He pulled out binoculars and said, “It’s either a ketch or a yawl with sails wing-and-wing.” As we got closer the sails appeared to be burgundy. After we passed, they looked more brown than red. Whatever the color (black, red, or brouwn), I thought a different color would have been a better choice.

Dark-sailed Sailboat on the Neuse River

Since conditions were perfect for sailing, a lot of boats had their sails up and working including those sailing the loop and those just having fun in the Neuse River.  Timing for us was off because just as we turned into the narrow channel leading to tonight’s anchorage, a group of sailboats decided to call it a day.  Boating rules say they have the right of way. Clark slowed way down and drove on one engine to follow them in.

Rush hour exiting the Neuse River

After dropping our anchor and settling in, we kicked back and relaxed until dinner. I grabbed my book and headed to the fly bridge to read. Clark grabbed his guitar and strummed in the cockpit. In between songs, he managed to get a picture of our anchorage as the sun set.

Sunset in Fairfield Harbour
near New Bern, NC

2019: Dowry Creek Marina Belhaven NC

23 October 2019

Depart: Alligator River Marina 9:00

Arrive: Dowry Creek Marina, Belhaven, NC 2:20

Distance: 43 nm

What a gorgeous day we had for travel today with clear, sunny skies and just-right temps! We had a relatively short trip to Dowry Creek where we needed to stop for Franklin to pick up a package he had delivered there.

Along the way, we saw nothing but nature …

and other boats! One in particular stuck out due to its size. A mega-yacht of 75 feet in length or more passed us towing a runabout behind him. He had a dinghy on top of the boat as well. I should have snapped a picture, but missed my chance, when the boat passed Franklin’s Mainship 34. It miniaturized the Mainship!

"Temptation" 

I remembered from the Rendezvous that Dowry Creek offered a courtesy car, and we decided to use it to drive into town and have a look around. It’s a 7-mile drive into town from the marina, so walking or even bike riding on the dangerous, high-speed highway was not going to happen. We inquired when we checked in and found we could have the car for the 4:30 to 6:00 time slot.

I decided that while we waited for the car to become available, I would do my laundry using the free services at the marina and grab a shower while I waited for the wash to complete. That plan would have been golden with a normal washing machine. However, the one I chose to use decided I had all day to wait for one load to complete. Every time I looked at it, the display showed the machine to be in the rinse cycle.

Eventually, when a “normal” washing machine came available, I pulled my sopping wet clothes out of the much newer machine and threw them into the more traditional machine for a spin. I could have completed my laundry before the trip into town. With the disastrous wait for the luxury washer, I only had a short time with the dryer before I had to pull them out, still quite damp, so we could be on our way into town.

In the Club House at the marina, I found a “Belhaven: Tour of History & Trivia” brochure that I thought would be a way to see the more notable parts of town. We just happened to park in front of the facility with the answers to questions 1 and 2 – the Riddick & Windley “Ace” Hardware Store. The clue said there would be a poster at the store showing Belhaven history. Since I could find no poster on the outside of the store, I went in and asked at the desk.

They dug behind some stuff on the counter and pulled out a laminated piece of plastic. I think my eyes bugged out and I said, “That’s a poster?!”  Most businesses were closed or closing since it was late in the day. Given that most of the trivia questions required visiting places and viewing more “posters”, I was so disillusioned that I gave up my quest for more trivia answers. 

Oh well! We walked around the small town to check it out.

Downtown Belhaven, NC

"Salty Dog" at Belhaven Town Docks

Bahama-like colors for the
Chamber of Commerce building complex

Historic City Hall

Now a museum

Mural in Town of Belhaven, NC

In 2009, the town in conjunction with the Arts of the Pamlico organization put up artistically decorated crabs around town. Here are a couple. We did not see them, but apparently, more can be seen in "Crab Park" in town.

The highlight of the trip into town was that we found a Dollar Tree in town. Franklin wanted to buy some over-sized clothes pegs for his boat railings. I bought mine there, and he was looking for the same for his boat. We found them in Dollar Tree! With his whopping great $2 purchase, we declared success and rushed back to the marina to get the car back for the 6:00 deadline.

Back at the marina, I finished drying my laundry and Clark snapped a couple of late-day pictures.

Night view of Dowry Creek Marina

Note: Dowry Creek Marina has changed owners multiple times since the first time we stayed here. The current owner has made some changes and improvements. For example, what used to be the club house is now the office and store, and the building that housed the office now contains the club house. The free laundry is now at ground level. Some additional improvements are planned for the future including an on-site restaurant.