Beaufort to Belhaven

Gosh, it really is chilly here. After a wonderful but cool day of sunshine, the cloud and north wind returned and the temperature refused to rise above 12C. The wind was forecast to pick up too, so we donated our Bahamas and Florida cruising guides to the Hans-Christianson, and we the Duplo that our children have enjoyed since they were given it by the Barlows, we donated to two year-old Tyler on Phoenix. We then set off once more up the ICW.

The boat had acquired a fine film of odd yellow dust whilst at anchor off Beaufort. As we headed up river and past the ship docks, we smelt the distinctive odour of sulphur and so decided to swill off the powder promptly.

The river was churning and thick, but we still saw dolphins until a few miles upstream, as well as ospreys at their nesting sites, but not yet on eggs. Like us, they seemed to be cowering from the bitter wind. There were still occasional vultures and pelicans, but we are already at the north of their range.

The ICW was a little wider and deeper than in Florida and so much less stressful to navigate. By late afternoon, the cloud was thinner and the wind lighter. It was almost pleasant as we entered the Neuse River and out into Pamlico Sound for the night.

Overnight the wind increased contrary to the forecast and we were awoken at 4am as the boat lunged and crashed against her anchor. By first light we were already sailing north for the shelter of Bay Creek in the north. The sail across the sound was proper open water, but more “brown water” sailing than the blue we were used to. This area is famous for its large speckled trout and attracts keen anglers throughout the seasons.

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Brown water sailing on Pamlico Sound, NC

We managed to continue sailing almost the whole route, even up through the cuts and canals, and under the bridges. We reached Belhaven mid afternoon for a coffee break and discovered there is nothing there. The few coffee shops / bakeries had shut at 2pm and there was a florist and a hardware store. Even the marina was shut up. We heard the population has dropped from 6000 to 1600 in three years. We left as the heavy rain arrived and anchored in the remote upper reaches of the Pungo River instead.