TEXAS RANGER: May 2017

     Friends on Bulldog Sally had passed us while we were docked in Belhaven, and anchored about five miles north at the mouth of the Alligator-Pungo canal. We were away from our dock at River Forest marina at first light, and joined them just after they entered the canal. We traversed this waterway in truly isolated, coastal NC, and then traveled up the large Alligator River, through the Alligator River Swing Bridge, and across Albemarle Sound. While crossing the Sound in the mid-afternoon we were greeted by the arrival of a cold front. It was supposed to have little wind, and so it was initially. About the time we reached the north shore of the Sound, however, it was blowing 30 knots or more! We traveled the remaining ten miles or so to our destination for the evening--Coinjock, NC. There isn't much in Coinjock except the marina and its associated restaurant, but it is a vibrant business, especially during the "migrations" of boats up and down the ICW each Spring and Fall. After fueling up (only $1.97/gal for Valv-Tect Diesel), we enjoyed dinner with Paul and Maureen in the restaurant.
     The following morning, with somewhat dreary skies, we all moved north, passing through various swing bridges and the Great Bridge Lock. Bulldog Sally pulled off at ICW mile marker 0 in Norfolk to spend the night at the newly refurbished Norfolk Waterside, and we proceeded on to Hampton, VA on the north side of Hampton Roads. We have stayed here before, and enjoy the old downtown area. Weather was messy and quite cool...I suppose it is still not summertime this far north!
     After a couple of nights, there was forecasted to be a small weather window of relatively calm seas before the return of the every-other-day cold fronts. We hopped out at Norfolk, and ran overnight up the Delmarva coast to Atlantic City, NJ. The weather was not rough, but seas were just sloppy and on the nose instead of from behind as the forecast had predicted. It wasn't a bad trip--it just wasn't fun. We arrived in Atlantic City, another location we have passed by several times previously without stopping, and docked at the 600-slip Farley State Marina. One highlight was a great visit with our friend and fellow Krogen owner Bruce. He lives part of the year in Ocean City, just a few miles south, and we visited his beautiful beachfront abode before going to dinner. The following day we toured Atlantic City, wandered through a couple of casinos (nothing ventured, nothing lost), and walked the Boardwalk.
     With another one-day weather window, we awoke before 0500 to the sound of boats departing the marina, and we were away from the dock by 0520. While this sounds brutal, especially to night-people, we are far east in the time zone, and now in high latitudes. Sunrise was at 0535, so it was actually plenty light enough to travel when we awoke. We had a beautiful calm ride up the Jersey coast, rounded Sandy Hook with the New York City skyline visible in the distance, and headed west across Raritan Bay for a stop at Great Kills Harbor on Staten Island. This is a bit west of the straight path into NYC, but is a sheltered spot and a good place to get "off the water" for the Memorial Day weekend. We are actually just east of the south departure flight path for Newark airport, so to our west we see a constant flow of large jets ascending to their cruising altitudes and turning west. Folks on the docks are friendly, and somewhat stunned to see a boat from Texas in their midst. In a few days we will venture through New York harbor again, and up the East River to Long Island Sound.
We have come about 1200 nautical miles from our winter stay in Marathon, FL.

Atlantic City Boardwalk

Home of Miss America Pageants

Great Kills Harbor

Staten Island, NY

After flying back to Jacksonville, we rented a car, picked up our life raft where it was being inspected and re-packed at the Revere factory, and headed for Ft. Pierce. We spent a few days getting the boat ready and provisioned, and waiting for better weather. At first light we departed Harbour Isle Marina in Ft. Pierce, went out the Ft. Pierce inlet into the Atlantic Ocean, and headed offshore for the first of several Gulf Stream waypoints. These were farther offshore than we usually run, but with the northward push of the Stream (2-3 knots), the distance was easily amortized. We made the passage from Ft. Pierce inlet to Beaufort, NC inlet which would have taken over two weeks in the shallow ICW, in 51 hours! Having stopped in the Beaufort/Morehead City area many times, and arriving mid-morning, we traveled up Adams Creek into the Neuse River, and passed Oriental, NC to stop at River Dunes Marina. We had never stayed there before, and it has good docks and a beautiful resort setting. Unfortunately, there seemed to be nothing going on. I had two requirements after the long offshore passage: secure, quiet dockage for sleep recovery, and good internet connection. It excelled on the former, but failed on the latter. The next morning we departed and headed for Belhaven, NC.
Belhaven is another quaint NC town that we had passed many times, but at which we had never stayed. The River Forest Marina is simple (but with great staff and good internet connectivity), but sits in front of a beautifully restored century-old mansion which is used for weddings and other special events. Golf carts are loaned for the short few blocks to town, and we enjoyed a relaxing 2 days. There are some excellent restaurants, and after 4-5 days of eating on the boat, Kay was ready to enjoy them. We also have another connection to this area--our physician was reared near here, and Belhaven is the closest thing with a name on the map to her home stomping grounds. She had told us all about the restoration of the mansion, and it was neat to see this friendly small town (the dockmaster remembered her from school days). Belhaven merits another stop some day...