TEXAS RANGER: Fort Pierce to Belhaven, NC May 15--19

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...