June 17th- Beaufort NC to Burton Creek NC

The rain stopped. We made a breakout from Beaufort. We had planned on staying for two nights. This turned into six nights due to weather. Plans change.

Today’s travel consisted of a slow run up a canal and creek. The latter half of the day was a nice sail down the Neuse River.

Our evening anchorage was in Burton Creek. We stopped here on the way south. It’s protected from most wind directions and has a closed marina for bringing Ollie in to shore.

Oliver’s commando raid lived up to its name. Someone is living in the marina now. There have always been “no trespassing” signs. I just don’t read them. We pulled into the little boat ramp anyway. It’s in a corner, not near the house. I brought Ollie across the street so he could commune with nature. When we got back to the dinghy there was a male hound dog checking it out. Muddy foot prints in the boat. Ollie can be a bit of a loose cannon when surprised (Scottish heritage). I made friends with the hound, got Ollie in the boat, and high-tailed it out of there. The next day we found a patch of dry land along Burton Creek.

June 18th- Burton Creek to Belhaven NC (Pantego Creek)

We had a calm night and woke to a sea of glass. Next time I’m in the area I need to find a better option for landing Oliver. There is a lot of wooded coastline but it’s not easy finding an open/dry spot to land him.

Neuse River. A sea of glass.

We were excited about stopping at R.E. Mayo Seafood again. Their dock is along a canal near the town of Hobucken. It’s a commercial dock for shrimp boats. Docking at it is great practice as it’s very rough. Shrimp boats are steel, Catalpa is not. We eased our way in and secured to the pier. Our large fenders were put to use. Grouper for dinner. Shrimp tomorrow. Their seafood is flash frozen and vacuum sealed. I’d fill the freezer if we had one.

Some scenes from the RE Mayo docks.

Catalpa at RE Mayo docks.

We continued on the ICW path to Belhaven and anchored in Pantego Creek.

Sunset at Belhaven.

June 19th- Belhaven NC

Rain. Hopefully it stops soon. We planned on bringing Catalpa over to River Forest Marina for diesel and water. We also need propane, groceries, and dinghy fuel (gasoline). Belhaven has a good hardware store and we have a list. The forecast changes daily so we’ll just have to keep an eye to the sky.