Monday, November 15, 2004
Southbound on the ICW
Mim and Tom on Runaway
I’m just realizing it is days since the last update. Time is flying by. So much has happened, yet there is so little to report. We left Elizabeth City on northerly winds and set sail southward. We had some pretty good sailing days across the sounds of North Carolina. We were en route to Oriental to see our friends Tom and Mim aboard Runaway. We traveled with them on the Erie Canal. After our side trip to Asheville, we fell behind, but kept in touch weekly via phone. Newly retired, Oriental is the new “home-base” for their cruising lifestyle. We couldn’t wait to see them again and check out the village of Oriental, the sailor’s mecca of North Carolina.
Finally! Crab Cakes?
We sailed for two and a half days, stopping in little, wilderness anchorages along the way. The night before our arrival in Oriental, all Vanessa’s hard work and practice paid off, as her trap came up with a crab. She was so excited. Before I ran below and fired up a “crab jacuzzi” on the stove-top, I pointed out that one crab is hardly an appetizer for Binga, let alone a meal for all three of us. She had a whole bunch more crab to catch before dinner time. She got busy trapping. The result? We ate steak that night.
The crab spent the night in a bucket, just in case the trap would come through in time for breakfast. It didn’t. We set the little bugger free on our departure from the anchorage and set course for our destination. We arrived early in Oriental, the town we’ve heard so much about. At first look you wonder, why all the fuss?
Crab in a Bucket
The town titles itself the “Sailing Capitol of North Carolina.” It is a well known fact that boats out number people: 824 souls call Oriental home, while over 1400 boats call Oriental port. Nice! I think I discovered what is so special about Oriental. On a cursory glance, you notice the very small town atmosphere and the fishing fleet, those are obvious. The main attraction with all these sail boats around: every one here is a sailor. You don’t really notice how cool Oriental is until you leave and go to a near by town. We are pretty much in the deep south here along the coast, southern drawls and all, but the people in Oriental all seem to be from somewhere else and have all arrived here by boat. What’s more, this tiny little town has a bunch of nice marinas, a decent anchorage, a FREE town dock, a very nice boat chandlery, and Wi-Fi wireless internet is everywhere! This is a very hip little place.
Mim and Binga Enjoying a Book
We spent three days in Oriental, visiting our friends and relaxing. We quickly fell into sailing time and became so relaxed, our time in Oriental was over before we knew it. On Friday (11/12), it was time to move on. Tom and Mim stopped by to see us off and we left with the morning tide to motor down to Beaufort, NC (pronounced Boh-fart) to collect our mail and stage ourselves for some offshore sailing time. The time we spent in Oriental was a highlight of North Carolina, so far. Plus, we got to spend extra time with the cruiser friends we’ve met along the way. Thanks to Tom and Mim for hosting us and thanks to Oriental for a really nice break from our all-out race south. We had a fantastic time.
– Steve