28 March
We left Regatta Point at Deltaville at 7:30 to 10-15 knots of wind and 2-3 foot seas on the Bay. Luckily, the wind subsided by 10 AM and the waves laid down, the rest of the trip to Colonial Beach was a snap. We arrived about 3:30 PM and concluded our trip to Florida that started in mid November last year. Good trip even though the weather was not as good as it has been in the past.
25-27 March
We got underway from Belhaven Marina on Tuesday the 25th after relaxing on the 24th. We had a good trip across Albermarle Sound stopping in Coinjock by 4 PM Tuesday. We just wanted a drink after our 9-hour 85-mile trip so we went to the bar at Coinjock’s restaurant. After relaxing a bit, returning to the boat to clean up, we came back to the restaurant for filet and prime rib dinners. Back to the boat for a good night sleep. Up early, we headed for Ocean Yacht Marina in Portsmouth on Wednesday the 26th. We had a reasonable journey through Currituck Sound and the lock at Great Bridge. Stopping early at Ocean Marina, we rested, ate aboard, and slept soundly again. The weather forecast had changed so we decided to get underway Thursday up the Chesapeake and landed at Regatta Point Yacht Center in Deltaville. Tomorrow is forecast to be fairly okay, so we’ll try to make it back to Colonial Beach by Friday afternoon. Good to be home, but sad to end an enjoyable journey on this great trawler!
22-24 MARCH
After Wrightsville we realized that the weather has now become a major factor in planning our trip. Climate change is a fact. We decided we can probably make Colonial Beach before Carey’s medical appointments the 31st of March by paying attention to a few weather windows among many bad weather windows. We pushed on to Beaufort, NC for the 22nd suffering 20 knots of wind the later part of the day to safely tie up at Beaufort before 4 PM. Underway on the 23rd the weather report said the Neuse River would be quiet with 10 knots of wind and choppy seas. We experienced 15 to 20 knots of wind and 4–5-foot seas, an eye opener, but we fell deeper in love with BenjOllie as it proved to be a stable and well-handled boat in those seas. We felt safe and secure and made it through the Neuse. We arrived in Belhaven Marina at 3:30 PM. A great place we’ve never stopped at. Owned by a retired Marine we found friendly folks and great food in town. We’ll stay tomorrow as the weather is bad in the Albemarle Sound that we must cross next. We’ll wait till Tuesday to try that crossing. Below is a picture of BenjOllie heading away from Wrightsville Beach with the sunrise a couple days ago — an early start for our normal journeys.
In late February, the 24th exactly, we started our trip back to Colonial Beach. We first stopped at Eau Gallie Yacht Basic and visited with Pam and her daughter Jill. Then moved on to Fernandina Beach where we had our first weather lay over. Once it settled down we continued north to Duplin River anchorage, Sunbury, Ga, Beaufort, SC, and St Johns Marina just outside Charleston. Our next stop was in Georgetown, SC where Jack and Ann drove down for a weekend visit. A great visit. We started again after they left and stopped at Barefoot landing (a two day weather delay stop) and then stopped at Bridge Tender’s Marina at Wrightsville Beach. En route we passed through Cape Fear River where you can see below in a picture our slow Trawler BenjOllie was pushing over the ground at 14 mph. While at Wrightsville Beach we planned our remaining trip to Colonial Beach. If the weather forecast holds we’ll be in Colonial Beach on Saturday the 29th. We’ll see how it goes.
Here are a few pictures of the trip so far.
