David here: We have arrived in Beaufort, NC and are tied up at the town landing.
We wondered if Oriental would ever let us go this morning. We were staying at the free town dock where you can stay for 48 hours, only. Many people stop at the local coffee shop, The Bean, directly across from where we were tied up. So, we saw many a person walk down to our dock, coffee in hand to stop and admire Grace and talk with us. The additional attraction was the boat next to us where the boat cat had jumped ship several days previously and the search was on.
Apparently the cat, which seems to not have any one definite name (Cat, Rat the Cat, Meow, and during his on-land adventure received a new name; "Sh*^head) had become somwhat a local news buzz since jumping ship, with the local news outlet posting a story and description on line.
Well, the boat's crew was happy to report, today, that Cat had arrived back aboard at about 2 a.m. and all was well. The local town reporter came down this morning to take a picture of the returned, wayward cat and when the owner tried to bring Cat outside to have a picture, the cat hissed, jumped and ran back down below. Apparently, although Cat is not naming names, it is assumed he wants no part of additional life on land in Oriental. Hmmmm, if only cats could talk.
Anyway, Grace and the dock had a pretty regular flow of folks wanting to talk and admire. One woman ran across the street while I was working on deck and asked what kind of boat Grace is. She admitted she only had a minute because she actually had run out of the store where she worked to quickly come over and admire and ask. Then she ran back to her store. Grace attracts admirers. It makes us both feel good.
I spied two folks Bob and Cece at The Bean with folding bikes. So I went over and asked about the bikes (which, it turns out come from LL Bean) Bob gave me his bike and I took a quick ride up and down the street. I am pretty impressed with the idea of having easy transportation to go to stores and elsewhere as we journey further and the bike was surprisingly comfortable.
Why a bike? So often a grocery store or hardware store is quite a distance away. We find, more and more, that the areas near the town docks no longer have such stores and a few miles away near the highway there will be a big grocery store, a Lowes, NAPA Auto and, yup, Walmart.
In any event, we did our last shopping, said "gotta go" to the last of the visitors and finally left Oriental and made a quick passage over to the entrance to the next part of the ICW and worked our way down to Beaufort (We passed mile 200 today!).
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| The sign says 200 |
Nancy did a great job at the helm, working Grace through a narrow "shortcut" to Beaufort. I was on pins and needles the whole time because if I had been at the helm I might have been a few feet to port or starboard of where she chose. I DO NOT WANT TO RUN AGROUND AGAIN! Anyway, she did fine, I shut up and we fould ourselves safely waiting for the 3 pm lift of the Beaufort Bascule Bridge so we could get to the town docks. So, we arrived safe and sound.
Here is a technical challenge for us. We have two radios, one set to channel 16 (general hail and emergency channel) and the other to channel 13 (boat to boat for navigation and passing and boat to bridge communication). I am OK with it turned up so I can hear the words and filter out the stuff I don't need to hear. Nancy finds the radios too loud and distracting. So we struggle to find the right volume. Just when it seems right, someone comes on blasting at full power from nearby, the radio gets turned down, then someone trys to hail us at low power and I can't hear it. Solution???
Anyway, having settled in at Beaufort, we arranged an impromptu supper with Suzanne and Lee. We went to a local pub-like place and had a great meal and fun conversation.
Now, to backtrack a bit: Back to the question of the way towns and businesses welcome boaters. Having again stayed at a free dock in Oriental, which makes it easy for us to provision and spend money in the town, I recall that I neglected to follow up on my mention of the Marina called Rebel Marine in Norfolk.
We stayed at Rebel for $35 a night, at the dock with electric. We got a free pumpout. When we arrived the owner mentioned that there was a local community pot luck that evening so come on to the dock house. Then they offered us a courtesy car to get boat parts and asked only that we bring it back with the gas tank full. We got lots of time and free advice and information from the owner and his staff as well as others at the pot luck. Clearly, the owner set the tone. He was very relaxed, casual, warm and friendly and generous. I don't think the way he runs his marina is a "marketing strategy." He runs the marina to suit his personality and has figured out how to make it work, financially, while, as he says, he is having a good time.
Marinas, towns, businesses all seem to develop personalities that impact how they see the world and how the world experiences them. Some seem to see the traveling boater as a challenge or perhaps as an opportunity to take advantage of someone traveling who has needs and few options. Others seem to enjoy the experience of having a variety of people passing through, and create opportunities structured to be mutually beneficial. We find one place warm and generous, another tight and full of rules and regulations. As often as possible, I try to choose carefully which I support.
Thats it, tomorrow we have projects and walks to do. Be well!
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