Resting at Bald Head

We made it to Bald Head Island after a 28 hour sail from Charleston. The winds were lighter than forecast which really hurt our speed. However the seas were very calm which made for a pleasant sail. We had every sail configuration you can imagine trying to get power from the wind. Once we were tied up to the dock we both fell sound asleep for about 3 hours. We slept another 11 hours that night. With only two of us on the boat it is difficult to get a long sleep while underway. I had only slept 3 hours in the previous 32 hour period.

When we left Charleston Harbor going out the inlet I saw a Valiant 42 coming in that looked awfully familiar. Sandy looked through the binoculars and sure enough it was Savage Son sailed by Bob and Bev. They were dock neighbors of ours at Lake Texoma. Their boat left Texoma on a truck the day before ours did. They trucked their boat to a marina near Jacksonville Florida and left for the Bahamas in December. With such a huge ocean the odds of meeting up like that are unfathomable.

We are staying at the Bald Head Island marina for a week. When I checked in with the harbormaster I took off my hat and said "I believe I qualify for a discount". His response was "Cute". I didn't get the discount. They call this island the Nantucket of North Carolina because the homes all look like New England style homes. About 95% of the homes are vacation rental homes. People have to come by either private boat or ferry. Also there are no private cars on the island. Everyone uses golf carts. There are miles of Sandy beaches and a beautiful golf course.

So far we have walked on the beach, which is very wide and about 17 miles long. We didn't walk the entire length. We went to the Old Baldy light house and climbed to the top and we rented a golf cart and drove around to see the island and pick up some groceries. And of course we are doing the one thing that all cruisers do when they go into a marina - laundry. Usually the laundry room is the center of socializing. Not here though. The marina is small and there are not very many cruising boats here. This marina is not on the ICW. If the boat didn't come in the Cape Fear inlet they probably would not stop here. However there is one boat here that we had seen at several stops in Florida and also at Beaufort South Carolina.

Our next move will be up the ICW. We will stop in Oriental which is claimed to be the sailing capital of North Carolina. It has 700 residents and 3000 boats. Oriental is about 125 miles from here so it will take us about 4 days or so.