Morehead City

As we had to do an overnight sail to Morehead City we headed out the inlet at slack tide, just behind Sea Dancer, and made our way quite far out to sea past a wide expanse of shoaling. 

We eventually tacked to head in the right direction but after a few hours we had to tack again as we were being pushed down towards the land. This is not ideal as you are basically going backwards again.

We reached our line and tacked just as the sun was setting and set off once again in the right direction.

Overnight sails means beautiful sunsets

Needless to say, it was a frustrating night. The wind was flukey with too much north in it. One minute it was 12 knots and the next 3 knots. After 12 hours of sailing, at one am, we weren’t even half way to our destination! There was nothing to do but carry on.

We made water along the way and apart from the engine sounding really strange, water making was a success. I hope we haven’t damaged something to do with the prop when we motored with only two blades. 

Bev and Andre had tacked much further out and got a good angle. They arrived about 4 hours before us. We eventually got to Morehead City and dropped anchor in 3 meters of water off Sugar Loaf Island South next to Sea Dancer.

Laura celebrated her birthday on Wednesday, 19 June, and for the first time in 27 years, she didn't have presents to open. We just haven’t been anywhere near a shop in ages! The compromise was that she could choose whatever she wanted in the shop we found. 

Two years ago we celebrated her birthday on Mustique. Last year we were in Trinidad. I am sure she would have loved to be at home to celebrate with her friends, but sadly, that was not to be.

It ended up being such a strange day. Apart from finding a shop where we could buy some presents for her we also needed to find a pharmacy. We had contacted our doctor back in South Africa about the rash on Laura's face. He had sent us a prescription via email. The first Uber we caught took us to a CVS that we had found on Maps, but it had closed down. The uber driver was local and knew where there was another one. 

They refused to fill the prescription because it was from overseas and it had to be a paper copy. A very nice lady directed us to the nearest Emergency Care centre, which was close by, walking distance, but it was over a highway! There was no place to cross and the robots didn't have the little green man option! 

So we called another Uber! This one also took us a roundabout route but we eventually got there.

The Emergency Care waiting room was packed full of people, some wearing masks, other coughing into their elbows. We were told we would have to wait two hours to see the doctor. Laura was already feeling like her birthday was a series of Uber rides, so we decided to see a doctor another day. We went into the Walgreens next door where Laura had a look at stationery. 

While Laura was looking at Squishmallows, a woman walked past her and made a comment. Something like, "Oh those are cool Squishmallows." And carried on to the pharmacy counter.

The pharmacist also refused to fill the script so we asked if there was an over-the-counter cream we could use. He showed us a few and also said we should get a cream to deaden the pain. There is no pain. In fact, I don't think he even asked Laura if there was pain! Anyway the woman overheard him and said what about CBD cream and oil? He dismissively said no.

When we got to the till she was there paying for her purchases, so we asked her about it. Then, wow, she put her bags down, got out her phone, took a pic of Laura’s face, sent it to her mom who is a nurse. Phoned her mom for advice. Googled the best emergency care place. She went above and beyond trying to help us. When we got outside, she called her girlfriend who was in the car and told her all about us! We did do the introductions, her name was Elizabeth. Such a lovely human!

Then we had to get another Uber to go a few miles to the Harris Teeter where Laura found some pencils and a few notebooks. Not the best birthday presents but what can we do! We did some food shopping and got another Uber back to the boat.

We treated Laura to lunch at a Mexican restaurant. We seldom if ever eat Mexican food so it was a new experience for us. The portions sizes are huge! 

I had bought some candles which we lit, phoned Matt and sang Happy Birthday to Laura.

We were planning on going to the Maritime museum in Beaufort and it would have been easier to get there if we took the boat to an anchorage which was closer. So we upped anchor late afternoon on Laura's birthday and headed off.

Andre and Bev had set off just before us, but sent a message to say the anchorage was full. So we turned around and motored back to where we were.

The following morning, we met Andre and Bev on the dock and took an Uber to Beaufort. It wasn't far away and was far prettier than Morehead City. 

We wandered around the North Carolina Maritime Museum, which was very interesting.  Divers have recovered over 250 000 artifacts from Blackbeard's ship, Queen Anne's Revenge, which was sunk off Atlantic Beach in North Carolina.

Blackbeard was one of the most fearsome pirates to have ever lived. Little is know of his early life, but after the War of Spanish Succession, he joined Captain B. Hornigold's ship, honing his pirating skills.

Captain Hornigold put Blackbeard in command of a captured sloop. A year later he took control of a frigate which was being used as a French slave ship called Concord. He renamed the ship Queen Anne's Revenge and spent a few years creating havoc and carnage wherever he sailed. The ship was one hundred foot long, with three masts, 40 guns and a crew of 300. In 1718 Blackbeard scuttled the ship near Charleston, North Carolina and moved his crew to a smaller sloop. 

He obviously wasn't given the name of Blackbeard at birth. So how did Edward Teach get his name? He had an enormous black beard in which he would put lit fuses, giving him a crazed appearance. Tales of his pirating spread far and wide, with each story embellished on the retelling. Soon the legend of Blackbeard was known far and wide, with stories of him torturing prisoners and turning on his crew for no reason, creating an excellent method of maintaining order on his ship and terrorizing his enemies.

Blackbeard

Blackbeard eventually angered Alexander Spotswood, the governor of Virginia, with all his pirating. The governor assembled a group of pirate hunters to capture him and his crew. Lieutenant Robert Maynard was in charge of two ships hunting for Blackbeard.

They found him on Ocracoke Island and tried to capture him by blocking all exits and entered the inlet hoping to spring a surprise attack. Blackbeard had seen the ships and he cut his anchor and attacked the ships first. A fierce battle ensured during which the pirates boarded Maynard's ship. Maynard had expected this and had hidden most of his crew down below. They ambushed Blackbeard and the other pirates and Blackbeard was wounded. Blackbeard had been shot at least five times and received over twenty blade wounds, making it difficult to tell which one was the final blow. The head of Blackbeard was hung from the mast as a warning to other pirates.

Then we walked around the town for a bit. Andrew was hankering after a beer, so we stopped at a place that was a beer and wine bar on one side and a coffee shop on the other, all in one space. It was lovely chatting to Andre and Bev, finding out about their plans and reminiscing about the past. 

On Friday morning we upped anchor and headed out. Next stop Oriental.