Once again, our day began at first light. I have concluded that the amount of mud that comes up on the anchor is directly tied to the windchill factor. I had on five layers, top and bottom, with foul weather pants and boots to protect from the blowing spray as I washed off all the mud. We exited the Belhaven breakwater as the sun peeked over the horizon just before 7:00. We settled into a line of five boats heading down the Pungo River, knowing it would be a voyage without much scenery. Just after 8:00 Barry noticed that we had a passenger, and we had fun watching the juvenile herring gull that had landed on our upper deck. We didn't anticipate him staying very long, and were surprised every time we turned to look out the window and he was still there. After an hour or so we had named him "Pungo" and wondered if he'd ever leave. Maybe he'd just take our ferry south instead of flying. He was quite curious, walking around the deck, looking in at us and then peering out at our wake.
At times Pungo would find himself pointing in the wrong direction and his feathers ruffled comically. Its always best to put the pointy end into the wind. We arrived at Hobucken around 10:15 and wondered if he would choose to depart. Both the Coast Guard station and R.E. Mayo Seafood are located here. The three shrimp boats along the bulkhead had already been emptied so Pungo retreated to the lee of the flybridge ...
... and took a nap while we cruised down the Neuse River. He stood with his beak tucked in his wings until 1:00 when we turned into Adams Creek. We had originally intended to drop anchor in this area, but we were making good time and decided to continue on. We passed six shrimp boats as they headed back to dock. Pungo seemed to perk up when seeing all the other gulls following the shrimpers. He finally flew off just before 2:00, after a six hour passage with us. All that was left was the cleanup. He had truly transformed our upper deck into the Poop Deck. Moments after Pungo's departure we began seeing both residential and commercial development along the ICW. We recognized this distinctive yacht as one we had anchored next to last March in George Town, Bahamas. Milepost 200 appeared just before the bridge connecting Beaufort and Morehead City.
It was good to see the railroad span in the open position. Five dolphins escorted us to the bridge while jumping through our bow wave. Once under the bridge, we turned south and dropped the anchor off of Fort Macon at 3:30. We cleaned up and I gathered all my discarded layers of clothing. The clouds from a passing front created a dramatic sky and I was on the lookout for what promised to be a nice sunset.
As dusk progressed, the sky turned deep shades of red and orange. Whether viewed with the telephoto or wide angle lens, it was quite a show.
The plan for tomorrow is to leave early and see how far we can get before weather moves in. Rain and wind are in the forecast for late Saturday and Sunday.
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