In the last post I forgot to include one of
the most thrilling encounters we have experienced so far on our journey. We left
Belhaven and proceeded across the Pungo River, which is open to the ocean
through Pamlico Sound. This sound is protected by a series of barrier islands
with destinations such as Cape Hatteras and Cape Fear, famous for wild weather
and shipwrecks.
Suddenly, we were surrounded by a huge pod
of Bottlenose dolphins. They seemed surprisingly large after the wee
porpoises in the Atlantic and were much more interested in us. They followed for a
considerable distance playing in our bow wave and wake. When they
came alongside, several of them turned on their sides and appeared to be
looking me straight in the eye – quite awesome and disconcerting! Unfortunately
my pictures were a bit lame as the action was fast and furious and the boat was
bobbing up and down. I will get better with practice!
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| Playful dolphin |
Our previous leg in the ditch also allowed
us to see a family of white-tailed dear. I first thought I was seeing a rabbit
bouncing along a line of trees. In fact, when he ran back to join his mother,
we realized that he/she was a tiny, playful fawn, with his petite mother
watching carefully at the edge of the tree line.
We also began to see signs of civilization,
with wooden homes built on stilts and the occasional palm tree planted by
optimistic homeowners. I wouldn’t say they were thriving but they were “hanging in” on the sandy barren shores of
the canal.
Since we have been at beautiful River
Dunes, we have met so many lovely, friendly southerners. Our first evening, we
were invited to a nearby boat for “sundowners” and discovered many common
interests. One of the first revelations was that one of the fellows had been a
naval fighter pilot like both of our Dads. How crazy is that! So there were
many stories exchanged – he was in Vietnam and gave us goose bumps with some of
his adventures. And he had a special place in his heart for our fathers’
generation of pilots. This is one of the real joys of travelling this way;
meeting new people and making the inevitable connections that bind us together.
Now that we were tied up it was time for David
to do his routine checks and maintenance review of the boat. He had been seeing a very small amount of
diesel fuel in the bilge, with no obvious source. In our last fill-up we had
taken on a diesel fuel that was tinted pink, very helpful in distinguishing it
from “old” fuel that had accumulated over the years. When we saw pink fuel in
the bilge, we knew it wasn’t just old residue and sent David on a renewed
search for its source.
He called in a local diesel mechanic who went
down into the engine room returning in a moment to say “do you want the bad
news first or the bad news?” We have a
leak in the injection pump that sends fuel into the engine. Apparently these
things do wear out and eventually need rebuilding or replacement.
As seems to be our pattern, we discover
these things on a Friday afternoon, too late to get the wheels moving for
repair or replacement. We also have the additional challenge of having a
Perkins engine that is most commonly used in England where parts are more readily available. In the USA, it’s a
bit more challenging and we put lots of feelers out, hoping we would get a
response by Monday so we could decide what to do next.
In the meantime, we treated ourselves to
dinner in the club restaurant. We had a delicious meal including the best Angus
beef tenderloin we have EVER tasted. This incredible meal, with wine, cost us
just over $100 for two, about half of what we would have paid in Ottawa or
Toronto!
The next few days saw torrential rains with
uncomfortably warm temperatures. We ran the air conditioning in the boat non-stop,
unusual for us, and tried not to move too quickly (taking our cue from the locals!). Meanwhile we were doing our
homework on the engine issue and decided to consult with a legend in the area –
John Deaton. He is the owner of Deaton Yacht Services in nearby Oriental, NC.
We heard nothing but rave reviews about this place so called them for a
consult. One of the staff came to have a look and discuss our options.
We concluded then and there that we wanted
this firm to look after Peapod, beginning with what they call an engine survey.
This involves a number of tests and measures that will give us a good sense of
her strengths and weaknesses, providing some solid evidence for subsequent
decision making.
We also concluded that this would be the
end of our 2014 journey as there was no hope of getting the diagnostics and
repairs done before the end of August. The Deaton Yard was very busy this year,
particularly after Hurricane Arthur, which made landfall nearby. So we decided
to stay at River Dunes until a space opened up for us there.
This was certainly no hardship! The weather
improved over our second week there. We rode our bikes, lounged by the pool and
I even walked on the treadmill in their air-conditioned mini-gym!! We began our
checklists for putting the boat to bed for the season and for returning home to
Ottawa.
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| Pretty neighbour in Grace Harbour |
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| Golden light on River Dunes Clubhouse |
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| Lovely "cottage" at River Dunes |
August 9th was the annual dragon
boat festival held at River Dunes in Grace Harbour. We had front row seats on
Peapod and spent the day watching the colourful spectacle, cheering on the
Deaton Yacht Services team. This boat was a mix of Deaton staff and family. The
80+ year-old matriarch led the charge on the drum.
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| Deaton team |
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| John Deaton, event sponsor, with US Marines - the winners |
We even made it into the local online newspaper! Peapod at the races
The next day, Sunday, the serious work
began. We were due at the boat yard on Tuesday August 12th and had
tickets to fly home on the 13th. We took down all the canvas from
the fly bridge – a must during hurricane season. We sorted, packed and
laundered, working each day till mid-afternoon when we would head to the pool
for some R and R.
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| Getting rid of the bugs on the windows |
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| No more shade! |
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| Our private pool |
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| Happy captain |
We met a bunch of guys from Florida who
stopped to refuel on their way to New York City on Sea-Doos!! Their plan was to circle
the Statue of Liberty and then head home. How crazy is that! We also met a
lovely bride and groom who were married in the little chapel at River
Dunes.
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| Crazy SeaDooers |
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| Wedding bikes |
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| Happy couple |
Tuesday dawned clear and calm. We ghosted
out of Grace Harbour feeling as though we were leaving paradise. With no canvas, the sun was brutal and we needed an umbrella to keep the computer from shutting down with heat stroke! A short
journey up the Neuse River brought us to the boat yard where Peapod will stay
until we return in January. More laundry, stowing the dinghy and battening
down, and we were ready to leave.
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| Heading for Oriental |
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| Glassy River |
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| Looking back |
Our Nexus cards turned us into rock stars
as we glided through the security processes with no fuss or bother. Definitely
worth the effort to obtain them before we left home!
The trip was blissfully uneventful and we
arrived in Ottawa to a surprise encounter with David’s sister, Janice. She was
returning from a visit to Nova Scotia and offered us a ride home – a real treat
compared to standing in line for a cab shivering in the cold. This gift took us
full circle as she had driven us to Rideau Ferry back in June to begin our
journey.
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| Happy to be in YYZ! |
Arriving home was also a treat given the
efforts of our dear neighbours Ian and Barbara. There were flowers from the garden, there was food in the fridge for breakfast, and 2 months worth of mail
in orderly rows on the kitchen counter.
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| Homecoming |
Being back in our home still feels a bit
surreal. There is so much space to rattle around in after the coziness of
Peapod and we're both still a bit wobbly on dry land! We are grateful to be home and excited about seeing
friends and family. We are also grateful to have found such a wonderful place
to end this phase of our trip. Had we continued, we would have faced even more
blistering heat going south. As it was, the last few days were well over 100F. Now
we will travel through South Carolina and Georgia in their spring season, which
will be much more comfortable. And thanks to John Deaton and his team, we feel
confident that Peapod will be in the best possible shape for getting to our
ultimate destination in 2015 – the Bahamas!
Best of all were the wonderful people we met
along the way – the fellow boaters, the folks in hardware and grocery stores,
and the marina staff - they were all
incredibly helpful and friendly. We were greeted with warm smiles everywhere
that seemed to grow broader and warmer the further south
we went. Can’t wait to get back on board!!
