Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Tuesday morning Joe caught an Uber back to Beaufort NC to get our truck.  Coconut and I did a beach walk then worked on laundry and cleaning up the boat.  Since it was so nice, I decided to give the Coconut a bath.   Our cockpit has a wash down system hooked up to the boat’s freshwater, including hot water.  She got a scrubbing, did the “shake” and laid in the sun to dry.  At this point, it was 75 degrees.

Checking out a giant sand castle

Our Marina manager, Dee, let us know the Marina would be full the next two days.  People are looking for a place to duck in for the incoming cold front and impending gale force winds.  It was a bit hard to comprehend, walking around town and sitting outside on the boat but we prepared with extra fenders, lines, the heater and the good old wool Army blanket we carry for just this situation.  Thanks dad!

The wind kicked up about 4:00 and the temp began dropping drastically.  At this point, Pursuit does not have AC or heat.  That will possibly be next Fall’s addition to her.  However, being in a Marina allows us to heat the boat with a small electric heater.  On our sailboat, Moonlight, one heater does the job.  Not true for the trawler!!! It was 52 degrees in the boat in the morning 😳  30 degrees outside — now that is a cold front.  As soon as the sun came up, the bridge area of the boat warmed up with solar so it was a lot better. Thankfully, we had the truck so we drove “off island” and bought another heater.

It is odd, to drive away from these cute, historic, quaint, water side towns and see the strip malls, chain stores, big box stores and other “regular” town stuff.  When you visit by boat you don’t visualize that beyond walking distance is the real town.  We don’t like to go “off island.”

Driving back on to Topsail Island on the new bridge.  Love seeing the Ocean!

We drove the whole length of Topsail Island on Thursday.   The towns here are Surf City where we are residing (in the middle),  Topsail Beach and North Topsail Beach.  The island is a 26 mile long barrier island.  It is known for its beautiful beaches–we 2nd that!!!  There are only two ways off the island: the new high bridge here in Surf City and another high rise bridge in North Topsail Beach.

We understand the name Topsail is rumored to have come from Pirates that hid in the channel between the islands and the mainland waiting for the merchant ships loaded with goods to pass.  Apparently only the “topsail” of the pirate ships was visible so the merchants began looking for the it.  Blackbeard also is a legend here having possibly hid his treasure in the forests — boy, he sure got around — everybody claims him.  People are still hunting for pirates’ treasure but I think the excavation for all the housing surely would have produced some booty!!!

We will be touring the local museum to find out more about the history of this island.  We know from a grumpy man at a bar that the generation prior used it for fishing camps and summer vacations and that it was an aircraft training base.  The guided missle was developed here. We did see some strange towers we wondered about.

Our drive from one end to the other of the island showed it is mostly residential, with private homes being the most prevalent.  Lots and lots of vacation rentals.  The two smaller towns were summer tourist establishments.  You really must go off island for supplies.  There is a small grocery store, many restaurants, gas station and surf shops galore in Surf City.  We would be fine without our vehicle but it was a good day driving around, dining on the waterway and escaping the winds.  We did stop and run out to the beach but it wasn’t as turbulent as we had expected.

I have had crab soup from many different establishments’ recipes.  Yesterday’s was a coconut base.  Very good.  Joe said his scallops were some of the best he’s had.

Another thing that strikes us is how Southeners deal with the cold.  Today, Wednesday, was brutal, I never heard the windchill but winds blowing 25 on a 30 degree day is cold anywhere.   When it’s 60 the locals are wearing jackets but I bet most of you have been the tourist wearing shorts and sandals when the locals are all sayings it’s cold.

The other change besides the weather is the fact our cruise is coming to an end a bit earlier than we intended.   The cold, windy weather has stopped us from moving.    Joe visited, on his way back from Beaufort, a storage yard near here that has agreed to haul Pursuit on Monday and help with the refrigerator removal.  They have someone who can construct a stainless crane for our motor too.  We feel fortunate to have found this yard.   There doesn’t seem to be anything in the next 100 miles or so if we would have traveled further.  It would also have been hard for us to find slips with the bad weather and everyone hunkering down.  We will spend the next few days getting ready to put the boat to bed for awhile and enjoying this little beach town.

Under the Pier

If you are wondering, we are quite happy with this boat.  We love being able to walk all around her on the side decks, having several doors, the different areas to hang out, the flybridge ( on a warm day), the fuel consumption and many more things about this little trawler.  Of course their are a few things that aren’t so good like storage but we are working on it.  It’s a boat; a continuous project.