Pungo River to Oriental, NC- Day 9

Submitted by kiper on Mon, 2010-10-18 11:31

Oriental NC

Day 9 - It was a gorgeous morning in the mouth of the Pungo River, in the Black Landing Bay anchorage. There is a lot of space there, and the depth are 9-11ft all the way around. The sun came up, and it was quite warm. We headed out early to do 50miles . Destination.... Oriental NC. So... we saw a little more canal, and then the very wide Neuse River. It has great depths and it was a worry free day. We had about 10knots of wind after awhile, and were able to put out a sail. But of course our destination for the last hour or so was smack dab in the wind. Welcome to sailing.

We did'nt know much about the town we were heading to, what was there, or where exactly the anchorage was. Don't think we dont have cruising guides or ICW chart books aboard because we do. The people that write and publish these books are more interested in showing you where all the marinas are, and what you can eat at the popular nearby restuarant. That is why we are trying to make the Sail Log website. People should'nt be flipping through guide books and chart books everynight trying to suck down tiny tid bits on where they are headed, then spend the trip guessing what they may find. They all say "cruising guide", but I guess there are more than one type of cruisers. We should be able to get all the latest info on the area, and a waypoint on exactly where our anchor will be set. A lat and long would be nice, with a typical tide and current would just be a bit informative. But hey Joe's seafood makes a great crabcake... thanks, that helps. Plus knowing what the current supplies that are avalible in town would be nice. I love walking a mile to find out the store listed in the book closed over a year ago. Yes..I have the current guide book...

Ok guide book rant offically over. :/

We find Oriental just fine, and the anchorage. It's already full of boats. (It's been very obvious that we aren't the only boaters headed south.) We snug up in front of the marina, between a catamaran and a bridge. We set the anchor and took a short dink ride into town. It is a very small town. Cute little stores and very quiet. Our kind of town. It is no St. Michaels, it has a few eateries and taverns, a marine consignment shop, a convenient store a few blocks away, a post office, and 2 banks. No super wal-marts, McDonalds, or chain grocery store. Small towns do still exsist thank god.

We grill a few burgers, have a beer, watch the cat do his nightly deck laps. Listen to some 70's music and crash. It was another beautiful night... it sucks to be us. :)

Miles:

0(nm)