We have closed the circle and are back in North Carolina.
We left Eleuthera pulling anchor a little after midnight and crossed the Providence Channel arriving at Little Harbor Inlet and continuing on to Elbow Cay by mid-afternoon, a trip of 67 miles. We had planned to anchor outside Hopetown for the night but we were offered the use of a mooring and we took advantage of the offer. We went into town and got two loads of laundry done celebrating the trip with a few cold Kalik beers while waiting for the laundry. The next morning we dropped the mooring and proceeded to Boat Harbor Marina to take on fuel. From there we continued to Scotland Cay to visit friends. We spent two days visiting with Rita and Will and enjoying being at their dock. From there we continued on to Green Turtle Cay to spend some time with our friend Donny.
In the past we have made the crossing from Florida to Green Turtle to spend time at Donn's Docks before continuing further south. This year we promised him we would stop on the way back at the end of our season. While there we spent time revisiting the island and visiting with old and new friends. We were monitoring the weather looking for an opportunity to make the trip back to the States. After a week we had a short window forecasted and we said good-bye and started out. We made the trip across the Little Bahamas Bank and made the crossing to Fernandina Beach in a three day, 352 nautical mile trip. Arriving at Fernandina Beach we picked up a mooring, checked in with Customs and Immigration and rested up from the trip. The next morning we checked into the marina and when we said we were gong to walk to Walmart to pick up some things Charlie offered us the use of his pickup. With that out of the way spent some time in the Captains Lounge sucking up their wifi. After two days we had a good forecast to make the rest of the trip to North Carolina. First we needed to top off our fuel. The fuel dock is still out of commission since the last hurricane so we emptied the jerry jugs we carry and with another loan of Charlie's pickup for trips to the gas station with the jugs we had the tank topped off and rode the outgoing tide.
We spent another three days traveling 349 nautical miles in light winds arriving Beaufort Inlet after midnight and anchored near the Coast Guard Station. We normally avoid entering a harbor at night but this inlet is well marked and we have several previous tracks to follow. In the morning we pulled anchor and moves to Taylors Creek in downtown Beaufort and settled in for a couple of days. We made several trips into town to help with the local economy at several restaurants, bars and pubs. After the weekend we decided to move up to the Neuse River and anchor in Clubfoot Creek next to our old marina.
Now that we are back we are making the arrangements to be hauled out for summer storage. We thought we were on a list at one of the yards but when we called they had no record of it. Now we are working on plan B with calls in to several other yards.
Our winter cruise is now over with us covering 2317 nautical miles or 2666 statute miles. That is just short of a trip from New York City to Los Angles but traveling at about six miles an hour. At least we didn't have to climb any mountains.
What is next? Once we get the boat hauled out we will be loading up a rental truck with some of the stuff we have in storage here and bringing it with us to South Dakota. We have a number of projects at the cabin we hope to get completed and plan to enjoy relaxing there before returning to the boat in the fall. If you are in the Black Hills area this summer we would enjoy your company.
