A Weather Day in Belhaven

Day 16 Monday, May 1, 2017

You can monitor my trip at the link: Little Star's Progress Live

Today turned to be a lay-over day due to weather.  It all started after breakfast.  The winds were howling and the waves were rolling into our little protected cove when we decided we needed a pump out before we headed out.  With the help of the guy in the boat in front of us, we cast off our lines, swung out around his boat and then back to the dock where the pump out station was located.  During the maneuver, I realized that out in the open waters, it would be really rough and I decided that I didn’t want to be anchored out in high winds. 

We checked out the marine forecast and they were predicting 25 to 35 knot winds.  So, with the help of the dock master, we slipped the boat back into the harbor and added extra lines for the rising winds.

And rise they did.  At one point in the afternoon, I turned on the wind instrument and the wind was clocking up to 34 knots.  That equates to 39 mph.  We were glad to be tied to a dock.

The dock master agreed to take us to a grocery store where we picked up some items that we needed to replenish our supplies.  We figured we only needed a few things but, we ended up with a full cart of stuff.

Later in the day, we wandered around the town.  As we walked along Water Street which parallels the shore, we was amazed at the force of the wind that was blowing directly on beach.  All of the wave activity was being generated within the enclosed harbor behind the breakwater.  I can only imagine what it was like out in the Pungo River.   Along our walk, we passed the River Forest Mansion and Marina.  The mansion is a huge stately estate built around the turn of the 20^th century.  The original owner was a lumber man amongst other things and obviously did very well for himself.  Regrettably, I didn’t have my camera with me.  As we passed the marina, we could see the large boats out on the end of the dock being tossed around like bathtub toys.  They were taking the brunt of the waves directly on their sides.

The rest of the day we hung around the boat and read while the wind whistled through the rigging.  Again, we were glad to be tied up in this little harbor.

After dinner of brats and cheesy grits, we were back to reading until we couldn’t keep our eyes open.  And the time would be 9:00.