Bringing Fine Lion home

We left very early in the morning

Thomas Point Lighthouse

On July 14th. we left Annapolis to take Fine Lion to her new home in Oriental, NC. She had some of her “playmates” come along for the trip. Promise, Safari, and Querencia made the trip to Oriental, also. Tango went as far as Coinjock, NC.

The trip down the Bay was made in two days and included a great sail from Dividing Creek (VA) to Wolf Trap light. We spent the night in Portsmouth across from Norfolk. We saw lots of US Naval warships in Norfolk…very impressive.

The next day was very trying as there are several bridges that need to be raised and they are on schedules that clearly are not in synch with a sailboat traveling through the area. We had several long waits for bridges to lift so the trip took about 3 hours to go the first 15 miles of the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway). There is even a lock in a town called Great Bridge. We made it all the way to Coinjock, NC. That’s the home of the famous 32 oz. Prime Rib Dinner. While no one had the 32 oz. variety, we all had huge dinners. I guess traveling down the ICW makes you hungry.

There are always lots of radio conversations about depths, speeds, marks, etc. The power boats (Safari and Quarencia) usually go on ahead and wait for Promise and Fine Lion to get in later. They usually have cocktails at the ready.

After Coinjock, we went through the Albemarle Sound. This one of those days disliked by power boaters, but loved by sail boaters. Promise and Fine Lion had a spirited beam reach across the blustery sound. It was great! We stayed that night in Belhaven. We stayed at a marina (bad choice) and experienced quite a storm. We had 40 kts. of wind with cross seas. The boats really tossed around for a while. When we went to dinner, we were informed that there were tornados heading our way. Needless to say, the dinner was interrupted by looking at the “Weather Channel”. Well, we didn’t get a tornado, but the storm took the water out of the marina so that the sailboats couldn’t get out of their slips. We had to wait another day to get out. On Wed. night, Promise and Fine Lion left the marina and anchored in Slade Creek off the Pungo River. Wow, what a night! We had a great dinner then went to the foredeck and watched millions of stars.

The next day took us to the Neuse River and home. We all went into the Oriental Harbor Marina…Fine Lion’s new home. Then the festivities started. The crowd was “exposed” to the attraction of Oriental…great people!

The crowd partied for the next three nights and culminated with a fantastic “Low Country Boil” at the Neuse River Club with great food and entertainment. We even got lessons in doing the “Shag”.

It was a great trip with fantastic friends. Kim and I hated to see them leave on Sunday. We still aren’t sure if they came with us to explore, or to make sure we really left Annapolis. In any case, I’m sure they will return to Oriental because as they say in Oriental… “God lives here”.