October 12, 1991
The next morning, I headed towards The Intracoastal Waterway and passed through the Great Bridge Lock at 11 am. The trip is extremely quiet and uneventful and I write in my log that I enjoyed having Blue Grace on Lake Champlain much more than this.
The automatic bilge pump has stopped working and I am trying to rrepair it. The floorboards begin to float and I am working faster trying to find a solution.
What seems like hours later, I round a corner into the vast expanse of Albemarle Sound, and anchor aways from another couple who have retired and spend time cruising. Everyone we have met to date is retired and taking their time going places. My mind begins to wonder whether I should have waited to retirement, but looking back now, these were all the training experiences needed to make a qualified decision about this lifestyle.
I dinghied over to this couples boat with a bottle of wine and had a pleasant dinner, finding out that the two on board are connected with the navy and that the owner had been a sea captain with the navy all his life. This is his retirement. It is obvious inside their boat that they have been planning this for several years. Their bookshelves are crammed with books, their bicycles are stored within the boat and they have central heating, hot and cold running water and a huge galley, with an island in the center for cooking. It's a well thought out home and has taken them years to build. It is their lifestyle.
The next morning, I left Albemarle Sound and headed to Grassy Point, then towards Belhaven, Adams Creek and onwards to Beaufort. Mile 200 on the Intracoastal.
Stuart is mile 1,000. It dawns on me that I am doing nothing more than getting someplace as fast as I can go.
No different than being in a car trying to get somewhere as fast as it will take you. This is certainly not what I had in mind when I left. Being in a hurry was what I was trying to get away from, not continue doing.
At Pelican Point Marina, I stopped because the water pump broke and I had to. Upon docking, I discovered that my particular pump is not in stock, naturally, and that I will have to wait a day for it to be sent in from out of state. The marina manager lends me his truck and I headed off into town to buy groceries.
I went for an early morning walk and returned to find my parts waiting. After installing the new pump, I left Pelican Point and headed towards Hague Point Marina, which was one of the prettier spots along the route. The facilities were quite rundown but the location was beautiful.
I am now in North Carolina.
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