After some weekends of routine maintenance, an early tropical storm, Bonnie's son's graduation from Florida State and short local trips; we finally have a long weekend to venture further from our home port of Oriental.This was our first venture when at times we out of site on any land. But, with the combination of paper charts, GPS, radar and chart plotter (Furuno 1933c) I felt well prepared. I am rather enjoying the navigational aspects of having a trawler, as it keeps my mind engaged and removed from the day-to-day job stresses. Although, figuring out some of the navigational markers can be confusing, particularily when they change from going to the sea (green on starboard) to returning from the sea (red on starboard) in one channel. Which exactly what occurs as you make a u-turn to enter the Silver Lake Harbor at Ocracoke. Fortunately, got it all sorted out without incident and arrived in about a five hour passage from Oriental.
After settling our Laughing Turtle in a slip owned by a local art gallery owner, Bonnie & I were ready to explore and relax. Ocracoke Island, accessible only by water or air, is one of the barrier islands of the Outer Banks of North Carolina where the pirate Blackbeard (see a theme here) is known to have once roamed and met his final demise at the hands of the British Navy. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore, with the Pamlico Sound on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other, its 16 miles of beaches offer something for everyone; including a nude beach area (hummmm!!).
The center of activity is around Silver Lake, where there are many restaurants, art galleries, bars and the normal beach-junk stores. But, we were there to eat, drink and relax; which exactly what we did for our three day holiday. Ocracoke Island is sure to be frequent destination.
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