Last night we decided to stay another day here for a chance to relax again after the bridge trauma yesterday. Having celebrated our victory in getting under the bridge last night with a cheap bottle of SB, the resulting headaches convince me never to drink cheap wine again and just stick to the good stuff!
I have an extra long lie in bed then get myself together. Mike has already been out paying our dock fees into the honesty box just behind us. There has been a dock master of sorts coming and going to the little hut but no one has been to ask us for money. Relying on just plain old honesty is rather a nice way of doing it.
We all go out to explore the island a little, all 15 by 1 miles of it. The others want to hire bicycles again but I am not so sure – I’m not exactly safe on two wheels and am worried that it might not be good for my back. I would prefer to walk although the sun is quite hot. In the end we hire a golf cart for the four of us which works well, Mike and Bob in the front and Maggie and I in the rear facing backwards, which I have to say feels a little strange.
We poodle off to visit the British cemetery first. In 1942 the armed trawler, the Bedfordshire, which had been lent to the US to protect their shipping lanes which were being attacked by German U-boats. She was torpedoed herself just off the Outer Banks and all hands were lost. Only four bodies were recovered and only two of those were identified. It was actually to protect shipping that the Intracoastal Waterway was developed, so that ships could carry on unimpeded by the best efforts of the Germans to destroy them. From the cemetery we head to the Ocracoke lighthouse which stands inland but is still working.
We then go on a hairy drive down the beach, not strictly allowed (we discover later that you should have an off road licence for the beach and they don’t give those to golf cart drivers). Bob has read that the beach at Ocracoke is the top beach in the US. I think he is seriously misinformed.
It is a bit wild and a bit lovely in a way but I am expecting white sand and sand dunes that go for miles. The sand is a very dark yellow and hard packed after all the rain last night and the sand dunes are one dune thick. Basically it’s somewhere to take your car and cast a fishing line, all 15 miles of it. It isn’t the mix of Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island and Wildernis beach in South Africa but driving full pelt in a golf buggy getting incredulous looks from the locals is fun all the same!
Next it’s lunchtime and we hit Howard’s Pub where the list of ales available is three times as long as the menu. I order a ‘smothered and covered’ burger (one covered with onions, mushrooms and cheese) and hush puppies (fried dough balls). Absolutely delicious.
Leaving the pub we find a shell shop and I happily choose some lovely examples for my bathroom while Mike and Bob sit on the rocking chairs on the porch like a couple of old men chewing the cud.
We drive around nearly every road on the island to get a feel of it. It’s quite lovely really, very unspoiled and untouched by the 21st century, feeling like somewhere from the 60’s. There is almost a hippy feel to it in some ways.
The day started out hot and bright but by the time we have to return the cart the sky has darkened and it looks like the impending cold front is about to arrive. Dark clouds roll in from the mainland but in their gaps is yet another beautiful sunset. I dash out to the marshes with my camera. While I am there I see both the ferry and the dredger come back for the night. Later I find out that they collided when they were out at sea.
We spend the night aboard alone. We are all tired and need an early night. We have many miles tomorrow and the forecast is not good. It looks like we will be beating straight into the wind – just the ticket.
Position: 35 deg 06 min N, 75 deg 59 min W
Distance so far: 2985 miles
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