Submitted by kiper on Mon, 10/18/2010 – 11:31
Sanuk – 1977 Baba 30 – Hull #1
Day 9 – It was a gorgeous morning in the mouth of the Pungo River, in the Black Landing Bay anchorage. There is a lot of space there, and the depth are 9-11ft all the way around. The sun came up, and it was quite warm. We headed out early to do 50 miles. Destination…. Oriental NC. So… we saw a little more canal, and then the very wide Neuse River. It has great depths and it was a worry free day. We had about 10 knots of wind after a while, and were able to put out a sail. But of course our destination for the last hour or so was smack dab in the wind. Welcome to sailing.
We didn’t know much about the town we were heading to, what was there, or where exactly the anchorage was. Don’t think we don’t have cruising guides or ICW chart books aboard because we do. The people that write and publish these books are more interested in showing you where all the marinas are, and what you can eat at the popular nearby restaurant. That is why we are trying to make the Sail Log website. People shouldn’t be flipping through guide books and chart books every night trying to suck down tiny tidbits on where they are headed, then spend the trip guessing what they may find. They all say “cruising guide”, but I guess there are more than one type of cruisers. We should be able to get all the latest info on the area, and a waypoint on exactly where our anchor will be set. A lat and long would be nice, with a typical tide and current would just be a bit informative. But hey Joe’s seafood makes a great crab cake… thanks, that helps. Plus knowing what the current supplies that are available in town would be nice. I love walking a mile to find out the store listed in the book closed over a year ago. Yes..I have the current guide-book…
Ok guide-book rant officially over. :/
We find Oriental just fine, and the anchorage. It’s already full of boats. (It’s been very obvious that we aren’t the only boaters headed south.) We snug up in front of the marina, between a catamaran and a bridge. We set the anchor and took a short dink ride into town. It is a very small town. Cute little stores and very quiet. Our kind of town. It is no St. Michaels, it has a few eateries and taverns, a marine consignment shop, a convenient store a few blocks away, a post office, and 2 banks. No super Wal-Mart, McDonalds, or chain grocery store. Small towns do still exist thank god.
We grill a few burgers, have a beer, watch the cat do his nightly deck laps. Listen to some 70′s music and crash. It was another beautiful night… it sucks to be us. 
