Nags Head

 Another cold night without shore power / heat. Ever wake up in the middle of the night with an ice cream headache just from breathing? How about jumping up on the top deck in the morning and sliding across on the ice to within inches catapulting off into the Elizabeth river? Both signs you need to get South quick.

Great sail today down the Pasquotank and across the Albemarle sound.  Our power boat friends from the Dismal Swamp called in concern on the radio when we circled quickly after getting past the Elizabeth City draw bridge. They wanted to know what the problem was but soon understood as we set the main sail and cruised without the engines at 8 knots. 

Things were going so well we decided we needed some drama to spice the trip up a bit so we went on a kayak acquisition mission. JoAnne and Dirk had graciously donated their ocean kayak to our Bahamas adventure and it would have been easy to get if we had come through a few weeks ago when they could meet us and deliver it in KDH. But that would be easy so instead we charged into the waters by Collington Harbor ignoring the repeated squealing protests of Luna’s shallow water alarms. Then we anchored super near the neighborhood.  See how close we were. The dink’s kill switch was busted somehow. No problem - disable the important safety switch and head out.

Finally, we tied to a random dock where, based on the high % of Trump flags on the power boats, many residents are heavily armed. Then, looking like bedraggled street urchins we cut through someone’s yard and grabbed a kayak and ran with it. Did I mention that Dirk and JoAnne’s neighbor is a cop?

But, success! The perfect Ocean two-person kayak was clean and ready for a new life in the Bahamas!

Anchored tonight on the sound side of Kill Devil Hills. Tomorrow the Pamlico Sound.  Total distance South 214 miles.  Temp vs Vienna tonight  23 degrees warmer! Supposed to be 58 overnight here.