Chesapeake Chase Day 48: Beaufort

July 29, 2002

Today’s destination was the Homer Smith Marina in Beaufort, North Carolina.  We were originally going to stay in Beaufort on our way north, but the bow thruster issue put us in Carolina Beach instead.

We took a walk around Oriental before we departed.  Oriental is known as “The Sailing Capital of North Carolina.”  We saw hardly any sailboats, but I think it was a case of timing.  Apparently, there are races frequently. 

We did see a lot of shrimp boats.  Traveling by boat as far as we have the past couple of years gives us a tremendous appreciation of where the seafood we enjoy eating so much comes from.  Like farmers who grow our fruits, grains, and vegetables, the watermen, shrimpers, and other commercial fishermen work very hard under all types of conditions to provide the food we need and enjoy eating.

We were underway by about 10:30 AM.  The wind was still blowing, but for most of the trip, it didn’t rough up the water too much.  After crossing the Neuse River, we headed south on Adams Creek and canal.

Coming into Beaufort, we were on a portion of the Newport River.  By that time the tide and wind were moving in opposite directions.  That meant bigger waves and more water coming over the bow and pilot house.  (It also meant more water to pump out from the bilge, but it wasn’t for very long and we were soon pulling into the marina.)

The slips here were easier to get into, but the wind still wanted to be in control.  We had an experienced person assisting us on the dock, and we did get in this time stern first.  By 3:25 PM we were secure.

Homer Smith Marina

Homer Smith Marina has been around for decades, but it’s recently been renovated.  The docks were new, and the marina building was brand new, containing the office, boater’s lounge, three combined shower/bathrooms (with huge showers), and the laundry room.  The boater’s lounge had reclining chairs, big screen TV, and a coffee maker.  Best of all was the free laundry room, with three brand new sets of large, front-loading washers and dryers with lots of “bells and whistles!”

I spent the remainder of the afternoon doing laundry – all of it!  I know it seems like I have spent a lot of time doing laundry, but between the heat and other chores, we have gone through a lot of clothes, towels, sheets, and cleaning or sopping rags.  Fred worked on rinsing the salt off the boat.

Once again, we decided to eat out.  We put our names in at a restaurant and then walked around while we waited.  Beaufort was a busy place that evening as would be expected on a Friday night in the summer.  It has a beautiful waterfront and is a place we would like to revisit sometime. 

Something Fred observed was that most of the women, all ages, were wearing dresses.  I felt very underdressed!  He also noticed a lack of diversity of folks walking around. 

After a half hour we were back at the restaurant.  It was disappointing.  We had been given a lunch menu when we asked to see a menu.  It had exactly what we wanted.  The dinner menu did not, but we were too tired and hungry to find another place to eat.

We did find ice cream, but the Cow Café in Newbern still gets top choice.

We returned to the marina, took showers, and called it a night.  Clean bodies and clean sheets; that’s all we needed.

Captain’s Comments:

Homer Smith Marina in Beaufort is another spot we had considered, but passed by, on our way north.  We wanted to visit Beaufort, and we wanted AC, so we made the decision to stop now.

The wind was contrary and strong again as we approached, and the marina fairway we were directed to was narrow, but a little extra help from the dockhand helped us back into our slip.  The marina had first rate new docks, a new office/captain’s lounge (with reclining lounge chairs), single occupancy restrooms with large showers and free laundry with three sets of spanking new GE machines. Did someone already mention the free laundry?

We (Sue) started two loads of laundry, sheets and other stuff, and we walked the few blocks to the historic waterfront while they were drying.  Hot and tired, we again decided to check out one of the restaurants.  We picked one based on a quick look at the menu but had to put our name on the waiting list. 

While waiting, we walked down the waterfront and were impressed by the number of interesting restaurant choices and the number of yachts docked along the waterfront.  Many patrons were out strolling the sidewalks, and we started to notice how many people were “dressed up” (especially women in dresses).  For most of the trip, “dressed up” meant clean shorts and maybe a shirt with a collar.

We also noticed what we perceived to be a complete lack of diversity.  The only black person we saw during our visit to Beaufort was a waiter at the restaurant where we had dinner.  I don’t know that the two observations were connected, but Beaufort stood out for us on both of these observations.  I might have called it a country club atmosphere.

However, the city recognizes the role that Beaufort played as part of the slave trade with a memorial in this waterfront park. Here, enslaved Africans once disembarked from the Middle Passage. The broken chain symbol in the upper right corner of the sign marks the designation of the park as a UNESCO Slave Route Project Site of Memory.

Eventually, the restaurant texted us that our table was ready.  We hurried back to the restaurant, were seated, and presented with the dinner menus.  Oops.  The menu we had looked at was the lunch menu; dinner was substantially more expensive.  We both ordered the tuna tacos (cheapest item on the menu), and they were OK. 

There are two ice cream stores in Beaufort; one closed at 1800, so we went to the one that was still open, The General Store.  It was a little like the store part of a Cracker Barrel restaurant, but with an ice cream counter.  The ice cream was made elsewhere; it was OK, but didn’t crack the top ratings.

Back to the marina, the next errand was a run to the grocery store.  We didn’t need much, but we definitely needed milk and deli.  On top of the other amenities, the marina offered a free loaner car.  We picked up the key in the laundry room and went to Food Lion for the few items we needed. Felt a little strange driving a car.

Last item was showers.  Then bed, with clean sheets!

When taking a picture of Betty Lou at her dock, I couldn’t help but notice that a Steve Dashew designed FPB 64 was moored on the T. The dockmaster said there were several FPBs in the vicinity. The captain of this one was kind enough to invite me for a quick tour.