Pearson Trip-Day 4

Saturday, July 20, 2013

We made it to Beaufort, NC today.  We arrived sometime around 4pm and realized what a mistake that was.  All of Beaufort was covered with weekend warriors and we couldn’t find a slip that we could get into easily without causing the adjacent boats some damage.  We had planned to make this stop to refuel, fix some things that broke along the way (the alternator belt is shot, and the extrusions on our jib furler has come apart), and to get a better idea on the weather, as we will be going around..dun, dun, dun….. Cape Hatteras.  Since our mast is 67’, traveling to Norfolk, VA via ditch is simply not a possibility.  Upon arrival, we realized that we weren’t going to be able to stay in Beaufort, so Kristen called around to the next best place (Smartphones really are smart).   She found this marina called Portside Marina, in Morehead City NC and Dennard, the doc-master was more than accommodating.   This marina is really nice; the facilities are clean and they even have outdoor showers.  They provided us with a primo T-head slip, and also guided us as to where to go eat.  Funnily enough, on our walk to the restaurant, we noticed that we all (with the exception of Kristen) had “land-sickness” which is this weird phenomenon that happens when you get on land after days at sea.  Frank and Dylan seemed to suffer the worst of it as they were both walking around like drunk zombies.  Frank was swaying down the sidewalk, and Dylan was simply not feeling so well.  I, on the other hand, didn’t realize that I was suffering from the same until I sat at the table and saw that other tables were swooshing around.  I thought it odd since I had my Scopalamine patch on.  Transderm Scope is this patch that you wear behind your ear to prevent seasickness. It basically shuts down the inner ear so that your body doesn’t get confused with the conflicting signals it’s getting from your eyes and inner ear and produce histamines (which is what your body makes when it senses something is wrong.  The excess histamines are what make you sick).   The side effects of this prescription medicine include dry mouth, which I have had since putting the patch on, and blurred vision when you take it off and go through withdrawal (that happened to me the last time I was on it, and I couldn’t read a menu).  I have sworn by this stuff because I am extremely prone to seasickness and aside from the side effects, this stuff works really well.  I know you all must think I’m just plain stupid for wanting this lifestyle, but you must realize that I came to terms with my stupidity shortly after puberty, so no need to worry.  We are going to spend the night here, get some much needed rest, and hopefully have a better idea as to when we will be Hatteras bound in the next few days.  

Walk from town to Portside Marina 

Land sickness walk