Sunday Summary #30

Belhaven, NC

Hello ,

Welcome to Scho & Jo’s 30th Sunday Summary. This edition of the Sunday Summary was written aboard Pivot as we cruise Pungo River towards a small town in North Carolina, Belhaven.

Boat Life.

Last Sunday we were docked at Carolina Beach as we waited out some foul weather. Our Sunday Summary caught you up on many of our big projects and plans that we had been working on behind the scenes for the past few months. What we had left out was our learning curve to boat life. Each and every day we learn new skills and lessons on the water. Boat life and full-time cruising is not for the faint hearted. Here are a few things we've experienced in the past month and a half of traveling on the water:

• High winds, up to 35 knots.

• 7-8' tidal changes and the affects it has on our boat.

• Dragging anchor (more than once).

• Navigating the waterways of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).

• Running aground, which we've been told is a true sign that you're a captain of the ICW.

• Engine maintenance and problem solving the various issues we've had.

• Fixing our dinghy engine on repeat. It's a propane engine and constantly leaks.

• Fixing toilet issues; not a fun task.

• Our steering wheel falling off as we're cruising and navigating; thankfully we have two helm stations.

I'm sure that we are forgetting things, but we hope this gives you a taste of some of the many lessons we've had the opportunity to experience. Our big goal for this trip, besides completing the Great Loop, is to film daily videos! Our videos are combining the lessons and unique boat experiences with some of the highlights to boat life including dolphin sightings, meeting new friends, and the serenity of being on the water. We have a lot of stories to share with you in videos to come!

“Do not dare not to dare.” - C.S. Lewis

Vlogs.

Unfortunately we don't have a new video released this week. Juggling filming our trip, learning everything that comes with a big journey like the one we're on, research and preparation for each leg of the cruise, the actual cruising and navigating to new destinations, daily chores that are just a little bit more tough on a boat, and everything else has been challenging, but we're beginning to get into a groove and hope to release videos this week.

If you haven’t already, we would love for you to subscribe to our channel or share our videos with your friends and family to spread the love.

Last Week.

In the past week we left Carolina Beach and headed north to Beaufort, NC where we spent two days enjoying the Rachel Carson Reserve and walking the cute town located on the water. Following Beaufort, we continued north and made our way to a free dock in Oriental, NC. Oriental is known for being the sailing capital of North Carolina and for being a place where people come visit but stay a lifetime. It was such a cute town and really showed us the power of individual community members as they built a town worth loving over the years. From a man who raised $27.99 to purchase land in the 1800's for a waterfront park to the owners of the local business today who developed a coffee shop, brewery, and marine shops. Oriental was definitely a highlight of our trip thus far.

The most "exciting" thing that happened in the past week was helping two 18 year old boys who decided to kayak across the Neuse River. The conditions were not ideal for kayaking as there were white caps on the waves and was producing an enormous spray onto our boat and creating a wild ride for us. As the sun was setting, Elliot asked what that was in the water ahead of us. I (Jen) reached for the binoculars to find that two boys were on kayaks. The current was strong and we could easily tell one of the boys was tired, and they still had 1/3 of the river to cross. We cruised over to one of the boys who was signaling for help. He had told us that his friend flipped his kayak in the middle of the river and was in need of help. We navigated over to the other boy and helped him onto our boat, tied his kayak onto our boat, and made our way to the docks with the other boy closely behind us. Thankfully both boys made it back safely without any harm. It was our first experience helping boaters at need and was yet another lesson of respecting the power of mother nature.

This Week.

We are very excited to explore The Dismal Swamp as we cruise from North Carolina to Virginia. We have heard a lot of great things about the Dismal Swamp and are excited to check it out for ourselves. Once we get into Virginia, we are thrilled to be in the Chesapeake Bay and plan to really explore this area with a slower pace and more detail than we have thus far on our trip.If you have any recommendations for us, please email us at [email protected].

Graditudes.

We’re so grateful for this past year together. To say this past year of travel has been a blessing would be an understatement. It has taught us so much about ourselves, life, and the world we live in. Thank you so much for following our journey, watching our videos, sending us encouraging emails, and watching us grow. We hope you continue to follow our journey around America's Great Loop as we navigate the waterways, learning more about life on the water, and put our problem solving skills to the test. It's going to be another great year and we can't wait to take you along through our videos.

Peace and love,Jenn + Elliot