Monday, June 8
Oriental – Belhaven
Tuesday, June 9
Dock Day – Dowry Creek Marina – Belhaven
We left Mile Hammock with a mix of anticipation and just a little bit of nerves. The Neuse River has a reputation. Fortunately for us, the winds were favorable and the chop was minimal. It got a little rolly for a bit – but all in all, we felt fortunate to catch the Neuse today.
Dowry Creek claims to be a protected marina – and perhaps some of the slips are. Ours was not and the winds were much higher than anticipated/forecasted. Of course, they always kick up right as you need them to lay down.
Docking in high winds always adds an extra layer of excitement (read: stress). You’re watching angles, speed, wind direction, and silently hoping it all comes together the way you pictured it in your head.
It didn’t go perfectly… but it went well enough with the dockhands wrestling Tortuga in against the wind.
It’s a good thing we were looking for a quiet evening because Dowry Creek gave us no choice. The restaurant on-site is closed – and we were miles away from Belhaven – so dinner on the boat it was. A game of fridge clean out resulted in a surprisingly tasty pasta salad – that we would do again intentionally.
The next day, we headed into Belhaven expecting a classic, small waterfront town experience.
What we got instead was… a ghost town.
Everything was closed.
Not “a few places closed”—everything. Thankfully – you can always count a marina for a beverage. We headed over to Belhaven marina and met the cast of characters there. Per usual, friendly and full of stories. We even got a golf cart tour of Belhaven from one of the Belhaven Marina residents (one of the Dowry Creek marina residents drove us in and out of town).
But as it turns out, every town has its one saving grace – not counting marinas.
Enter: the Mexican restaurant.
Not only was it open—it had $1 tacos and $6 margaritas.
And honestly, that might have been the highlight of the entire stop. Cheap tacos, cold drinks, and the kind of low-key, no-frills atmosphere that somehow makes everything better. At $19, it was certainly our cheapest meal of the trip.
Dowry Creek has character. The kind you don’t find in guidebooks. A mix of loopers, long-term liveaboards, and marina regulars, all with stories, opinions, and a willingness to share both.
Full of dollar tacos and stories, we were ready for the next leg of the trip.
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