Carolina Beach

Although the wind continued to blow at a ridiculous level most of the day, we did survive.  None of the boats here at the marina ventured out and we only saw one sailboat and 2 trawlers pass by on the ICW today.  No long lines of snowbirds as has been the case these past few days.

We walked into town this morning for breakfast.  There was a small farmers market happening where we purchased a little fresh produce.  Then we walked out to survey the beach.  Wave action was heavy with supposedly 7 - 10 foot surf.  I guess that might be accurate.

Here's the sun setting tonight in Snow's Cut

This afternoon I did some sewing on a few Project Linus quilts (donated to preemies at the hospital).  Tom rode his new fold-up bike back into town for a few supplies.  A quiet day if you disregard the rocking and rolling of the boat.  The wind has now calmed down a bit but is still about 15-20k.  Tomorrow we head to South Carolina, probably Calabash inside the New River Inlet.  That is, we are heading there IF we can get off the dock.  Right now we are pretty tightly fitted between 2 other boats, the dock, and the wind and waves.  Surely it will be better in the morning.

We left our pleasant little spot in Beaufort and headed on down the ICW early Thursday morning.  It was sunny and warm.  We followed several other boats for miles and miles of pretty marshes and small communities.  Got to the Onslow Beach Bridge and went through it with 8 other boats. All but one headed into Mile Hammock a little distance later, our planned stopping point.  There was one other boat there when we anchored.  By the time the sun set, there were 31 boats anchored.  It was amusing to sit on our deck and watch the action as new boats (grouped because of the bridge openings) joined the "armada".  We have anchored here on several occasions in the past and have never had more than one or two neighbors.  It was truly amazing.

This is actually part of Camp Lejeune and military  helicopters were flying maneuvers over the bay all evening, only taking a break for supper.  Tom took the kayak out for a spin around the region. It was a beautiful, warm evening.  The water was flat.

Mile Hammock Sunset

Eventually everyone got situated, night fell, and we went to bed confident in our anchor and only slightly concerned about our neighbors.  Sometime in the hours before dawn, rain began to fall. Shortly thereafter the wind also joined the party.  I only looked at the wind gauge once and it was blowing 24.8k.  A few boats had lights on.  One had their deck lights on and was already pulling up their anchor.  It seemed prudent that Tom come join me in the salon just in case we needed to hightail it out of there.

About the time he got dressed and reasonably awake, I noticed a small sailboat had collided with our closest neighbor (the one we had had the most concern about when we watched them anchor).  They were struggling to disentangle their bows when I decided a few fenders might be in order on our boat in case they came our way.  Meanwhile, the boat behind them seemed a bit worried because they were both slowly moving in his direction.  Keep in mind here that boats were anchored really close together.  Closer than one would normally consider safe.  But it had been a calm and velvetty night when they anchored.  Who knew?

So before long it occurred to us that we would be leaving sooner rather than later.  We had planned on an 8:30 departure in order to wait a while to see what the weather would do, but instead, because it became evident that we would most likely have an unwillingly encounter with the 2 boats beside us, we left at 7:30, along with 10 other boats.  It was still raining but it was surprisingly warm and the wind had dropped, so not such a bad departure.

And so we continued in our smaller "armada" on down the ICW.  There was much discussion on the radio about getting to bridges on time and one jerk kept suggesting that we (and others) might want to slow down and not "pile up at the bridge with this strong current".  We politely ignored him, although Tom wanted to call him back and let him know we had this new fangled thing called GPS that let us know exactly when we would get to a bridge, (and other things that I won't print) but at any rate we made the bridges perfectly with no pileups.  One bridge tender even radioed a call after all 11 boats had cleared to thank us for "an orderly passage."

And then we were past Wrightsville and thinking about crossing Cape Fear River before stopping.  Dark clouds that had been threatening all afternoon decided it was their time to shine.  Oh, and did they ever put on a show.  Wind, rain, thunder and lightening.  Plus a current that was ripping down the channel.  We were cruising along at 9.2 k with no sail up.  (That's pretty fast for those non-sailors reading this)   Being always the conservative one, I voted for stopping at Carolina Beach rather than crossing the Cape Fear.  We had already heard offshore predictions that this front was going to produce extreme conditions and thought the river would most likely be a lot worse then here. We called several marinas and found one that had a space in a slip.  Tom joked that he'd rather sail across the Cape Fear than try to dock this boat in a slip with 28 k winds.  Since we were approaching the marina rapidly, we actually tried to turn the boat around and go back the way we had come in order to wait for the storm to pass but we could not turn into the wind.  The boat just couldn't deal with it.  The marina called and said they could put us on the fuel dock (much easier than a slip).  Most of the boats we had been traveling with all day had also decided to duck in at Joyner Marina so they were a bit overwhelmed at the time helping boats tie up.  And so we kept going and got into Snow's Cut to wait where there was some little protection from the elements.  This is a man made channel with relatively high banks which blocked the wind a little.  After what seemed like forever, we were able to dock with the help of people on another boat, in addition to the marina staff.  It took four of them to get us pulled into the dock.  Whew!  Where's the clothes drier and hot showers?  We and the boat are wet, wet, wet.

As I write this we are having sustained winds in the 30s, with higher than that predicted for later.  We are thinking about chafing gear for our dock lines and I'm wondering if it's possible to be seasick while tied to a dock.  I am sure that I am happier here than anchoring somewhere but it may not be as non-stressful as I had hoped.  We'll keep you posted.

Second day in Beaufort

I've been told that I've been a little hard on Tom in my documentation of this trip so far. He says it's OK because I didn't have anything better to write about and, besides, he's strong enough to handle the abuse.

But today I have good things to say about him.

First of all, after we went into town to get wifi and do a little shopping, we came back to the boat and Tom replaced our refrigerator water intake filter/screen with a much larger unit. This was a fairly big job in cramped quarters. He even managed it with minimal cursing which to me means it went together fairly much as he planned. And now we won't be having to clean out the filter nearly as often, and when we do, the location of the new apparatus is more easily accessible.

Later as we were relaxing a bit topside, we noticed another boat aground in the very place we had tried unsuccessfully to anchor when we first came into Town Creek. So, into the dinghy went that tired fellow and off he drove to try to rescue the boat. Unfortunately the tide was really low and getting lower and the boat was dug in pretty well. Tom and one other good Samaritan in a dinghy managed to get the bow pointed into deeper water but that was it. They would have to wait until the tide came in around midnight to move further. Several small power boats which could have helped passed right by without offering assistance. What's wrong with that picture? Luckily the grounded boat had a fin keel so they could remain upright rather than on their side while waiting for higher water.

And that was our day today. Tomorrow we head to Mile Hammock down the ICW. We hear it gets very crowded this time of year and so plan to leave early to get a good spot in the anchorage.

Beaufort, NC

Monday night we went to bed early as both of us were really tired. About two hours later I was rudely awakened by a significant change in the wind and wave action and got up to check on the situation. Tom continued to sleep. The wind was howling, waves were slapping, and the boat was sailing around the anchor a bit. I didn't think we were dragging anchor but couldn't go back to sleep without watching for a while. So, wrapped in a blanket, I sat in the salon and watched the lights around us move back and forth - and listened to Tom's snores below. Another boat anchored near us was awake as well with lights on in the cabin. After 30-40 minutes, the rain started and the wind died. Things became much calmer so I was able to crawl back into bed and fall pleasantly asleep with the rain tapping on the deck above me. Tom later said he was awake briefly but thought a barge had passed in the channel!

Tuesday morning was sunny but chilly so we waited til mid-morning to leave. The trip down Adams Creek was uneventful with a light north wind and favorable current. Near Beaufort the wind picked up but too late to sail. We decided to check out the anchorage in Town Creek, with Taylor Creek as Plan B. It was pretty crowded with mostly “permanent” boats and partially submerged vessels apparently left over from Irene. We tried twice unsuccessfully to anchor in one site and then moved further into the creek and tried the only other available site. Here we were happy to get the anchor dug in securely. The tide is larger than we had counted on so it was a good thing we hadn't stayed in the original site unless we had wanted to jump out and scrub the bottom at low tide.

So after lunch, we went into town, ate some ice cream, and bought a quart of oil for the dinghy motor. About an hour after returning to the boat, Tom realized he did not have his wallet. As he had been battling with the dinghy motor for some time (some of you know this as a fairly common activity with our motor), he thought it might have fallen out during this activity. We went back to shore to search at the dinghy dock. I suggested he check at the store first before digging around in the water. Sure enough, they had the wallet and all was well.

We watched a beautiful sunset from the helm seat while enjoying a refreshing beverage, pleased at being in a protected, quiet anchorage with the weather warming a little each day.  We have decided not to go offshore to Charleston as gale force winds and high seas are predicted and one of us doesn't want to tempt the weather gods.  (Can you guess which one?)

halloween

Anchored in Cedar Creek, just off Adams Creek this evening. It was a long, tiresome first day back on the water. After Tom dove on the props to clean off accumulated barnacles (thanks to Bill for loaning his wonderful wet suit), we left Jordan Creek at 10:25, a bit later than we had planned but were able to sail down the Pungo River and across the Pamlico with a steady 15-20 k wind on our beam. Upon entering the Bay River, however, things got a bit more active. The wind was too close to sail and had picked up to a constant 24-25k. Waves were breaking over the bow, crashing up between the hulls and landing in the dinghy (It was up on the davits, not being towed!). Not fun at all. I've never been a fan of the the Bay River. It seems always to be rough and rowdy.

And it was cold. In spite of being bundled up in all our warm clothes, the constant wind eventually got to us and we had to take turns between the helm and warming up inside with hot drinks. The new wind screen sure did help though and we were glad to have it. There were a good number of other boats heading south, most of them without any wind protection. That was us 2 years ago and we were happy not to repeat it.

Once we turned into the Neuse, things settled down some since the wind was now more behind us and the ride was more comfortable. Anchor down at 4:45 with first beer of the day. Cloudy, but no rain all day. It's calm and quiet and we are happy to be settled here with several other boats.

Happy Halloween!

Sweltering

We left Hampton Friday morning at 7:25.  It was already very hot.  There were numerous bridges ahead of us and a busy port to negotiate.  We had a fairly long day planned to get to Coinjock.

Getting through the Norfolk area proved interesting.  Work is being done on an underwater pipe system of some sort.  The entire channel from Hampton Roads to Portsmouth had areas blocked off where they were working on this system.  Some sections restricted the channel so much that if you met an oncoming barge or naval ship, you would have to wait until they passed before transiting yourself.  So we didn't think about the heat too much until we got out of the Norfolk area.

It began to really heat up after about 20 miles.  There was hardly any breeze blowing.  The occasional puff of 3-5 knots felt pretty good when sweat was pouring off of you, but really didn't do much in the scheme of things.  When we got to Great Bridge Lock and had to step out from under the bimini to tie up, the sun was scorching.  We were all dreaming of ways to stay cool.

So what do you do when the weather gods bless you with record setting heat?  Well, if you have air conditioning and enough power to run it, that is one solution. We have in the past, brought our generator out to run the AC while we were underway.  This allowed us to pop into the salon to cool off for a while before heading back out to the helm to watch for whatever might be ahead ready to obstruct our course.   Unfortunately, our air conditioner gave up the struggle with an agonizing mechanical scream Thursday evening.  Add a new compressor to the list of boat projects.

Callie has her own methods for cooling off

Second in line for cooling off are fans.  We have several scattered throughout the boat and they are very helpful if you are standing directly in front of one, or at night if the air flow is directed across your naked body as it tries to cool off enough to fall asleep.  We also have wind scoops that are great little inventions placed over an open hatch to catch any wind and direct it into the cabin where you are trying to sleep.  They work if there is a breeze.

Another way to get some relief from the heat is of course shade.  That's what our bimini is for and we all stayed under it as much as we could, only venturing out to sit in the shade produced when the sail was up or to handle some necessary task like tying up in the lock.  Our other cooling maneuver was to get wet by hosing off with the outside shower.  Wearing wet clothes that are drying in the breeze is quite cool.  So are wet bandannas to mop the face, arms, whatever.  We used this method throughout the hottest part of the day.

When we entered Currituck Sound, miraculously the wind picked up to 15-20 and we pulled out the jib to sail the entire length of the sound.  What a treat.  Not only did we get a break from the south wind directly on the nose, but the breeze also served to keep us dry (as in not sweating buckets).  Our attitudes improved measurably.

But the thing that really kept us going, and in the end was the ultimate heat quencher, was the swimming pool at the end of the trip.  Our marina in Coinjock has a swimming pool.  No sooner had we tied up at the dock and mixed a festive beverage, then we were in the pool dropping our body temperatures considerably.  Oh yes.  Life is good.  At least until we head south again today.

Hampton, VA

We are docked here again, waiting for our friend Diana to join us for the trip down the ICW and home.  Although we had planned one more night on the hook for yesterday, after we left Deltaville with no wind and it already feeling HOT at 7:15 in the morning, we decided to continue on to Hampton where we could plug in the power and turn on the air conditioning, avoiding the heat and bugs most likely to be encountered in an anchorage. 

It was a nice trip in spite of the heat.  Caught a small amberjack on our trolling line which turned out to be the excitement for the afternoon, but turned him loose to grow some more.  We saw numerous dolphins, some swimming along with the boat for short periods.  The bay was fairly calm and the 5 knots of breeze at least kept the sweat dried off of us a little.  As we were coming into Hampton Roads, a convoy of military go-fast-boats came screaming out beside us.  http://www.dailypress.com/media/photo/2011-07/63398863.jpg  They were a friendly lot, waving at me as their huge wakes set our boat rocking and rolling precipitously. 

Docking was an interesting event.  We do not put our boat in slips very often, in fact, almost never.  With a beam of 21.5 feet it really doesn't fit in most slips.  So we take a face dock when we go into marinas, which isn't all that often.  Here, though, they have wide slips which are really designed for 2 monohulls, one tied to one side and one to the other.  They let us take the whole thing since it is not too busy right now.

This was the second time we have backed into these slips.  (We don't really want to talk about that first time.)  There is a current in here that wants to move you away from one side or the other, depending on whether the tide is ebbing or flowing.  Our boat, being taller than many, picks up a lot of wind action as well and the wind, as usual, had picked up a little as we motored into the channel.  So we had talked about how best to approach this procedure after the first time and then again as we were about to dock this time.  We thought we had it figured out.  We thought each of us knew our appointed tasks and were confident that we could accomplish them.

It only took us three tries this time to get the boat close enough to the piling I needed to lasso, and when close enough, it only took me 2 flings of the dock line to get it over the (rather tall) piling.  If Tom hadn't jumped off the boat and burned his feet on the blazing hot cement of the dock (and if I had known that was what he was cursing at instead of thinking it was me) and if we had aimed for the down current piling instead of the up current one, things might have been a little smoother.  Maybe.  Let's just say we could use a bit more practice.  We did get tied up successfully and nothing was damaged.  Tom's feet were much better after soaking in a bucket of cold water.  And after the boat cooled down and we had showers and a beer or two, it was all good.