On the Bounding Main, day 3 (hump day)

Most of the rains have passed, the sunrise is visible and it quickly turns hot and humid. Water temperature is 78 degrees and the air temperature is. 80 degrees. This is a far cry from my previous trips where morning temperatures were in the 30’s

This being our third day at see we all decided that it was time for a shower. The nice thing about Island Packets is that they come with a large water tank (145 gallons) a great shower in the head (bathroom) and an 11 gallon water heater providing plenty of hot water. So we all took showers - not together. 

For lunch, Drew made fried eggs on bread (the kind where you make a hole in the bread slice, put the bread in a frying pan, out the egg in the hole and fry. Looked good. I decided on a roast beef and lettuce sandwich on pumpernickel bread with an apple for dessert. Atkins wouldn’t approve, but then he’s not on the boat

No wind today...the ocean is unusually smooth...and so we motored 

We’ve calculated that if we maintain an average speed of 5.4 knots we’ll be in the Fort Pierce inlet at 8:30 am on Friday and so that’s our goal. If we stay close to shore we’ll pick up a counter-current that comes off the stream which should give us a little lift. We’ll see

We used so little fuel on Monday that we’re comfortable we won’t run out 

We spent the day napping, relaxing, looking at the sea and just motoring along new kept the staysail up, but mostly for decoration 

At 4:30 pm we crossed into the waters off the coast of Florida!  All we have to do now is cruise down the coast, past St Johns River, past St Augustine, past Cape Canaveral and on into the Fort Pierce inlet. You get a sense of how big Florida is when you realize it will still take a day and a half and Fort Pierce is only half way to Miami!

Bounding main, Day 2

Another nice day, with calmer seas (which means less rolling), warm, sunny, few clouds and a bit hazy. 

Last night we had gone fairly far out in the ocean to get around Frying Pan Shoals which we passed around midnight and then spent the rest of the night and morning aiming towards the vicinity of Charleston, which we passed around noontime. We want to get closer to shore to stay inside of the gulf stream which is flowing north at about 4 knots. We will turn south near Charleston, aiming towards St Augustine where we will turn south East towards Cape Canaveral, again staying close to shore. Fort Pierce is then beyond the cape 

While I was sleeping this morning between 6 and 8 am several dolphins joined us and frolicked araound the boat for a while before taking their leave. I missed them, but did appreciate the long nap

Sure enough, around 10:30 this morning, while we were having brunch (scrambled eggs, cheese, bell peppers cooked exceedingly well by Drew) a small pod of dolphins came to visit, stayed for a few minutes and then left, presumably to find more interesting people or better food (we didn’t feed them)

They came a third time in the afternoon and this time Adam went up to the bow, hung over the anchor, and got great video of a group of 5 dolphins playing around the bow. Sadly this blogging software doesn’t let me include videos so here are some stills I took

We spent the rest of the day motoring down the South Carolina coast and on into Georgia waters. We saw few other boats and actually nothing except the dolphins kept us company this day

The day turned cloudy suggesting showers this evening (as predicted). The predictions are also for decreasing winds which will turn onto our nose by Thursday, more motoring and less sailing may be in our future

In fact the rains held off till about 9pm and happily there was no associated lightening or significant winds. Wrapped up in the cockpit enclosure no one even got wet!

With the experience of my prior trips to Florida, without an enclosure I had brought along a full set of foul weather gear - jackets (3 actually, of different weights and insulation), waterproof pant/bib set, boots, watch cap....all unnecessary as we sat warm and dry as a bug in a rug in the cozy enclosure. Even the heater on which Drew worked so hard to fix for the ocean leg of the voyage has not been needed and in fact an air conditioner would be more useful just now!

I saw no boats during my watch (which makes me worry that they were there but I just didn’t see them, but they didn’t show up on radar either)

On his watch Drew interacted with a large boat that eventually passed astern and then with a Coast Guard cutter towing a vessel that asked Drew to change course to be certain we would not collide. It worked out well

On the bounding main Day 1

We cast off at 8:20 aiming to go out the Beaufort channel around 9:30 to catch a slack tide (ie no water flow). We timed it about right with less than a knot of current and no waves as we went out the channel  

We were in line with about 10 other boats with the same idea

It’s a beautiful day with few clouds, temperatures in the low 70’s and a 18 knot breeze from the north. When we got to the end of the channel we turned right to head south, on a heading to clear the Frying Pan Shoals which sticks way out in the ocean near Cape Fear

We soon raised sails and we were sailing along at 7 knots...delightful!

The wind was behind us so we sailed “wing in wing” with the main out to standard and the Jib out to port there was lots of rolling but we were making great time. 

I had taken two Stugeron pills at 6am and happily felt fine (no seasickness) despite all the rolling. Drew took some pills later in the morning and Adam took some in the late afternoon. No one fed the fish

Judith and Haakon left a few minutes before us but we soon caught up and kept them in sight for the rest of the day. We chatted a few times on the radio, marveling at what a beautiful day it was

We sailed through the day and into the night making great speed (6.6  -  7 knots), only turning on the engine around midnight to charge the batteries. 

The wind started to die overnight and our speed decreased a bit but still made good time, covering over 140 miles in the first day

We decided on 3 hour watches, with me taking 6pm to 9pm, Adam took 9pm to midnight, Drew Midnight to 3am and then repeat with me taking 3am to 6am and so on. Watch will be informal during the day with people taking naps and whoever is awake taking the helm

Waiting to go

Started raining last night and continues intermittently today, predicted to stop by 1pm. Winds are predicted to be strong from the South till after midnight and since we are heading south we won’t leave till Monday morning at first light (around 7am). Adam Jacobs, our third crew, will arrive around  1pm and we’ll discuss such items as food, slewing arrangements, watch schedule and such) we won’t do any fancy cooking off shore...probably nothing more aggressive than soup from a can or maybe some pasta, but more likely peanut butter on bread (if which we have lots). We have lots of fruit that should help as well

Last night we went to dinner at Floyds 1921 with Judith Jacobson and her husband Haakon and another couple we met in the marina. They are a retired couple who spends half the year in Hamburg Germany where they used to work (he as an engineer and she as a physician) and half the year on a 40 foot aluminum boat. They bought the boat in Los Angeles, sailed it through the Panama Canal, then through the Caribbean and on up to Annapolis. They are now going down to Florida where they’ll put the boat away to go back to Germany. Judith and Haakon will go down to Brunswick Georgia and go back to Denmark for the holidays, then come back after New Years and continue sailing south intending to go down to panama, through the canal, then to the Galapagos and down the west coast of South America, around the Capenand then up to Patagonia. They are debating sailing to Antartica (they are Shackelton fans) before heading north again. 

Drew is back in the port lazerrete tidying up the heater installation. The nice thing about the cockpit enclosure is that you can stay out in the cockpit even in the rain. It should also make a big difference off shore keeping the cockpit warm and dry, unlike conditions on my boat where it was impressively cold and wet on the previous trips down to Florida in the fall. 

I packed enough clothes (shirts, socks, underwear) to last the entire trip but decided to do laundry and so now have enough clean cloths for another two weeks! 

As our plans are to arrive in Fort Pierce in about 4 days I shoul be ok

Adam Jacobs, our third crew arrived at 2 pm and we helped (actually mostly watched) Drew finish the repairs in the lazerrete. We then changed the oil in the engine and declared the boat ready to go

We went back to Floyd’s for dinner and then back to the boat for an early start in the morning

I didn’t take any pictures today since the boat didn’t move and Morehead city is far from picturesque

To Morehead city

Drew decided to finally fix an intermittent connection on his autopilot controller and started working on repairs around 4 pm. Of course he had to work in the port lazerrete which meant everything had to be removed and moved into the cockpit. He found several corroded wires which ended up taking 4 hours to replace and so by 8:30 pm we put everything back into the lazerette. The intermittent problem is fixed but Drew is still not happy with the status of the wiring so he’ll work on it some more in Morehead city. 

Dinner ended up being cheese and crackers with a gin and tonic for Drew and some wine for me. Drew had tiramisu for dessert which he had picked up at the cafe when we had lunch and inof course had ice cream.  I’m impressed at how well the refrigerator keeps the ice cream so we’ll have to get more for the offshore leg

We slept in this morning, then a very nice breakfast at the cafe on the grounds of River Dunes ( great omelettes with croissants for Drew and bagel for me)

We cast off at 9:30, out into the Neuse and towards Adams creek which leads us to Morehead city (sister city to Beaufort)

It’s nice and warm (polo shirt weather), with temperatures in the mid to upper 70’s but little wind so we motor on)

Crossing the Neuse was quick (about an hour) and then into Adams Creek which winds its way through wooded areas interrupted every few miles with a few houses til we got close to Morehead city/Beaufort when it changed to all houses with small powerboats outside

We pulled into the marina at 2pm and were greeted by Judith Jacobson and her husband Haakon, a Danish/Norwegian couple that owns an Island Packet like ours who we met at prior Island Packet Rendezvous. They had borrowed the marina car and I joined them on a trip to the supermarket while Drew stayed on the boat to install the repaired boat heater that he had shipped to the marina. We both successfully completed our tasks....the boat will be warm and well stocked for our ocean voyage now planned to begin at first light on Monday morning. Depending on the weather we hope to arrive I Fort Pierce on Thursday 

Off to Oriental

The meal last evening at Spoon River was less than we had hoped for. I could go into detail but I think it’s enough to say that if this is one of the best restaurants in North Carolina it might be best to fast till you get to South Carolina

We cast off at 7:30 and headed out into the Pungo River. 

We had initially planned to go into Oriental,NC but instead decided to make reservations at River Dunes, an elegant marina/resort about an hour closer than Oriental would have been. It’s got a sauna, a steam room, hot tubs and other amenities that make it well worth the stop. They are having an owners meeting this weekend so we will be shut out of the dining room for dinner, but we have plenty of food aboard and will likely eat better than last night!

As we went down the Pungo River the wind picked up. We raised our sails and soon had shut the engine and were making 6.5 knots under sails alone...wonderful. 

Drew optimizing the sails by tightening the leech

We sailed into Pamlico Sound and across to Goose creek all under sail but as we turned into the creek we had to turn the engine back on to maintain speed.  

We were soon into the Neuse River and then into the creek to River Dunes, 

You can see the inlet to River Dunes at the very bottom of the chart

River Dunes is a combination resort, condominium facility and marina. Great services (pool, hot tubs, steam rooms, restaurant, cafe and so forth. The Mariana is clean and first class. Unfortunately they are having a members meeting this weekend and so we won’t be able to use the restaurant, pool, or hot tub but everything else is available. We’ll eat dinner on the boat and probably have a better dinner than we had last night

Meanwhile we walked around and I include photos to give a feel for where we are

Tomorrow we head off to Morehead city (about a 5 hour voyage), where we’ll stay till Monday morning when we head offshore sailing to Fort Pierce Florida. Another friend of Drew’s, an experienced sailor will join us on Sunday and having 3 on board should make the watch schedule, and so the trip, easier

Down the ditch to Belhaven

Awoke early and cast off at 7am. Sun came up soon after and painted a beautiful morning sky

Within minutes we were in the Alligator-Pungo canal and settled in for a 21 mile run. We were part of a flotilla 

With boats in front and behind us stretching out to the horizon on both sides, all heading south. We did pass one barge heading north 

But the 3 hour trip was otherwise uneventful. In another 2 hours we had sailed (actually motored since there was no wind to speak of) to Beljhaben and tied up at the town dock 

After a quick lunch we took a walk around town, met a nice lady who ran the “Welcome Center”.  She explained that Belhaven called itself the birthplace of the ICW. It turns out that the last piece of the ICW - the Alligator-Pungo canal was completed in1928 and a big celebration was held with dignitaries from the armed services, Washington, the News Media and evening Hollywood attended. There were many speeches and it was such a good time that it was repeated for many years on the anniversary of the dedication. It was forgotten after a while but is now being resurrected as Belhaven is refashioning itself as a tourist destination with new restaurants (one of which we’ll try for dinner)  there are several Ned and breakfasts that we saw on our walk around town and one mansion that was recent rebuilt by the townsfolk (all volunteer labor) which is now used for weddings and such. It is on the waterfront and quite elegant 

We invited ourselves in and had a nice tour

We continued our walkabout (the entire walk encompassing most of the town took about 1/2 hour, not counting the stop at the Mansion

The restaurant for tonight’s dinner is “Spoon River artworks and market” and rated one of the best restaurants in all of North Carolina. We’ll see