Captains Log 11/18/06

Departure Point / Start Time Beaufort, NC 9AM
Arrival Point / End Time Vinyah Inlet, SC 5 PM
Distance Traveled 175 NM 32hours
Located in Vinyah Bay, SC

We waited for few low-pressure systems to go by before leaving Beaufort, NC. It paid off. We had a pleasant long outside stretch with winds out of the north 10-15 kts. The seas were very flat considering we went outside Cape Fear frying pan shoals. Dolphins kept us company the entire way. I tried fishing but something big bit off half the lure. I left fishing for the next day. Since it was so nice, we decided to abandon our first optional destination, Masonboro Inlet and head around Cape Fear. The evening came very fast. The sunset was behind evening clouds. The evening was a bit chili and we brought some blankets for Crystal and Bella to stay worm in the cockpit behind dodger. Going around Cape Fear made me wary a bit. But the winds were light and I firmly believe things would be fine. Conversation I had with another cruiser in Beafuort was on my mind. He got rescued and towed by the Coast Guard off Cape Fear in the last storm. His anchor and few hundred feet of chain was knocked off the bow, and one of his dock lines fouled the prop. Coast Guard gave them an option to abandon ship but he didnt want to, and they were nice enough to tow him from off Cape Fear all the way to Beafort NC, 60NM. We didn't have the stormy conditions. The winds were astern but were barely noticeable. I tried maintaining 4+ kts of speed so we motored for a bit. Crystal went below at about midnight. We reached Cape fear at 1:30 am the next morning. Nothing really, just a reef with some swell and a bit shallower water. I staid clear of danger rounding the flashing marker. In planning the daytime landfall, I decided to head for Vinyah Inlet. This is a class A inlet with plenty of water and wide channel. If we maintained 5+ kts, we would reach the inlet at about 3PM. Our next option, Charlston SC, was not a good one because it would put our landfall after dark. After rounding Cape Fear, our tack headed up to beam reach which made us pick up some speed and improve the comfort level onboard. The engine was off, and clear starry night kept me amused for a while. Just as I was falling asleep I heard a puff of air and a splash. Dolphins were still with us. This time, fluorescents in the water, made their track look like a comet, as they were flying through the illuminated water. Propeller was also making an amazing track. Dolphins were so close to our lewer side that I almost touched one as he came up for air. The night went by pretty fast in playing with dolphins and keeping an eye on Cape Fear shipping lanes that we were traversing. Pretty soon, the sky to the east got brighter and brighter and all of sudden I didn't need my flashlight or the night-time navigation lights any more. Sun came up and started drying off the dew that made everything wet. The winds started dying down and I had to motor. I made some boiled eggs and Crystal was up by then. We ate breakfast and lounged around on the foredeck in calm seas. Water was clear and occasional dolphin would swim around doing his usual splashing trick. I ran the watermaker and filled up the tanks. Great traveling day. I was so gald we were not in the ICW where I constantly have to wary about how deep the water is. As we approached the Inlet, we noticed a sharp change in clear water to murky river water. That's about the time where dolphins decided to leave us and stay in clear water. The current was running in and we rode the flood all the way in to ICW. That's were we decided to anchor. The weather was supposed to deteriorate rapidly in the next couple of days. I decided to get some rest and spend the next day bunkering up for what was supposed to be gale and storm force winds along the GA and SC coastal waters. I was glad we didn't go all the way to Charlston SC. I was hoping that all those boats heading for FL that left BEaurt with us will be ok. This is supposed to be a very nasty storm.

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Captains Log 11/07/06

Departure Point / Start Time Oriental, NC 10AM
Arrival Point / End Time Beaufort, NC 2 PM
Distance Traveled 22 NM
Currently in Beaufort, NC

Today was an easy traveling day. We are in Beaufort NC. Reminds me of Newport, RI in many ways. We motored the entire way through the canal connecting Pamlico sound and Beaufort NC. We are only few miles from the open ocean. I am sick of motoring the ICW. So we are looking into short offshore legs from now on. On the way into beaufort, we had to pass through a rough section of the Morehead City Channel because the current was flowing out, and the winds were opposing it. The winds lifted to about 25-30knots and the current of 2 knots was flowing into them. This made seas look like they are boiling. I had to bare-off downwind quickly to shut down the wind generator. Then we headed back up into very steep chop. The problematic section was only 2 miles before Beaufort. With current going our way, we were still making about 4 knots motoring into the chop. But with heavy rain and wind for few minutes I couldn't see anything. At times it was a bit scary because the entrance to Beaufort is a very narrow channel with shoaling on both sides. With the rain coming down hard it looked impossible to navigate. But were lucked out. The rain stopped just enough for us to see the way. The depth meter started scaring me a bit with readings in the 9s. With such heavy shop, wind and current, I didn't want to come close to any shoals. Anyway, we made it in and the inside was completely different. Nice calm harbor with just the strong current. The anchorage was packed, even worse then Oriental. But we motored all the way through, saw all the same boats from Oriental, and kept on going into Taylor Creek until we found a spot that looked like it could suit us. There is plenty of water in Taylor Creek. We found a spot next to bunch of private moorings with small wooden day-sailing sloops. The guide recommended setting two anchors but stubborn me decided to drop only one. Why am I so stubborn? I have no idea. I should have taken the advice of the cruising guide. Why did I even buy the damn thing if I don't follow it all the time. Anyway, the evening was horrible with rain and wind blowing in the 20s down Taylor Creek. Nobody got any sleep because of the current. The tide makes the current flow in one direction, for about 6 hours, going from slack, to about 2 knots and then back to slack. Then it shifts 180 degrees and does the same thing. If the current and wind line up and flow in the same direction everything is ok, the anchor line is tight, and all the boats line up in the same direction. You can sleep. But if the wind and current oppose each other, which happens half the time, the boat does some weird things like rotate in circles around the anchor. The anchor shifted completely and we almost ran into a dock. Then we shifted to the other side of the creek and touched one of the small daysailing sloops. We put bumpers so that the boats wouldn't scratch against each other. I was worried of chain getting tangled in the other boats mooring. But it didn't.So the next morning I dug out the other chain and rope from below the cockpit, and took a small 25lbs danforth anchor in an attempt to set a second anchor. I had 100 feet of 3/8BBB chain on 150 feet of nylon rope. This is a definite overkill for a second anchor line but better to be safe then sorry. I tied the chain to the back of the boat and dropped the rest of the chain into the dinghy. I let the current take me down the creek away from the first anchor. After the chain stretched completely from the boat, I dropped the anchor. This aligned the boat along the creek and the two anchors (one off the bow, and one off the stern) now work perfectly together. This is what they call the Bahamian moor. Accept that I didn't tie both chains to the bow. I didn't want the boat rotating at all. I wanted it aligned along the narrow creek. So far it worked perfect, plenty of sleep and time to wonder around town.

Captain’s log 11-05-06

We left Belhaven on the way to Oriental, NC.  The main road to take is the ICW and motor for 8-10 hours.  Looking at the charts, Pamlico river connects to pamlico sound and that connects to the Neuse River which leads to Oriental NC.  So Instead of motoring the ICW, we took advantage of the Northern winds and sailed most of the way to Oriental via Pamlico sound.  We had quite a distance to cover because Pamlico sound has a long shoal which extends west to east.  We had to go east as far as necessary to get around the shoal.  The sound was well marked with buoys.  The day was sunny and a bit chilly.  Autopilot was sailing most of the way.  By the time rounded the far east marker and headed back west to Oriental the mood was great.  I made sandwiches while Crystal and Bella slept most of the day.  There was about an hour section where the rollers were big enough to make Crystal a bit disy.  But that went away pretty fast and as planned we were making our way towards Oriental just in time.  The sun was setting and the full moon was rising as we entered a tricky harbor.  Very narrow entrance with just enough water to make me warried.  But we didn't run aground.  The anchorage was FULL, so we gently anchored on the endge of the shallow water.  After we anchored, a sailboat was passing about 20 feet behind us.  I asked them what their depth sounder was reading and they answered 4 feet!.  So we were literaly on the edge.    The night was pretty rocky as the breakwater was still letting some of the outside swell come in.  In the morning we went around town looking for cellphone connection, WIFI and other supplies.  This town is not very accesible.  We'll meet Rick, another C&C owner form the online forum tonight, and we'll be on our way to Beaufort, NC in the morning. 

Captain’s log 11-01-06

Departure Point / Start Time Little Alligator River NC 8 AM
Arrival Point / End Time Belhaven NC 5:30PM
Distance Traveled / Engine 50 NM
Although we didn’t plan on it, we actually made it all the way to Belhaven. They have an internet café and a town here. We can get water, gas and groceries. Looks like we can sail on our next leg all the way to Oriental, where we’ll meet Rick, another C&C owner from the C&C online forum. This place is wonderful, the anchorage is good, temperature was in the high 70s and evening is in the mid 50s. Feels like we got away from the winter. The smell of pine is so refreshing, it is like our bathroom air freshener at home. I am proud to say what we covered 80 NM and two days without running aground. And we had tree major opportunities to screw up. But we didn’t. Hopefully it stays that way.

Captain’s log 10-31-06

Departure Point / Start Time Midway Marina ICW NC 8:30AM
Arrival Point / End Time Little Alligator River NC 5:30PM
Distance Traveled / Engine 32 NM
The first thing on my mind was the site where we ran around. I was now convinced that Crystal was right, and that we went too far to the left. But the second thing was what if this was the middle of the channel as the chart was showing. We would have to backtrack about a week back to Norfolk and sail around the outside and around Cape Hatteras. The thing is, there are no tides in this section of ICW. So it’s not like you can wait for tide and pass through. Anyhow, we got to the tricky section and stayed in the middle of the channel. The depth meter started reading some 7s and 8s but for the most part we were in 9 and 10-foot deep water. So we made it through the hell section. According to the guide and local knowledge, there were two other hell sections to go through. I was just hoping that we get a day without running aground. That would be nice. So after motoring a while the entrance to Abemarle sound had some shoaling on the red (right) side of the channel). So we staid on the green side, slowed down and made it through. The day was sunny and nice, Abemarle sound had plenty of deep water and I could relax a bit with autopilot steering. At the end of the sound, the entrance to Alligator River presented another challenge. We heard a radio call earlier that day that our Canadian friends were stuck in the Alligator River. So this section was already giving me the creeps. But I was wrong. We staid in the middle, slowed down a bit, and went through it without the problem. But I still feel uncomfortable when the depth meter falls below 8 feet. As soon as I get a 7.9 it’s an all out state of emergency on board. We slow down, sails are rolled in, Crystal is on the charts guiding us to the center of the dotted channel lines, while I am gripping the helm, praying that the water would get deeper, and looking around for markers, triple checking that we are in the channel. I will have nightmares about this for a long while. With hundreds and hundreds of miles to go, things are not going to get any easier. We just have to not travel at night, stay in the channel, and consult local knowledge as best as we can. In South Carolina, tides are present and that will help a great deal. Knowing that water level will rise, at least 2-3 feet make me have hope. After entering Alligator River, we anchored on the west side and with calm evening and night forecasted, we had no trouble and got good rest. Crystal was worried about Bella falling in a getting eaten by the alligators. She said, why do you think they call it Alligator River? I didn’t think there was any Alligators in it, but didn’t want to try. The water was yellow. I took a few buckets to try to clean off the mud from few nights ago. The water in the bucket resembled the color of urine. Terrible.