Position: N 34°56.259 W 076°32.864
We have a lot of news for such a short time so we’ll try to compress it and hope it makes some sort of sense when we’re done. It’s been a real downhill run – long days, short nights, and lots of wind at our backs getting here. No pictures, even on the blog, we’ve been so busy.
We sold the dinghy we made in our basement and bought a 10’ fiberglass Trinka. We’ve been towing it since we left Deltaville and it hasn’t broken once. Not even crossing the Albemarle in 15-20 knots or yesterday on the Neuse at 20-25. We love it. It’s an excellent sail and row, and motors fine. It’s not quite as roomy or stable as the Passagemaker, but it’s really, really tough, and being 1’ 7” shorter, fits better on our davits and on the bow. She’s a sprightly sail, rather like a pixie. So we named her Belle. We should probably be ashamed. Trinka Belle. Sorry.
What follows is a brief rendition of the previous four days. Four days of cold mornings, sometimes beautiful days, and usually chilly evenings. Four days of glorious downwind sailing and high mosquito counts. Let us preface this by saying that the nights/mornings have been cold this week. Hauling the anchor and washing off the chain in 40 degrees F is COLD. We know you feel sorry for us!!! We can feel you empathize. Yes.
Monday 10/20 – we haul anchor at 4:45 am, then feel our way out the channel from Jackson Creek. The channel markers are unlit so Julie goes up onto the bow with a flashlight and illuminates each mark as it comes into range. At the helm, Mark uses these ‘lit’ marks, the chartplotter, and our familiarity with the channel to inch our way out. We ride the tide down the Chesapeake making 7 knots with the wind aft of beam (meaning “behind us but not dead behind”, a.k.a. “on the quarter” – a really fast point of sail for Rachel, for you non-sailors). We enter the Intracoastal Waterway at around lunchtime and finally stop at Great Bridge, VA. It’s been a long day, but we’ve managed to cover quite a lot of distance for us – 60.6 nautical miles!
Tuesday 10/ 21 – we get up at 6:00 am, make coffee, and are ready for the 7:00 am bridge opening. We pass through and head for the next bridge planning to make their 7:30 opening. We get there 5 minutes ahead of time and … DOH! It would seem that we misread the cruising guide!! This bridge is “on restriction” from 6:30 am until 8:30 am. It won’t open until 8:30 am!! This is usually because of morning rush hour traffic and is not uncommon through the length of the ICW.
So we end up having a nice hour long wait, cooling our heels, watching traffic cross the bridge, circling in front of the bridge and relaxing when what we really want is to be hurrying south to warmer climes. After a hot bowl of porridge and a second cup of coffee we finally get through at 8:30. Following a long day of motoring and motor-sailing we drop the hook at Broad Creek, just north of the Albemarle Bay after a more normal daily distance of 43.4 nautical miles.
At dusk, Julie is nearly carried off by mosquitoes. They are large and monstrous and nearly break through the companionway screen. After a long struggle, Mark manages to fight them off, possessively dragging Julie below (“You’ll not have her!”), and seals up the boat for the night. This is followed by several minutes of “Whack!” “Got him!” “NeeEEEeee” “You bastards!” “Whack whack whack” “Take that!” as night falls.
Wednesday, 10/22 – we get up again at 6:00 am and head out before dawn. We get to the Albemarle Sound just as it’s getting light, unfurl the big headsail, and proceed to bounce our way across in 15-20 knot winds and relatively square waves. With the wind still in our favor, we continue our headlong southerly run down the Alligator River.
Question: If you are heading south but upstream, are you heading up or down the river? This, and other equally deep thoughts, are the kind of things we ponder as we pass through these beautiful eastern Carolina waterways.
Following 20 (beautiful, but predictable) miles of motoring on the Alligator - Pungo Canal, we once again have a lovely late afternoon downwind sail on the Pungo River to Belhaven. We make a quick stop at a marina for fuel and water, and drop the anchor at 6:30 pm, a little bit before sunset. A lot of distance travelled, mostly due to the following winds allowing us to make 7 knots or better for much of the day. If memory serves, this is the longest distance we’ve yet travelled on the waterway in a day, a whopping 68.1 nautical miles.
Thursday, 10/23 – After yesterday’s big day, we allow ourselves to sleep in until 6:30 am – what luxury! We haul anchor (brrr!) and head out shortly after 7:00 am, today’s destination the South River to wait out some predicted nasty weather. We have yet another beautiful sail, this time down the Pungo River to the Pamlico River. A short motor down another canal past Hobucken is followed by a truly glorious sail in 20-25 knot following winds out to the Neuse River where we jibe westerly toward Oriental, NC.
On the downside, our headsail furling line gets hung with the sail out and Mark has to go spend some “quality time” way out front out on the bow sprit to free it. Needless to say, taking care of that little issue bubbles up to the top of the short list for the next stop.
The South River is on the southern shore of the Neuse River, a bit east of Oriental. We stopped here on our way back from the Bahamas to wait out a southwest blow, and figure we’ll find protection here from the southeast too.
So here we are, sitting and waiting for the winds to change. It’s supposed to blow a gale on Friday night and Saturday, so we’ll take this time to hide out, recuperate from our long days and short nights, and appreciate our surroundings. It’s supposed to get cold again on Tuesday, so we’re still motivated to make tracks southward.
Slowly getting warmer,
