I'm thinking flamingo for the "Star's" bow...Bobby will never notice.It is rare to see a North Carolinian fishing without being in a boat (I think we saw this same couple here on our way north).
A sunset at Pungo Creek anchorage by Belhaven, NC.
By Thursday morning, 6 Nov, the storm front passed with the wind dropping off enough for us to make a run towards Belhaven. A good portion of the day will be in the Alligator/Pungo River Canal protected from the wind. Some boats are remaining in place another day, so we are only being passed on occasion by powerboats today.
Just past Belhaven, is Pungo Creek, where we enjoy a solitary anchorage, a beautiful sunset, a brilliant half moon, and sparkling stars at nightfall. The 5-day wind finally dies as we set the hook. The following morning is sunny with no wind. Bobby finally gets to use the deck washdown he installed to hose off the muddy chain and anchor as we pull it up. As we head out, so are the boats that spent days holed up in Belhaven. The boat parade is on in full force now, stretched out for miles. As birds fly overhead, I wonder what they make of this migration on the surface of the water. Throughout the day, packs of powerboats pass the many slower sailboats, it is like traveling across country on the freeway.
Now, we glance to our stern at intervals to know if another vessel is gaining on us, and to see how our course is tracking through cross winds/currents. Out of consideration, we slow our speed when a vessel is approaching our stern, in order to assist them in passing quickly. The other (burdened) vessel, especially a high speed powerboat, should call on the VHF radio (as they can read the name on your stern) and slow down to avoid leaving the passed (privileged) vessel in a large wake. Even oncoming vessels should slow to pass each other without creating large confusing wakes. This occurs by the powerboat about half of the time. Even on the ICW, we travel underway as if offshore. Items are stowed and shelf nets are up, so we are prepared for wakes rolling us side-to-side or slamming our bow up and down causing spray to cascade onto the deck. After hours motoring along, Bobby can use a wake-up thrill every now and then. Once we contact the first inconsiderate passing vessel of the day on Channel 16 (which everyone monitors, including the Coast Guard), the others in the area begin calling as they approach slower vessels' sterns. Sailboats do not have a planing hull like a powerboat. Our hulls are displacement hulls with a keel. In addition, sailboat engines do not generate the speed to create a wake that may cause damage to passing vessels, anchored/docked vessels, or erode shorelines. Sailboats do need to be aware of the small amount of wake they create in narrow channels as it can have the effect of a fast powerboat in more open water.
The "Star" makes good time on the long Neuse River crossing, so it is too early to stop at Oriental on the north side or at Adam Creek anchorage on the south. We continue through the Adam Creek Canal encountering an ebb tide (current is against us, slowing us down from over 6 knots to under 5 knots). Out the other end into Core Creek, we decide to spend the night at Jarrett Bay Boatyard in Beaufort, as it is late afternoon and the sun is setting after 5pm. Scary thought, as this last summer we spent almost a month here for repairs. Lucky us, we tie-up in the lift basin at the exact spot on the wall. The large ball fenders put on the wall for us in July are still there! Jenny gets in a run before sunset, using the cockpit shower to rinse sand off her running shoes afterwards. She continues to find multiple uses for equipment (to further justify forcing Bobby to purchase and install them - or so he says)
Faithful Bobby listens to the NOAA weather report every morning and night. We are suppose to have winds 10-15 knots Saturday, 8 Nov. Good thing we leave early today - already the wind is piping up, and it continues throughout the day until it is gusting 25-30 knots late in the afternoon. By then, the boat's port side is smashed up against the dock squeezing the life out of the fenders (we had to flip around from the fuel dock on the ICW to the T-dock next to it, so we can get off the dock tomorrow morning if the SW winds pick up again). After 2 long days underway, we make a half-day run past Morehead City, through the shallow Bogue Sound to Swansboro. Dudley's Marina is a short walk to downtown historic Swansboro which we wander through and offers a courtesy car for grocery shopping which we use to reprovision. Hurricane Paloma is hitting Cuba as a category 4. It sounds as if it is breaking up after crossing Cuba. Bobby dodges another one.
Just past Belhaven, is Pungo Creek, where we enjoy a solitary anchorage, a beautiful sunset, a brilliant half moon, and sparkling stars at nightfall. The 5-day wind finally dies as we set the hook. The following morning is sunny with no wind. Bobby finally gets to use the deck washdown he installed to hose off the muddy chain and anchor as we pull it up. As we head out, so are the boats that spent days holed up in Belhaven. The boat parade is on in full force now, stretched out for miles. As birds fly overhead, I wonder what they make of this migration on the surface of the water. Throughout the day, packs of powerboats pass the many slower sailboats, it is like traveling across country on the freeway.
Now, we glance to our stern at intervals to know if another vessel is gaining on us, and to see how our course is tracking through cross winds/currents. Out of consideration, we slow our speed when a vessel is approaching our stern, in order to assist them in passing quickly. The other (burdened) vessel, especially a high speed powerboat, should call on the VHF radio (as they can read the name on your stern) and slow down to avoid leaving the passed (privileged) vessel in a large wake. Even oncoming vessels should slow to pass each other without creating large confusing wakes. This occurs by the powerboat about half of the time. Even on the ICW, we travel underway as if offshore. Items are stowed and shelf nets are up, so we are prepared for wakes rolling us side-to-side or slamming our bow up and down causing spray to cascade onto the deck. After hours motoring along, Bobby can use a wake-up thrill every now and then. Once we contact the first inconsiderate passing vessel of the day on Channel 16 (which everyone monitors, including the Coast Guard), the others in the area begin calling as they approach slower vessels' sterns. Sailboats do not have a planing hull like a powerboat. Our hulls are displacement hulls with a keel. In addition, sailboat engines do not generate the speed to create a wake that may cause damage to passing vessels, anchored/docked vessels, or erode shorelines. Sailboats do need to be aware of the small amount of wake they create in narrow channels as it can have the effect of a fast powerboat in more open water.
The "Star" makes good time on the long Neuse River crossing, so it is too early to stop at Oriental on the north side or at Adam Creek anchorage on the south. We continue through the Adam Creek Canal encountering an ebb tide (current is against us, slowing us down from over 6 knots to under 5 knots). Out the other end into Core Creek, we decide to spend the night at Jarrett Bay Boatyard in Beaufort, as it is late afternoon and the sun is setting after 5pm. Scary thought, as this last summer we spent almost a month here for repairs. Lucky us, we tie-up in the lift basin at the exact spot on the wall. The large ball fenders put on the wall for us in July are still there! Jenny gets in a run before sunset, using the cockpit shower to rinse sand off her running shoes afterwards. She continues to find multiple uses for equipment (to further justify forcing Bobby to purchase and install them - or so he says)
Faithful Bobby listens to the NOAA weather report every morning and night. We are suppose to have winds 10-15 knots Saturday, 8 Nov. Good thing we leave early today - already the wind is piping up, and it continues throughout the day until it is gusting 25-30 knots late in the afternoon. By then, the boat's port side is smashed up against the dock squeezing the life out of the fenders (we had to flip around from the fuel dock on the ICW to the T-dock next to it, so we can get off the dock tomorrow morning if the SW winds pick up again). After 2 long days underway, we make a half-day run past Morehead City, through the shallow Bogue Sound to Swansboro. Dudley's Marina is a short walk to downtown historic Swansboro which we wander through and offers a courtesy car for grocery shopping which we use to reprovision. Hurricane Paloma is hitting Cuba as a category 4. It sounds as if it is breaking up after crossing Cuba. Bobby dodges another one.
Sunrise at Dudley's Marina and the town of Swansboro, NC.
Proof of global warming - giraffes are migrating to North Carolina for the winter.
