Last leg

Days are getting shorter and shorter. This time we only have 10 miles to go and there was no rush to go. Mike came in shortly before 7 with croissants and breakfast pastries, and we took our sweet time to have breakfast. Then we went through the locks well in time to catch the 9 o'clock opening of the dreaded "Steel" bridge.

We had a commercial vessel with us, but that did not help, and we had to wait, even past 9 to get the opening. The following bridge was the Gilmerton, which opens on demand and which I have always found very helpful over the years. We passed it also with the commercial vessel in tow and then took off towards Scott's Creek.

By the time we got to Hospital Point, the weather decided to remind us that it still knew how to be nasty. The fog came, the temperature dropped 10 degrees in a hurry and wind started to pick up, when since morning we had had a nice temperature, some sunshine and no wind.

This was not going to deter me, anyway, and we tied up safely around 10:30, without smashing anybody's arm. :-)

Now, it is time to get on with the list of lists . . . but that is another story.

Rain, fog, etc . . .

I was taking it easy this Friday morning, as I knew that I only had 32 miles to go. I saw a trawler, named Talisman, leave around 7:30 and myself I left at 7:45. As soon as I came out of the canal and into the Currituck sound, I found Talisman, going no more than 3 knots and zigzging in the channel, obviously only relying on its depth sounder. As soon as they saw me zip passed them (this is not that often that a sailboat can pass a trawler), they jumped in my wake and stuck in there. Having the benefit of MaxSea, a good radar, an excellent depth sounder and a compass for which I had checked the deviation, it was not all that difficult to stay in the channel even with only 400 yards of visibility.

The fog cleared up as we were entering the North Landing river and I slowed down to time myself with the opening of the North Landing bridge. Talisman called me on the radio and thanked me for leading the way, which I felt was nice of them.

At North Landing, we had great difficulties waking up the bridge tender. Actually, Talisman called the Centerville Turnpike bridge, pretending they were worried with the well being of the North Landing bridge tender. Coincidence or not, the bridge opened within 2 minutes, too late for Talisman to make Centerville in 24 minutes. So we stayed together thru Centerville and then Great Bridge. I tied up on the west side of the waterway between the bridge and the locks while Talisman carried on.

And then, the temperature which had been almost all right during the day, dropped significantly to the point where I was shivering inside the boat with all my cold weather gear on. So, when Stew showed up at dinner time, it did not take him much convincing to agree to go to a restaurant nearby and get some heat.

By the time we came back to the boat, the temperature was improving, and we were able to sleep comfortably.

Hopping along

Today is going to be a very short day as I only plan to go to Coinjock. I left early, around 7:15 to make sure I got there before the wind starts to blow from the South, as the weatherman is predicting.

Shortly after leaving the Alligator River marina, I found myself hard aground in the middle of the waterway, actually right on the magenta line that is supposed to materialise the waterway. No damage and no problem, but I wish I knew an easy way to report that shoaling, as there will be probably some more doing the same.

I arrived at Coinjock before noon, having had rain and drizzles all along. But I don't care. The temperature is now above 50 and I can shed a few layers.

I felt so good that I went for lunch at the Coinjock marina restaurant for crabcakes and chocolate mousse cake.

Tomorrow will be as short as today, since I will only go to Great Bridge and tie up before the locks, waiting for Stew to join me on Saturday morning.

ATTENTION : For those who prefer to read the blog in french click on the link on the left side of this page.

The canal

I left Eastham Creek anchorage around 8 am, in a still bitterly cold weather and no sun. That anchorage is a very quiet and good one in terms of holding, but boy, how lonely can you feel ! Not a single soul around, no light, and not a single boat to be heard . . .

However, it was back into multiple layers, balaclava and gloves and rubber boots and, and ....

Crossing the Pamlico river was not a problem and I found myself soon in that dreadful Pungo River/Alligator River canal. Dreadful for me because of its monotony, the lunar landscape with remains of trees that were never given a chance to grow by the hurricanes, that bridge to nowhere, which again this time deserved that name as I did not see a single vehicle on it as long as it was in sight.

The Teresa Too ( an old morgan 41 out island that has been there for years) is still there. And the canal is still 26 miles long.

Then it was sailing up the Alligator River to the best bridge tender in the whole waterway, the Alligator River bridge. This time again, it opened one minute before I got through and I never had to slow down.

As soon as I passed the bridge, I made a sharp turn to the left and took refuge into the Alligator River marina, which is more a gas station with a dock than a marina, but anyway, it has electricity, which is all I care about as I need it to get warm. The maoeuver to get in cost me another hat, this time my wool hat, and I only have one spare. Time to get home to re-supply in warm accessories...

Northeaster takes its toll

When I woke up this morning (I slept with my balaclava, long johns and sweater with 48 inside the boat), I was not sure whether I should get going. The wind was already blowing at 20 knots and the forecast was for gusts at 30.
Then, what do you know, if you don't try. The worse that could happen would be like last year to return to the Cedar Creek anchorage in the Adams creek, if the Neuse River were to be too much for comfort.
So, I left the anchorage at 8:30 and entered the Neuse River at noon. Within half and hour, the Northeasterly, which was blowing at 25 knots, took my brotherhood hat that was only beginning to look like an old timer. . . .
However, I was surprised to see how well Papy Jovial was taking it. Last year, in similar conditions, I had to rev up the engine to almost 3000 rpm and I was hardly going at 4 knots, slowing down sometimes at 2 when the waves were a little steep and rough. This year, I went at 2500 rpm and I never slowed down to less than 4.8 knots and I was going most of the time at 6. I suppose that the much lighter weight of the boat this year and the lower dodger helped. Probably, the conditions also were less severe than last year.
Anyway, having paid the price (a cherished hat), I reached the Eastham Creek anchorage at 3:30 p.m., with the wind still at 20 knots. The weather man is promising me better conditions tomorrow. We shall see. . . .
I have found the leak on the generator, which is coming from the outlet of the raw water pump (no further detail at this point, I will check more extensively probably in Coinjock), but I also know that the failure on the electric part comes from the rotating part protected by a kind of mesh, which received salt water. Only a technician can tell me what to do.
I also noticed that the wind instrument is beginning to fail. I knew that it was kind of knocked down by the 60 knots storm that we went through in the Chesapeake bay in July and since then, I have seen it almost stop even with more than 5 knots of wind. This time, it stopped in 15 and then restarted. Another thing to check in Portsmouth.
My plan now is to go through the Pungo/Alligator river canal tomorrow and anchor at the northern end. On Thursday I will go to Coinjock and on Friday I will stop at Great Bridge and wait for Stew to help me go through the locks and into my slip in Scotts Creek on Saturday morning. Almost there. . . .

More of the same

I am glad I decided to stay inside. I left Harbour Village marina at 7:00 this morning, with 38 degrees temperature (3 Celsius) , a clear sky and no wind. By ten o'clock, the wind started to come back but still like in a nice spring day, at something like 5 to 10.
I stopped at the new river marina to take fuel at $1.63 per gallon ! At the harbour village marina it was 2.75, and in Wrightsville Beach I saw one fuel dock at 2.91 . Crazy.
Anyway, I carried on with not much excitement until I reached Bogue sound. That is when the wind started to blow real good to gust at 30 knots. I reached the Morehead City anchorage at 4:00 pm with the wind still at 25. Anchored there and got ready for a good steak, some beans and a nice glass of Bordeaux wine. I deserve it, this was a long day at the office . . . .

A small step forward

Finally, by 10:00 am this Sunday, I could not stand to stay idle and waste one day doing nothing.
On top of that, a last minute check on the NOAA weather was showing Northerly wind 15 to 20 knots. Meaning, against the wind and the current, no way I could get to Morehead City before dark.
So, I went under the Wrightsville Beach bridge at 11:00 and made my way to the Harbour Village marina where I tied up at 1:30 pm. Since I have done it before several times, I know that by tomorrow, unless a bridge breaks down, I will be anchored at Morehead City. That will mean Coinjock on Wednesday night. I hope that someone from Norfolk will be able to come and help me to go through the Great Bridge lock and into Portsmouth. If not, I could either wait in Coinjock, or carry on. The weather, as always, will dictate what I do.