Day One - Oriental
We crossed the Neuse at the city of New Bern (birth place of Pepsi Cola) and continued on down to Oriental. It's called the Sailing Capital of NC and claims to be home to more sailboats than residents. The 5 1/2 hour drive got us there about 2 in the afternoon. My new sailing mentor, Joe Parrott and I spent the next couple of hours getting the mast stepped, gear stored, boat launched, car and trailer secured.
It was late afternoon before we were able to get on the river and set sail. We crossed to the southern bank and made it a couple of miles down river before we decided to find a safe bug-free anchorage for the night. I had made framed screens for the companionway as well as the forward hatch. The boat came equipped with small round screens for each of the 6 portholes.
I had purchased a neat LED anchor light from a company in Fiji called Bebi Electronics. It came with 15' of tinned wire and plugged into 12 volt the cigarette lighter outlet in the cabin. It had a built-in photocell, drew very little current and was visible from 360 degrees for 3 miles. It worked great.
We stored all of our gear and food on the starboard quarter-berth. I took the v-berth and Joe settled into the wider port side quarter-berth. It was just short of claustrophobic. Too much gear for this small space.
Joe was out like a light and immediately, a sonorous snore began to rattle the cabin. It took me more than 2 hours to fall asleep but I woke up around 1 a.m. to a deadly silence. Not a sputter or murmur. Just the waves gently lapping against the hull. Joe didn't stir or even seem to breathe.
I lay there for nearly an hour, hoping to hear some sign of life. This wasn't the kind of Memorial Day I had in mind. How was I going to break it to his wife?
Then he stirred! "Thank God." I said out loud. "You're not dead!"
"Wha.. what are you talking about?" he asked grogily.
I told him about his snoring and then my waking to complete silence. We talked for about an hour before falling back to sleep. The next morning Joe claimed that I snored when I fell back to sleep.
By evening, I was tired and growing irritable from lack of sleep so I abandoned the boat to sleep on our 'patio' under the bridge. I put my sleeping bag on top of two long cockpit cushions and covered it with a tarp, tucked in on three sides. It began to rain about 1 a.m. but the tarp did the trick and kept me dry.
About 3 a.m. the winds died and the marsh came alive with hungry mosquitoes that hadn't eaten in 2 days. I held out until a little before dawn before I retreated to the cabin. The boat screens only served to slow down the mosquitoes. It didn't stop them. At first light, I rousted Joe and we cast off for Core Sound.
Then he stirred! "Thank God." I said out loud. "You're not dead!"
"Wha.. what are you talking about?" he asked grogily.
I told him about his snoring and then my waking to complete silence. We talked for about an hour before falling back to sleep. The next morning Joe claimed that I snored when I fell back to sleep.
Day Two - Headwinds
We had anchored about 50 yards off shore and a light wind had kept the mosquitoes at bay all night. We woke to a clear morning and a freshening breeze.
Our plan was to follow the southern shore into Pamlico Sound and head for Ocracoke Island. I had read that the Sound could get very rough in a blow. We made decent headway until we got to the mouth of the river at the tip of Piney Island Bombing Range. Once we rounded the point into the Sound, Ocracoke lay dead into the wind that was growing stronger by the hour.
We furled the jib, cranked up the outboard and tried to sail close hauled toward the tip of Cedar Island, where the ferry terminal is located. Motoring under sail gave us a smoother, drier ride in the increasing chop. Tacking to the port, into the Sound was rough and counter productive so we steered as close to the wind as Guppy would allow us.
As the winds increased, it was time to change plans. We could come around Cedar Island and head south on Core Sound to Beaufort. But that plan wasn't working too well either as we kept getting pushed deeper into the Bay which lies on the west side of Cedar Island. West Bay is surrounded by marsh land and serves as a National Waterfowl Refuge.
By mid afternoon, it was obvious that we needed a different alternative route. That's when Joe noticed a tall concrete bridge hoovering over the marsh that had to be the road out to the ferry terminal. We motored into a small bay toward the bridge and discovered a canal heading that direction. It turned out to be Thorofare Canal leading to Core Sound.
We passed under the bridge and decided to anchor in the protection of the marsh for the evening, because the winds were increasing. The bottom was mud and my danforth anchor wouldn't hold. As we attempted to anchor a second time, the bow swung around the anchor line and the headstay snapped loose from the bow, sending the mast and boom crashing into the cockpit.
No one was hurt but now we were demasted and dragging the anchor. I started the outboard to get us out of the grass and promptly got the anchor line twisted around the prop. I went over the side into the foot deep muck and freed the anchor line. We pulled in the anchor and motored back to the bridge.
There was an unoccupied Marine Corp boat facility of some sort under the bridge, so we tied up there to survey the damage and make repairs. The damage was minimal. Most importantly, the headstay was intact. It had separated from the bow when the tension from the anchor line popped out the clevis pin. The pin that came with the boat didn't have a retaining ring at the end - it was a quick release pin that did just that.
The mast was quickly re-stepped and we surveyed the damage. The companionway hatch was crushed in one small area by the weight of the boom. That was minor and could be repaired with a little fiberglass work back home. The bimini top, which was old, suffered a foot long tear that we patched with duct tape. Other than that, we were embarrassed but good to go. But not until the wind subsided.
We tied up to one of the bridge support columns on the other side and took advantage of the 10' x 20' concrete base as our patio. Joe prepared dinner in the shelter of the cockpit as the winds continued to increase. I spent another near sleepless night listening to the wind howl and Joe snore.
We furled the jib, cranked up the outboard and tried to sail close hauled toward the tip of Cedar Island, where the ferry terminal is located. Motoring under sail gave us a smoother, drier ride in the increasing chop. Tacking to the port, into the Sound was rough and counter productive so we steered as close to the wind as Guppy would allow us.As the winds increased, it was time to change plans. We could come around Cedar Island and head south on Core Sound to Beaufort. But that plan wasn't working too well either as we kept getting pushed deeper into the Bay which lies on the west side of Cedar Island. West Bay is surrounded by marsh land and serves as a National Waterfowl Refuge.
By mid afternoon, it was obvious that we needed a different alternative route. That's when Joe noticed a tall concrete bridge hoovering over the marsh that had to be the road out to the ferry terminal. We motored into a small bay toward the bridge and discovered a canal heading that direction. It turned out to be Thorofare Canal leading to Core Sound.
We passed under the bridge and decided to anchor in the protection of the marsh for the evening, because the winds were increasing. The bottom was mud and my danforth anchor wouldn't hold. As we attempted to anchor a second time, the bow swung around the anchor line and the headstay snapped loose from the bow, sending the mast and boom crashing into the cockpit.
No one was hurt but now we were demasted and dragging the anchor. I started the outboard to get us out of the grass and promptly got the anchor line twisted around the prop. I went over the side into the foot deep muck and freed the anchor line. We pulled in the anchor and motored back to the bridge.
There was an unoccupied Marine Corp boat facility of some sort under the bridge, so we tied up there to survey the damage and make repairs. The damage was minimal. Most importantly, the headstay was intact. It had separated from the bow when the tension from the anchor line popped out the clevis pin. The pin that came with the boat didn't have a retaining ring at the end - it was a quick release pin that did just that.
The mast was quickly re-stepped and we surveyed the damage. The companionway hatch was crushed in one small area by the weight of the boom. That was minor and could be repaired with a little fiberglass work back home. The bimini top, which was old, suffered a foot long tear that we patched with duct tape. Other than that, we were embarrassed but good to go. But not until the wind subsided.
We tied up to one of the bridge support columns on the other side and took advantage of the 10' x 20' concrete base as our patio. Joe prepared dinner in the shelter of the cockpit as the winds continued to increase. I spent another near sleepless night listening to the wind howl and Joe snore.Day Three - More of the Same
By dawn, the winds had reached nearly 50 mph and showed no signs of letting up. (Check out the YouTube video below) We were secure and were left with no choice but to stay put until the winds died. We spent the day listening to the wind howl and enjoying a few beers and a bit of rum and tonic.By evening, I was tired and growing irritable from lack of sleep so I abandoned the boat to sleep on our 'patio' under the bridge. I put my sleeping bag on top of two long cockpit cushions and covered it with a tarp, tucked in on three sides. It began to rain about 1 a.m. but the tarp did the trick and kept me dry.
About 3 a.m. the winds died and the marsh came alive with hungry mosquitoes that hadn't eaten in 2 days. I held out until a little before dawn before I retreated to the cabin. The boat screens only served to slow down the mosquitoes. It didn't stop them. At first light, I rousted Joe and we cast off for Core Sound.
Day 4 - Core Sound and the 6 Knot Grin
Leaving the bridge and the mosquitoes behind, we threaded our way through Thorofare Bay to Core Sound. Destination Beaufort.
Core Sound separates the Cedar Island peninsula from Pine Island and the Cape Lookout National Seashore. It's shallow and requires careful
navigation in a larger sailboat. But with Guppy's shallow draft we were golden.
navigation in a larger sailboat. But with Guppy's shallow draft we were golden.
Up to this point, the wind had not been our friend. Today was a different story. We sailed a swift beam reach down the sound, passing all of the small fishing villages and seaside cottages along the way. The only sound was that of the water rushing past the hull.
On our first sail, I had told Joe that I had read that a displacement hull can't go any faster than its computed hull speed. He laughed and said that it wasn't so. The Sanibel 17 has a published hull speed of 5.3 knots - both of our GPS units indicated that we were hitting speeds of up to 6.3 knots.
Beaufort
Before we knew it, we were at Harker's Island and the reality of Memorial Weekend kicked in. There were boats everywhere! We threaded our way through the boats and shallow channels to Taylor Creek which fronts the town of Beaufort.
For the uninformed, both NC and SC have port towns named Beaufort. In NC the name is pronounced the French way - Boh-fert while in SC they say Byou-fert. However you pronounce the name, both are great little towns.
For the uninformed, both NC and SC have port towns named Beaufort. In NC the name is pronounced the French way - Boh-fert while in SC they say Byou-fert. However you pronounce the name, both are great little towns.
Starving, Joe and I were astonished to find an open slip at a waterfront restaurant called the Spouter Inn. We had been on the water for 4 days and looked like we had just escaped from Devil's Island. But they chose to serve us anyway, even after Joe ordered a combination Pina Colada and a Strawberry Daiquiri called a Miami Vice. After lunch, we visited the Maritime Museum down the street and checked out some nautical shops.
We decided to get a slip at Town Creek Marina for the night and take advantage of their facilities to clean up our act. A hot shower was a good end to a great day on the water.
Day 5 - The Ditch
The following morning, fresh and clean, we followed the channel markers out of the Marina and set out for the InterCoastal Waterway, north to the Neuse River and Oriental.
The ICW/The Ditch/Core Creek/Adams Creek (whatever you choose to call it) is the main artery for fishing trawlers and large pleasure craft traveling North/South through the Outer Banks. It's about 15 miles long and runs from Beaufort to Oriental. The banks are lined with homes and boat yards on the southern end but it thins out as you head north.
We raised the mainsail and took advantage of a light breeze helping the outboard as we motored north. We reached the Neuse in about 3 hours. Not quite ready to call it quits, we sailed up river for a few miles before coming about and heading for Oriental. We were thankful for the bimini top and didn't look forward to pulling the boat out of the water in the mid-afternoon sun.
Because of the heat, it took nearly 2 hours to get Guppy back on the trailer, unstep the mast and get everything secured for the long road trip home. She had taken on water through the pivot bolt again and the bilge pump had gotten a workout. I would have to search for a solution to that problem before the next trip.
Joe and I finally secured the last few items and hit the road. It had been an eventful trip. It hadn't exactly gone the way we planned it but it was fun and an adventure that I'll long remember. Joe is 10 years older than I am so he may have already forgotten it ;
Repair List:
- Fiberglass the dent in the companionway hatch caused by the boom
- Replace the fuel filter in the outboard, adjust the throttle to idle without stalling and fix the gear linkage to keep it from popping out of reverse
- Glue back the starboard rear corner broken off of the forward hatch
- Solve the problem of the leaking centerboard pivot bolt.
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