I thought I owed it to Guppy to see how we'd fare on our own. Just the two of us dinking around on the Neuse for a few days, exploring creeks and coves. She was now set up nicely for single handing and Joe had given me the confidence to try it on my own.
Day One - Gunkholing
I put in at the ramp in Oriental again. It didn't take much longer solo that it had for two of us. I had become pretty adept at stepping the mast by myself. I had also learned from our last trip that less is better so I left a lot of the 'stuff' at home.
There was a nice breeze coming out of the SE, so I sailed up river for several miles, came about near the ferry crossing at Minnesott Beach and worked my way back down to Adams Creek where I planned to spend the night
There's a nice little cove off Adams Creek, just south of where it meets the Neuse. I dropped the hook and settled back with a cool rum and tonic to enjoy the sunset. It was a quiet, bug free, evening.
It had been a long day, so I turned in early, choosing to try out the larger port side quarterberth. You can't sleep on your back in these quarterberths because there isn't enough vertical clearance for your feet and I only have size 9 feet. The manufacturer addressed this problem by raising the cockpit, the year after Guppy was built. I spent a restless night trying to find a comfortable position.
Day Two - Up the Creek
I awoke at dawn to another beautiful day, fired up my little single burner butane stove and made coffee. It was a such a peaceful anchorage that I was in no hurry to leave. I ate a simple breakfast, checked the weather forecast on the VHF radio and stretched out in the cockpit to read for a while, waiting for a breeze to blow away the morning calm.
Today's plan was to check out the dock on Baird's Creek. I had seen it from the shore side but I wanted to see how long it would take to motor to it from the mouth of the river. The owner had warned me that the entrance to the creek tended to shoal up and a 4' draft was about the most it would accommodate. Guppy wouldn't be a problem but a larger boat might be challenged.
When I reached the Neuse, the wind was building from the same direction as the day before, making my trip up river an pleasurable one. It was about a 20 mile journey to reach the dock on Baird's Creek from the previous night's anchorage.
It was a beautiful morning and the wind was cooperating. I was moving along at a nice clip, listening to music and taking in the scenery. Scattered troups of yellow butterflies were flitting low over the surface of the river working their way to the distant shore.
Comic Relief
I was watching the Minnesott-Havelock ferries pass a half mile ahead of me when suddenly the calm was shattered by the sight of the mast toppling backward toward the cockpit, dragging the sails with it. Deja vu all over again.
I had never replaced that damn quick release clevis pin, in the headstay shackle, like I planned to! All the work I had done to the boat and I had forgotten that one small but obviously important detail.
Thankfully, nothing was damaged but my pride. I corralled the mast, boom and sails and closed the newly repaired companionway hatch that had miraculously escaped further damage. I lowered the outboard, cranked it up and headed slowly for the point on the north shore just below the ferry terminal.
I drove Guppy up onto a sandy beach and began to figure out a plan of action. I couldn't raise that mast by myself with the main and jib attached so the first task was to remove the main sail and then try to furl the jib. I went forward and jumped over the bow rail onto the beach.
Instantly, I was assaulted by dozens of horse flies. There was no escaping them. I beat at them with my hat as I fought to remove the sails. Even though I was trying to hurry, progress was slowed by having to respond to the constant biting. I removed the headstay from the mast, layed it out on the beach and furled the jib, swearing profusely and beating constantly at the flies. I got the boom and the main sail off of the mast and stored them in the cockpit.
Still battling the ravenous horse flies, I reattached the headstay to the top of mast, rigged my control line and quickly stepped the mast - all while flailing away at my tormentors. Visions of Bogart and Hepburn battling swarms of mosquitos in the movie, African Queen ran through my mind.
This time, I wrapped wire around the headstay shackle to keep the quick release pin from coming loose again. I couldn't stand the flies a moment longer so I pushed off the beach and headed out into the the river. At least a dozen airborne hitch hikers tagged along, reluctant to end their feast.
I continued beating at the hungry horse flies with my cap as I re-rigged the main and unfurled jib. I was soon under way again and leaving behind the majority of the swarming carnivores.
Guppy was none the worse for wear and I had given the ferry boat passengers a funny story to tell their friends.
Baird's Creek still lay about 5 miles away and by the time I reached it's entrance, I had managed to kill the last of those blood sucking little bastards that followed me onto the river.
Baird's Creek
The mouth of Baird's Creek is pretty wide but you have to keep to the winding channel on the east side if you don't want to run aground. I followed the creek back about a mile before I found the small ten slip 'marina' that had been built to accommodate the interior lots of Baird's Creek Point. Timing is everything and this developer had missed the mark. Not many of the waterfront lots had sold much less the interior lots. He was anxious to get whatever revenue he could out of the property. It took about 25 minutes motoring to get back out to the river and begin the sail back down toward Oriental.
After the run in with the horse flies, I realized how lucky I had been in the previous night's anchorage on Adam's Creek. I decided to see if my luck would hold for a second night there.
The winds were now pretty much in my face as I made my way slowly down river. I began tacking back and forth across the river, pointing as high into the wind as Guppy would allow. After about an hour, I had gone maybe a half a mile. It seemed that every other tack brought me back to about the same place.
That's what they make auxiliary power for. I cranked up the 4 hp Mercury and pushed through the chop. We weren't setting any speed records but at least we were making headway.
I arrived back at the Adams Creek anchorage at dusk and it took me three tries to get the anchor to hold this time. I temporarily rigged the new LED anchor light from Fiji under the bimini top and used it as a reading light as I settled back with a book and cool rum and tonic. I turned it fairly early again. All the fresh air and excitement had drained me.
Tsunami
I woke up about midnight to the growing sound of waves crashing against the nearby shore. Before my addled brain could begin to process what it was, Guppy began swaying violently. Gear began flying all over the cabin as she swung, laterally, through an arc of what seemed like nearly 180 degrees. As soon as she began to settle, I heard a new round of waves begin to pound the shore and we were lifted on another roller coaster crest and trough.
It was pitch black outside. I couldn't see anything. All I could figure was that a large fishing trawler had been in a big hurry on the ICW. The captain obviously had no regard for the havoc his wake created.
Fearing that my anchor had torn loose and not wanting to experience another tsunami, I weighed anchor and moved further up the creek. Hopefully out of harm's way and not into a waiting horde of insects.
The rest of the night passed fitfully. I never could seem to find a comfortable sleeping position.
Day Three - A New Day is Dawning
The new dawn brought a lightly overcast sky and a freshening breeze. The coffee helped swab the cobwebs from my head. I'd arrived at a decision sometime during the long night. Rather than keep Guppy at a dock here on the Neuse, I was going to take her back home and put her on the market while there was still some good sailing weather left for a new owner to enjoy.
Following a leisurely breakfast, I cranked up the engine and began the trip against the wind back to the ramp in Oriental.
This trip had convinced me that I needed a larger boat. One with a hull design that would allow me to sail to windward rather than motor. A more spacious cabin with a galley and head and a saloon (or is it salon?) that has room for four people to kick back and enjoy a meal or a few drinks. Most importantly, a comfortable berth that afforded you a good night's sleep.
The market for 28' - 30' sailboats with the specs I was looking for was reasonable when compared to power boats. It was time to find Guppy a good home and begin the search for a new boat. And, since I would need June's buy in to spend more money on that larger boat, I would dutifully adhere to the one boat at a time rule.
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