Bay River

My new dock mate, Roger, expressed an interest in extending our sailing range past South River and spending a night at anchor.  I suggested that we take my boat and go explore Bay River which lies at the mouth of the Neuse and the Pamlico Sound.  It's also the inland ICW route to the Pamilco River.

We departed late Wednesday morning and found a light SW wind on the Neuse.  The AutoHelm 4000 worked well as we made our way slowly down the river, past South River and Broad Creek to Pamlico Sound.  

The forecast had called for a high of 98 with a THI of 104.  The hottest day of the year so far. We consumed a veritable 'boat load' of water to stay hydrated but with the shade of the bimini top and the breeze, it was considerably more comfortable on the river than it had been at the dock.

There's a large shoal just downriver from Broad Creek that extends a mile or more out into the Neuse. Thanks to our chart plotter we were aware of it, passing well to the East.   Either clueless, chartless, or both, another sailboat sat grounded in the middle of the shoal.  The captain had misjudged the eastern edge of the shoal by more than half a mile.

When we made the turn to the North, we had a long downwind leg to the mouth of Bay River.  The wind speed increased as the day wore on so we hauled in the main to keep the impact of accidental jibes to a minimum.  I now understand the value of having a gybe preventer installed. Add that to the list.

For non-sailors, a gybe is when you turn the stern of the boat through the wind rather than the bow. Uncontrolled, it can result in the mainsail boom swinging violently from one side to the other - contacting heads if the boom is low (mine isn't) and possibly damaging the rigging. A gybe preventer either prevents that swing or controls its speed.

As we entered Bay River, the wind was approaching 25 knots and kicking up a chop. We needed to find shelter from the wind for our anchorage. The chart plotter showed us Long Creek on the South side of the river.  We meandered down the narrow creek quite a way before we found a suitable anchorage in the lee of a stand of tall pine trees.

The night was warm but uneventful.  Six Knot Grin's screens kept most of the mosquitoes at bay.  We rose early on Thursday morning and I prepared breakfast of ham and eggs.   

We weighed anchor and motored out to Bay River.  We enjoyed about a half hour beam reach sail on the way out to Pamlico Sound but when we made the turn, we were pinching into the wind.  We furled the genoa but not completely.  When I attempted to bring it in the rest of the way, the furler came apart and the full 160% deployed.  I had previously tied a knot in the furling line to limit the deployment to 120% but now we had a full deployment in a 20-knot wind.  The Genoa sheets were tangled and the furler line was also completely deployed.

I went forward while Roger took the helm.  After untangling the sheets, we took a beam reach out into the Sound with the genoa while I brought the furler line forward and began reloading the furler drum manually - pulling through one turn at a time, as I straddled the bow in the pounding waves. After a couple of false starts (feeding the line in the wrong direction), we got enough line on to be able to get several turns on the sail with the furling line.  From that point, we were able to furl the sail manually, automatically feeding the line onto the furler drum.  

With the foresail secured, we cranked up the engine and began a four hour trip back to Sea Harbour under power, with the wind on our nose. 

When we passed the shoal near Broad Creek, we saw TowBoatUS pulling the sailboat off the shoal.  They had spent the entire night aground in the wind.  Our problem had been minor by comparison.

As we got closer to home, squall lines with lightning began marching down the Oriental side of the river. Luckily, they only extended about a mile or so into the river so we chose to head out and let them pass before heading in.

No sooner had we entered the channel for Pierce Creek than the engine began to sputter.  It coughed and sputtered all the way to the end of A dock then died at the point where I usually drop the engine into neutral and coast into my slip.  No harm - no foul.  It cranked back up to allow me to reverse the engine at the dock.  Home safe and sound.   I'll deal with the dirty fuel issue tomorrow.

Changed the fuel filter and spark plugs the following morning.  The engine running fine.

All Systems Go

Success at last!  Six Knot Grin's engine is once again operating in the normal temperature range.  I installed a new temperature gauge to replace the one that I thought I blew out on the last trip down.  No change.  I tried to trace the ground wire but it disappeared into a bundled wiring harness.  Finally, my brain slipped into gear and I tried running a new ground wire from the panel to the gauges and eureka.

As a test run, I took June up the Neuse.  This was her semi-annual trip to Oriental. It was just the kind of sail that June likes. Gentle breeze, No heeling. The newly installed autopilot control head was working beautifully.  I was able to move forward in the cockpit to join June in a snack and a little libation as we sailed up the river.

All was well until we decided to come about and head back to Sea Harbour. The wind had quietly doubled in speed and we were now pinching into the wind with waves spraying over the bow, dampening June's spirits.  I cranked up the engine and furled the headsail but that didn't make for a much drier ride.  To add to the drama, a large black cloud seemingly appeared out of nowhere and was bearing down on us from upriver.  Luckily the engine performed beautifully.  The engine water temperature never rose above 150 degrees and we managed to win the race back to our slip before the skies opened up.

I was advised by all the old hands that I had screwed up by not going upwind on our first leg, leaving the more comfortable, easier-to-handle downwind leg for the return. Just like drift diving.

Saturday night there was an impromptu potluck dinner at Sea Harbour.  Another wonderful evening with a great bunch of folks.

On Sunday morning we enjoyed a short sail on our new neighbors' boat.  Roger and Mary Brown, live in New Bern and recently leased the slip next to ours.  Roger has put a lot of time and energy into restoring their '77 Catalina 27 which they had transported down from Milwaukee.  It was a pleasant sail and hopefully the beginning of a long-term friendship.

Return to Oriental

Two weeks elapsed after my return from the Caribbean before my first trip back to Oriental, Sea Harbour, and Six Knot Grin.

Because of the unusually cold winter and my Caribbean odyssey, this was only my second trip down since the first of the year.  On my last trip down, a problem had developed with the engine overheating which had not been resolved.  I had also bought new bronze-tinted plexiglass for my two hatch covers and solar-powered vent fans for each as well as a couple new LED salon lights and a new faucet for the galley.  I had my work cut out for me.

Because I was installing vent fans in the center of each hatch, I felt that I could get away with using the thinner and cheaper 1/4" thickness of plexiglass rather than the original 1/2" thickness.  Belatedly, I realized that the 1/2" provides the additional thickness required to countersink the screws.  Rather than abandon the project I installed the new plexiglass with stainless steel pan head screws which gives it a studded look.  A torrential downpour that evening baptized the new hatch covers and proved them leakproof.

The solar vents are set so that one draws in and the other exhausts air.  Not much air movement but enough to get some circulation going when the boat is closed up.

The engine proved to be more of a problem.  I removed the thermostat to allow any remaining engine scale to pass through with the exhaust water and ran the engine at the dock both at idle and under load in gear.

It appeared to be passing water through the engine to the exhaust efficiently.  I hoped the problem was solved but when I tried to turn off the engine the ignition switch failed.  I had to remove the coil wire to stop it.

In the process of replacing the ignition switch with a new one I had onboard, I neglected to turn off the 12-volt power at the battery switch and fried the wires to the engine gauges.  One step forward - two steps back.  Now I have to figure out the problem with the gauges before I can risk taking the boat away from the dock without an operating engine temperature gauge.  A local expert suggests that it may just require the replacement of the ground wire rather than new gauges.  That unfortunately has to top the list for my next trip down.  

On a much brighter note,  our search for a suitable dinghy is over!   Sea Harbour friends, Bob and Robyn Buntin recently bought a dinghy that proved to be too heavy for their liking.  It's built like a RIB, rigid hull inflatable, but it's all fiberglass.  It's very stable and even has a flat 10" wide tread pattern on the bow and gunnels that will support your weight. It has many of the advantages of a RIB without the worries of deflation.

Since stability is more important to us than weight, it's a natural.  We'll tow it behind Six Knot Grin when we plan to overnight and store it in the dinghy rack at Sea Harbour the rest of the time.

Sea Harbour slips are beginning to fill up.  The empty slip on our port side is now occupied by a Catalina 27, owned by a nice couple, our age, Roger and Mary Brown, who live in New Bern.  We spent quite a bit of time getting to know each other and I sailed with them on Sunday.  I introduced them to South River.  I look forward to introducing them to June.

Blog Timeline Modification to Help You Follow the Caribbean Blog

5/25 - Blogs normally display the latest entry first.  That makes viewing our Caribbean journey somewhat awkward after the fact.

To help you follow the journey chronologically, I've reversed the entry dates so it can be displayed in order.

Please ignore the dates posted above the title of each post. They are inaccurate. There should be a better way to do this but you use the work-a-round that gets you what you want.

Hope this helps.

Paul

Opportunity of a Lifetime - Island Hopping in the Caribbean

3/20 - I've been looking for a dinghy so I haunt Craig's List both in Charlotte and Eastern NC as well as Oriental's own TownDock.net.  Early in March I ran across this ad and had to give it a shot. 

I emailed the boat's owner and made my pitch for a crew position.

Richard,
I'm interested in learning more about the proposed trip from Virgin Gorda to St. Lucia.
I saw your ad in the TownDock from Oriental.  I have a 29 Ericson docked at Sea Harbour Yacht Club in Oriental and live outside of Charlotte.
Like you, I'm in my late sixties with time on my hands.  I lived in the Ft. Lauderdale area for 25 years and was a power boater, fisherman, scuba diver.  I took up sailing about 4 years ago when I bought and restored a 19' O'Day Mariner, sold that for a more gunk hole friendly Sanibel 18, then last year bought the Ericson 29 in Oriental.  I'm still learning the ropes and would love to gain the experience of a voyage like you have planned.
If you're still looking for crew, I'd appreciate your consideration and would like to learn more about your plans.

Paul Dale

Well, it turns out that Richard, who now lives in Florida, once was a member of Sea Harbour Yacht Club and that's why he chose to put an ad in TownDock.net.   We exchanged a few emails and a couple of phone calls and I was in.

Lakota is a 2012 Dufour 433 and Richard has it in a charter fleet in Tortola.  He gets to use it 9 weeks a year and the charter company, MarineMax, takes care of the rest.  She's a beautiful boat with 3 cabins and 3 heads, so everyone has their own space.  She has her own water maker, 2 helms and a transom that folds down to a dive platform.

The third member is Rick Floyd from Raleigh, he has a 40' sailboat in Oriental and holds a 100 ton Captain's License.  Richard has over 900 hours on Lakota and more than 20,000 hours as a captain of a sail or powerboat.  This will be a great opportunity to learn.

The plan, weather permitting, is to sail offshore from Tortola to St. Lucia which is nearly 400 miles. That should take perhaps 4 days and nights of sailing.  After enjoying St. Lucia we will island hop our way back up to the BVI.  We depart on April 26th and return May 18th.  Can't wait.

Chomping at the Bit

4/20 - At last, I've reached the final countdown for my departure for Tortola and three weeks aboard Lakota in the Caribbean.  My bag has been packed and repacked several times over the last two weeks.  I guess you could say that I'm really looking forward to this trip. Friday can't come soon enough.

For logistical reasons, I've decided to go with just a carry-on bag and my backpack. I've booked a direct flight from Charlotte to St. Thomas, USVI - only 3 1/2 hours.  That beats changing planes in Miami and San Juan, PR.  The catch is, it's two taxis and a 50 min. Fast Ferry ride from there to Hodges Creek Marina on Tortola.  USAir has only a 69% ontime arrival average for this flight and Friday's weather calls for storms so I'm hoping that I'll get there in time to catch the last ferry from Charlotte Amalie.

I managed to get down to Oriental for only a few days earlier this month. Six Knot Grin had more than her share of condensation below decks.  I spent a whole day just drying her out before tackling the addition of a newly acquired control head for an Autohelm 4000 autopilot.

 She already had the wheel mechanism but the control head was missing when I bought her.  Sea Harbour neighbor, Joe Valinoti, generously donated a working control head (the brain).  After some considerable difficulty involving inline fuses, I finally got it installed and working correctly.  It'll be a welcome addition.

Unfortunately, I left Oriental on a sour note.  After having the foresight to have the impeller replaced and the engine descaled early last month,  I ended up having my engine overheat on the test run for the autopilot.  It was working beautifully, pumping more water from the exhaust than ever before, then a stray hunk of scale must have broken loose and blocked the water flow in the engine.  I placed a personal cell phone call to John Deaton (we're close buddies after 3 tows and a month in his boatyard last year ;-) and had TowBoatUS tow me into Sea Harbour.  That problem has to be addressed when I return.

I bought new bronze plexiglass to replace the hatch covers and two solar fans to install in them. Many things to do when I return.

I also need to apologize to all the members of Sea Harbour Yatch Club for missing the Spring Workday this coming Saturday but I'm sure you'll all understand.

I'll keep ya'll posted as the availability of WiFi permits.

Arrival in Tortola

4/25 - Thanks to USAir's anything-but-on-time arrival, I missed the last fast ferry from Charlotte Amalie to Tortola.  Rather than spend the night in St. Thomas I opted to take Air Sunshine, a 15-minute $150 flight.

I still managed to arrive at the boat ahead of Richard & Rick.

Richard has a long list of things he wants attended to before we head offshore for four days to St. Lucia and since everything here runs on island time, it looks like it will be Monday before we shove off. 

I'll keep you posted. 

Leaving The BVI

4/28 - Departure day arrived and I nearly ruined the trip for everyone.

Lakota was backed into her slip, requiring a generous step to reach the dock.  I stepped off the stern early Monday morning and the next thing I remember I was lying face down on the concrete dock - Richard was asking me if I was OK and offering me a cold compress for my face.

I wandered around in a daze for the next several minutes, trying to recall what had happened.  I obviously misstepped and landed on my face, scraping up my cheek and nose and blacking out for a few seconds.  I don't remember anything about the fall. Luckily, I was not seriously injured and we were still good to go. It could have easily had a different outcome.  I'm grateful that it didn't.

After finally completing all of the maintenance items that Richard wanted to be performed, we cast off and headed for Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda to clear customs and begin our journey.

It would be four days and 4 nights before we were to see land again.

4 Days and Nights I'd Rather Not Repeat

Our route took us 900 miles over 3 weeks

5/2 - I was occupied with feeding the fish for the first 3 days and standing my 4 hour watch every 12 hours.  I stayed above decks 24/7, assuming a horizontal position whenever possible.  The lowside is preferable in strong winds, you don't get dumped onto the deck.  It was impossible to go below and make coffee, so add caffeine withdrawal headaches to the mal de mer and it's a delightful combo.  On day 4, I was beginning to come out of it.

After 4 days pinching into moderate to strong headwinds we were 50 miles downwind and West of St Lucia, making no headway due to winds and the current.  Rather than tack further to the South and prolong an already uncomfortable journey, we opted to change course to Martinique some 75 miles to our North East.

About 5 pm on Friday we arrived in the small seaside town of St Pierre, some 4 hours after the island finally appeared on the horizon.

It was a welcome sight.  Check out our approach on video

Martinique

St Pierre, on the NW coast, had little to offer other than the welcome feel of solid land under our feet.   Unable to find a wireless connection, I paid a restaurant owner to let me use his computer to send June an email telling her our location.

The following morning we motored 2 hours down the coast to the capital city, Fort du France.

On the mend

Video of Fort du France

                            St. Louis Cathedral, in Fort du France, built in 1895

5/3 to 5/6 -  The city is surprisingly large and modern.  It even has a new 2-story shopping mall amidst blocks of small shops.

After clearing customs and exploring the downtown area we motored across the bay to an anchorage in a beautiful little bay named Anse a l'Ane, renowned for its beach and excellent, casual, beachside French restaurants.  We stayed for 2 days.

 

On Monday, we sailed back across the bay to Fort du France and Richard generously treated the crew to dinner at a beautiful modern hotel with views of the bay.

Dominica

We set sail for Dominica on Tuesday morning, passing St. Pierre again as we headed North.

5/6 to 5/8  - As we approached the Dominican capital, Roseau, an insistent boat boy approached our boat and attempted to lead us to one of his mooring balls.  The water right offshore was quite deep but Richard felt more comfortable using our anchor, so we waved him off. 

The anchor held securely in strong winds for more than 5 hours before we turned in for the night.  I awoke around 11 pm because something didn't feel right.  I went up on deck and discovered that we had slipped our anchor, drifted past several moored boats, and were nearly a 1/2 mile offshore.  Rather than attempt to re-anchor in the dark, we decided to motor on up the coast to Portsmouth on Prince Rupert Bay.  We arrived a little after dawn.

Fort Shirley in the background protected Prince Rupert Bay.

            Rick and I explored Fort Shirley, which has been recently restored.  It was quite impressive.

           The three of us took a guided row boat trip up the Indian River with a local named Michael Edison.

 He was very entertaining and showed us the sights as we made our way up the river to a small bar in the bush, where I sampled the local brew - Kubili.

                                        

                      Despite appearances, Capt. Richard didn't need to be carried back to the boat.

             The highlight of the river tour was Jack Sparrow's witch's hut from Pirates of the Caribbean.

Les Saintes

 5/9 to 5/11 - On Friday the 9th, we weighed anchor, departed Portsmouth and Prince Rupert Bay and set sail for Les Saintes

The 30 mile journey was uneventful until unnoticed, our bow line came untied and fell overboard during our entrance into the harbor.  As we tried to maneuver in the anchorage at Terre de Haut, it became entangled in the prop and we were dead in the water.  Luckily we were able to grab a mooring ball and Rick went over the side.   Thanks to Rick and a little help from the winch, we managed to pull it free.

The island of Terre de Haut, or 'Highland' in French, is a busy tourist destination, jammed with motor scooters and interesting shops and restaurants.  We spent three nights here because Richard ran into an old college friend that was working his way South to Guyana on his sailboat. 

Guadeloupe and The Big Blow

5/12 - We left on Monday morning and entered Les Saintes Passage bound for Guadeloupe.  Carrying one reef in the mainsail and a full genoa we were sailing in 25-30 mph winds and rushing headlong toward the Southwestern corner of the island.

We were carrying too much sail but holding our own as we approached what we expected to be the lee of the island and shelter from the wind.  As we rounded the headland we got a major shock.  Rather than sheltering us from the winds, the island collected and magnified it.  We were hit with gusts of 50-60 mph.

Rick fought the wheel to keep Lakota from heading up into the gale-force winds and yelled for us to depower the sails. As Richard and I struggled to furl the genoa, the lid of the BBQ grill flew off and smashed Rick in the head.  Despite the injury, Rick kept Lakota from heading up into the wind and we regained control.  Thankfully he was the one at the helm when the wind struck.  He was the only one with the strength to fight the wind and a head hard enough to withstand the blow from the grill lid.

The winds had ripped the sail free from the top 3 sail slides.  Richard reattached them as best he could but from that point on, we sailed with 2 reefs in the main to lessen the stress on them.  We also reefed the genny every time we approached a valley.  It was incredible how the winds would collect and gain strength coming thru the passes.

We sailed on up the coast to the town of Deshaies at the northern end of Guadeloupe where we spent the night at anchor and cleared customs the next morning, bound for Sainte Maarten.

Montserrat, Nevis and St. Kitts

5/13 - Deshaies, Guadeloupe was far more upscale than we expected.  It was more modern and had several nice restaurants.

We weighed anchor the following morning and began our 50 mile run up past volcano ravaged Montserrat, then the island of Nevis and on to St. Kitts.

Check out the video clip of the passage from Guadeloupe to Nevis

We enjoyed favorable winds as we crossed to Montserrat and I donned my inflatable life vest to show June that I had worn it at least once.

Richard finally had a strike on his worn out spinning rig.  A good sized fish hit the bait but broke the line when Richard tightened the drag.  No fish for dinner.

The top of Montserrat's volcano was shrouded in clouds and as we passed we could see where the lava flows had devastated parts of the south end of the island, including the capital city of Plymouth.

We sailed on to St. Kitts. In Basseterre, near where we achored for evening, we saw the Tropic Tide loading containers in the port.  A few lifetimes ago, I sold Tropical Shipping a couple million dollars worth of refrigerated containers.

Sainte Maarten/St. Martin

5/14 - Our original plan had been to go from St. Kitts to Antigua then Sainte Maarten but we were running out of time so we scratched Antigua off our itinerary and headed directly for Phillipsburg on the Dutch side of Sainte Maarten.

The passage was uneventful except for a couple of minor showers and we made good time.  You can check out a video here.

Both the Dutch and French sides of the island are duty free ports and Phillipsburg is teaming with shops. There are probably more jewelry shops on the main bayside drag than there are in all of North Carolina. When we arrived the merchants were six deep waiting for customers that were few and far between.  That all changed the next morning when the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Allure of the Seas, disgorged its horde.

We spent one evening at anchor in the harbor and had a delicious meal at The Greenhouse on the waterfront.

June and I spent a week on the island back in 1978 compliments of Fruehauf"s President's Club.  I still find it too much commerce and not enough paradise.