June 19-23 2014 Ocracoke to Manteo

June 19 2014

I woke up at 5:30am and was startled to read the forecast had changed with prediction of 15-20 knot SW winds and 2-3 foot seas.  Pamlico is shallow sound and 2-3 foot seas can be vary rough.  But the forecast was for the wind to switch to the Northwest which usually heralds thunderstorms.  And we really didn't want to be at anchor in the close confines of Silver Lake when that happens because there would be a good chance of someone's anchor breaking out and dragging across the lake possibly knocking into another boat.   And of course that dragging anchor could be ours!

Securing the wine glasses

So we decided to leave regardless of the change in forecast.  We had everything set when the ferry blew its horn announcing their imminent departure.  So we leaped (staggered?) into action.  I started the engines and came down to take the snubber off.  Then Mary washed down the chain as we hauled it aboard (Hauled might be too strong a term.  Its more like I push a button and the windlass hauls the chain aboard.)  It took a little push by the boat to break the anchor loose it had dug in so deep, but it came up and we followed the ferry out of the lake and into the long channel to Pamlico Sound.

He was running about 2 knots faster then we were but it was high tide and I had the route through the channel pretty much down pat.  Once we entered Pamlico the ferry turned left and we turned right.

Entering Roanoke Sound

It was a rather roller coaster ride since we had following seas.  But they are far more comfortable then beam seas.  There was a military ordnance exclusion zone along our route which means you can't enter the area but I skirted through it on the edge.   A small sailboat went right right through it.

  We finally gained the entrance to Old House Channel which is where the Oregon Inlet joins the channel leading to Roanoke Sound.  After weaving our way through a myriad number of channel markers we entered Roanoke Sound which parallels the barrier island and Roanoke Island.  Very scenic.

We have make a 90 degree turn into the Bay on the left

We came to marker 30A which marks the turn into Shallowbag Bay.  And its aptly named.  The Marina had suggested we call them at this marker.  George, from the Manteo Marina, gave us instructions on how to get in.  Basically follow the channel markers .  The depths ranged from 6-15 feet, mostly in the 6-7 range.  We had no problems but stayed away from the red side per instructions.  And actually there was a large 119 foot yacht on the t-head in front of the marina docks which means his 7 foot draft certainly would have grounded out if the water was as shallow as many have written.

Our large yacht neighbor

We were directed to tie up behind this 119' yacht.  Easy since the wind gently pushed us in towards the dock.  Once were situated we took a quick stroll around.  What a great little town this is.  A hidden gem!

Best ice cream ever

We even found an ice cream store which serves the best I've ever eaten.

Full Moon Cafe with umbrellas 

We ate the The Full Moon Cafe which is a brew pup and cafe located in an old gas station building directly across from the marina.  Neat ambiance.  Food was ok.  No rum though.

After waddling back to the boat and chatting briefly with a few of the locals along the way, we went to bed.  There were thunderstorms all around us but we only got sprinkles.  It was in the 90’s as we were traveling here today and our rear stateroom was still in the high 80’s when we returned from dinner.   The A/C is not working back there yet, so we run the forward A/C hoping to cool the whole boat off.  It struggles with only mild success.  The rear is especially warm because of the residual engine heat.  Slipping up forward where we do have A/C I think is a good choice tonight!

June 20, 2014

Today Ken fixes our fried circuit breaker… I hope.  And we discovered 2 grocery stores about ½ mile up the road. 

One of these wires is bad!

Ken, who runs Yachtdoc_NC came aboard around 10:30 and let me watch as he pulled apart the circuit board and repaired the bridge feed wire.  Easy job.  I was concerned the breaker had fried but he said he’s seen this issue with a bad wire many times before hand wasn't worried.  When we switched over to shore power again everything worked just fine.  Yeah!  Cool air!

It really is clean.  

We washed the boat and most of the Stratglass but we’ll have to re-do a few panels especially up on the fly bridge.   Difficult to see where your going with smudgy and spotted windows up there.

Mary did laundry and after I changed the water maker oil and primary intake filters, went for a walk to the Piggly Wiggly.  But first, I stumbled upon the Food-a-Rama.  Good store.  Pricey but more selection than the Pig which was a block back down the main road.  

When I returned Mary was talking to a small boy who seemed enthralled with out boat so she offered me to take him on a tour.  He showed up with his father and 5 other family members.  So I took them all on a tour.  It was  short since there isn't much to see on our relatively small boat.  But it was fun.  And I had the honor of being in several of their family group photo shots.  They politely excused themselves and than sprinted over to the 119 foot yacht to stand and gawk for half an hour.

Avenue restaurant in the building on the left

After laundry, tours and shopping we, being old and easily tired, went to the Avenue for dinner.  It was actually really good!  And we could look out over the marina and the bay.

Rain showers tomorrow which is perfect because we intend to yank the sun deck and fly bridge carpets out and wash them.  And in the afternoon we decided we'll take the dinghy down and run over to some of the closer barrier islands.  But we’ll see what the weather brings over the next 12 hours.

June 21, 2014

Longest day of the year already?

I removed most of the sundeck paraphernalia and washed out the sundeck, and cleaned the carpet as best I could without removing it.  Although we thought we'd take it out, it's a big job especially trying to move the freezer, which is full to the brim.  So I just vacuumed it off and used our little spot remover machine for the worst parts.  I had to carefully use the hose to wash the flooring down and clean out the accumulated debris.  Lots of parties, and dead bugs etc..

I cleaned out our shower master cabin shower stall too since we had dock water within easy reach.

We did some more window cleaning and I cleaned out the bow storage compartments and took the port side door off to repair the loose hinges.  Then I finally got around to lubing up the bikes again.  They are beginning suffer the consequence of being in salt air.  Rust.

Mary scrubbed down the boat after we took the bikes off.  We tend to get a good dose of grime in the bow from the anchor chain and after a while it takes some doing to remove it.

They really do look almost the same!

I was getting low on rum so decided to ride a bike to the ABC Liquor Store a short distance from the Food-a-Rama.  Connoisseur of Captain Morgan rum that I am, I went and bought the wrong kind!  Instead of the standard and benign version which is a mere 70 proof I went and unknowingly bought the high-test 100 proof.  I should mention I did not have my reading glasses.  Yes, a pitiful defense but the subtle differences in the bottle make it hard to discern which variety your selecting.  Especially without reading glasses.  After having a drink on the boat it took me several minutes to figure out why I was feeling so woozy.  Sheez.  And to make it worse I had to ride back there to buy another bottle of  the right stuff because they weren't open Sunday and we were leaving early Monday morning..  I took my glasses this time. 

Main street running along the bay

Later sitting on the bow we watched a Fleming 55 roll in here and head into a slip.  Impressive!  The couple looked like a couple you'd see in a yachting magazine advertisement complete with wine and cheese in the cockpit.  

June 22 2014

Seems the PDQ 34 that had come in and tied behind us yesterday and that Fleming all left early this morning.  Stiff east breeze was picking up when I got up around 8 so that could be the reason since its usually calmer in the early morning hours.

Small segment of the boardwalk around the bay

Did some reading this morning and then I went to the store while Mary did laundry.  Got the bikes on board and had a nice chat with a lady who was quite interested in the living aboard idea.  She thought it was divine!

Met another group of guys from Hawaii who brought their boat in here earlier and are heading to the Chesapeake to stage it for nest year when they attempt to do the Loop next year.

Looking back at the marina from the park

Mary pretty much slept all afternoon.  I putzed around the boat and walked over to the Roanoke Island Festival Park on a small island opposite from where we’re docked.  They have a replica of a wooden galleon there which I didn't pay to see but it looks impressive.  Guess they even take it our every few weeks.

Pirate ship complete with blaring pirate songs

There a re a few tourist boats that depart the docks here.  And on of them, this pirate ship, takes out groups of small children.  It's hilarious watching them leave the dock most every morning.  The clientele is pretty much all 3-6 year old kids.  They have a howling good time with music and everything.  Even a climatic encounter with another ship out in the bay. 

Another Manteo street 

I laid out the next few days courses and routes.  We are leaving tomorrow morning unless these easterly winds remain strong.  Not much available for anchoring or tying up at Elizabeth City in easterly winds, especially the free docks,  So we’ll see.

June 23, 2014

At 6am the winds were still blowing very strongly out of the east.  They are pinning us to the dock but that’s rather easy to overcome.  The crux of easterly winds this strong is crossing Albemarle Sound and trying to dock in Elizabeth City with that long easterly fetch making the docks very bouncy.  So I decided to just stay put another day.  Besides we like it here.

Replica of a 16th century ship in background

We took a stroll around the city and its very quaint. Shops, restaurants etc.  And I walked around their boardwalk which follows the Bay a short distance.  Turns out its really a short cut to the grocery stores. We'll be back here but mot likely not until next summer or spring.  The water levels drop off with northern winds to a degree that would make access a problem.

I did do a few boat chores too.  Fixed the bow storage cabinet doors with some epoxy putty (the hinges gad torn out).  Also did a temporary tape job on the dinghy back cushions until we can get Nyla in Stuart to make a more permanent repair.

Eagerly awaiting a fine meal

After all that labor we're too tired to cook so we went out to dinner at the Tranquil House Inn.  Very, very good food with  a nice view of the bay.

Going to bed early tonight because we are trying t leave around 7am,  Yeah ,,, J

June 15-18 2014 West Bay and Ocarocke

 June 15, 2014

We were up at 8 waiting for the dock master to show up so we could buy fuel at the astounding low price of $3.59  He finally wandered in at 8:30 and helped us get our lines off so we could exit the slip.  Got out although the wind was strong and I had to use one of the slip pilings to leverage the aft end to get out of the slip without hitting any of the multi-million dollar sport fisherman.  Wouldn't that just be grand.

We moved out of the fareway and over to the fuel dock but had trouble getting the stern into the dock because of the wind.  We had a bow line out and I was using it as a spring but the wind was hard to overcome.  Much better to set a mid-ship center line to use a s spring line then trying to use a bow line. But we eventually got tied up.

Added 88 gallons which calculates out to about 2 miles per gallon.  Not bad for a 26 ton boat. 

Wind Horse

As we were leaving the marina I noticed Wind Horse, Steve Dashew's rather famous world-traveling yacht.  Neat to see something I've about several years ago.

Some of our dock neighbors speeding by us

Headed out into shipping channel and up the ICW.  We were passed by a number of these big Sport Fisherman.  Most slowed down.  The wakes they can throw at speed is enormous!  Made it out into the Neuse River after by-passing several potential anchorages.  Our goal was West Bay which is at the end of the Neuse River and actually in Pamlico Sound.  It’s a large shallow bay but is good shelter from east and southerly winds which we were fighting.  Heading to it we had beam seas, reminiscent of our past ocean jaunt a week ago when we were buffeted about by large beam seas.  But these were mild compared to the ocean.

Getting ready to anchor in West Bay

We arrived around 6pm and heading some previous cruisers warnings about bugs able to drag you off he boat, we anchored ½ mile off shore.  Once the swells calmed down it was wonderful.  Clear skies, bright stars but an annoying array of insect visitors we couldn't quite kill.  Viscous little beasts.  Had a few mosquitoes which were dragonfly –sized.

Sunset in the enormous West Bay

But before the insect battles we watched a few episodes of Boston Legal.  The stateroom was 83 degrees.  Too hot for me but we could only use one window to catch the breezes because one of our screens seems to have floated off somewhere.  Probably out the rear window in some of the strong gusts we had at Shackleford Banks.  Until I make a new temporary screen, it’s a single window for us.  And that means hot.  I had to sleep up in the salon where the cool air was. The bugs seemed to prefer the heat and Mary which was fine with me.

June 16, 2014

Batteries are back to normal keeping 12.5 volts after an overnight with no generator run.  We hoisted the anchor around 9:15 and headed out on smooth seas across Pamlico Sound to Ocracoke.

The sound is huge to the point where you can't see land in any direction.  Yet it's shallow, averaging between 12-22 feet in depth.   With its long fetch, the winds can rally whip the water into an unconformable frenzy.  Thankfully we didn't experience that this time.

Beginning of a long winding channel into Ocracoke

The channel getting into Ocracoke is well marked but shallow and any deviation from the channel will result in a grounding.  The markers are forever changing because of the constantly shifting shoals, but its passable.

The only warnings were to avoid meeting a ferry in the channel.  Good advice!  We, of course, met TWO in the channel and received some punitive rocking but nothing too severe.  Oh well. 

Narrow channel into Silver Lake at Ocracoke

Silver Lake is a small lake-like basin within the island so its well protected although the winds can still blow hard.  There are ferry docks on one end as you enter the lake through a rather narrow channel.  Along the shore are a couple of crumbly marina's and a few eating establishments followed by several condo's and a one or two homes.  Directly across from where we anchored is a crumbling dock and old fish shack.  We were the only power boat in the anchorage out of the 9 boats anchored.

The ferry that beat us in

Tomorrow we plan on leaving at 7am with the first ferry out.  I figured  that following a ferry out the channel would negate any opportunity for another ferry meeting us in the channel!  Logical right?  We'll see given our luck with this sort of thing.

Also we have a long way to go tomorrow and the Sound is supposed to roughen up in the late afternoon and we are anticipating taking the channel that runs between Roanoke Island and the barrier islands with a possible stop at Manteo.

We are the only powerboat in the anchorage 

But now maybe we’ll stay here a few days.  Its well protected and rather interesting.  Reminds me a little of Door County with all the vacationers strolling about or riding in golf carts.  Thursday does looks like a good travel day but Friday brings rain.  Tomorrow its fine in the morning but starts to get rough in the afternoon.  All these decisions…

Main drag in Ocracoke

And … yes, we are now staying until Thursday morning! Decision made!   But, of course with any decision comes consequences and ours happens to be on the our A/C electrical side.  The second, (220) bus circuits are all dead.  Looking at the breakers I found a crumbled wire, basically gone.  I don’t have enough knowledge about how that bus is wired so we'll need to consulate an electrician tomorrow.  Or, if we cant find one here we’ll wait until Elizabeth city.  The 2 of the 3 A/C units are dysfunctional (the forward cabin A/C works off a different circuit)  as is the water heater.  The engines will heat water while running, but for now as long as we’re anchored here, we’ll be in a situation of dwindling hot water supplies.  I mean really.  Is it that critical though?  The sea water is 82 degrees so a warm dunking is still possible.  

I find it interesting that we incur an electrical problem disabling our two main A/C units when the temperatures are forecast to be in the high 90’s and even a hundred.   Fate it seems, is not without a sense of humor.  At at least from  fates point of view.  Meanwhile we sweat and consume water.  Luckily we can still make water!

We met a delightful much younger couple at the (where else) ice cream store.  They are from the Chesapeake area who quit there jobs three years ago and went cruising primarily in the Bahama's.  I guess this cruising bug doesn't entice just us old couples.  They recognized us while watching us lower the dinghy.

June 17 2014

The forecast has changed a bit leaving us with a good window to leave here tomorrow, Wednesday.  And so that’s the current plan.

The electrical problem is a corroded and broken wire on one of two of them main power breakers.  I'm not sure though if the breaker is fried.  And I don't have a replacement 50 amp breaker.  So much for DIY.   On a long shot I called the Anchorage Inn and Marina and Robert, the manager there, went searching for a guy named Jimmy who does electrical work on boats.  This could prove interesting!

They sell ASS t-shirts ...  Albert Styron Store

We had planned on hopping a ferry to Hatteras for a day trip its a free ride!  The only problem is that it lets you off at the tip of the island, several miles from Hatteras, the village.  We have no car and the bicycle idea wasn't considered a wise idea by the locals I talked with about the ferry.   No Hatteras for us this trip.

Our favorite Ocracoke ice cream store

No call back from this guy here on the island so we’ll either get it this electrical issue repaired in Elizabeth City or somewhere up in Portsmouth.  The down side is the temperatures which are supposed to hit the 100’s and we’ll be in the dismal swamp.  Perfect combination.  No A/C in a swamp at a 100 degrees.  There are bugs in swamps so I hear.     They are sort of interesting though with big greenish eyes and this yellowish tinge and delta set wings.   Interesting maybe but I still hate the damn things. 

Rob?  You sold the Krogen for a sailboat?

Wind is blowing pretty good now, but the forecast predicts the Sound being subdued until late afternoon when we should be approaching the Reed Point anchorage which offers protection from southwest winds.

I spent most of the morning doing blog stuff in a glacially slow stolen internet connection.  Mary wasn't feeling well and slept until 1 today.  I took the dinghy in to the island for a long walk and returned to the boat around 4PM.  We waited until about 7:30 before I started the generator and we hauled the dinghy back aboard.

Another view of the main drag in Ocracoke

Engine room check revealed that annoying but small engine oil leak on the port engine.  My latest theory is there is a loose bolt.  So I’m going to check it again tomorrow and see what I find after running for another 70 miles.

Should be a good sleeping night tonight with the wind blowing as it is.  We’ll leave tomorrow with the first ferry around 7am unless the weather forecast changes yet again.

June 18, 2014

It was 84 in our stateroom and since we don’t have an A/C back there I had to sleep in the forward cabin where the A/C does work when the generator is running.  But the cabin does get cool and with all the hatches open it was pleasant.  The rear stateroom sufferers from the engine room bulkhead acting as a big old heat sink spilling its heat into the stateroom.   And it takes about 12 hours for the heat to finally dissipate. The forward stateroom has no such dilemma so when its too suffocating I sleep in there.  Mary on the other hand can sleep in that hot humidity.  

The down side however, is an army feasting bugs.  And I was the main course.  Ugh ...

I  never had so many bug bites before and I don’t know who’s attending the nightly barbecue.  Mosquitoes, Noseeums, deer flies, these little delta wing, piranha flies flies or something.  Not sure how I’m going to handle tonight.  I should note I never met an entomologist I liked.

Thanks for the splash of color , guys

We were attacked sometime last night by mud wielding birds.   Thankfully it was only mud and not the offerings of a flu stricken bird.  They fly around after skewering a tasty fish in the mud banks and I suppose decide its better to remove the mud before eating the fish.  "... Oh look.... wouldn't that dull white old boat look good with splattering of rich gray color"?  The sailboats weren't so lucky, only us.  Maybe I need to erect a tall mast ...

The local mechanic never called so I've discarded that as a viable alternative.  The repair place in Elizabeth City has a busy signal on their phone for most of day.    So I’m thinking that’s not going to happen either.  I’ll just start looking for other alternatives closer to Norfolk I guess.   Although there is a mechanic we dealt with last year in Coinjock who might be able to meet us in Elizabeth City.  Ken, I think is his name and I recall he was a particularly efficient and honest fellow.

I found out that the first ferry leaves at 6:30am.  This is important because we want to follow a ferry out the channel.  Besides the earlier we leave the less bounce we’ll have as the latest forecast has 1-2 foot waves in the morning turning to 2-3 in the late afternoon.  We have 68 miles to go.

Oh, but wait!  Did I mention we’re staying put again today?  Since I was up early the new forecast would be unpleasant in the sense we’d be rocking and rolling pretty good for all 68 miles.  Tomorrow will be better at least during earlier in the day.  Although there is the threat of rain, we should be tucked in a nice big anchorage by then.

So here we sit.  We put the dinghy up and I’m reluctant to manhandle it back down in these strong winds.  Besides, we really have no where to go aside from walking around the island again.  Well, there is ice cream, but really.  How much Ocracoke ice cream can one consume … Mary?

I gathered all my log notes and started putting them in the blog.  Took a break and re-caulked most of the forward hatch which had started leaking.  But one of these days it will have to be removed, and the opening cleaned and re-caulked.  But not today.

Looking out over the anchorage

Running the generator tonight to charge batteries, run the forward cabin A/C and make water.  Was hoping we could do laundry but with that 220 AC buss kaput we’ll just have to wear dirty cloths or …

I finally reached Ken, a mechanic we had dealings with last year at Coinjock. He operates Yacht-Doc.   He did transmission oil samples for us.  Anyway I called him thinking he might operate around the Elizabeth City area.  And he does!  But he also has a shop on Roanoke Island in Manteo near Shallow Bag marina.  Sounds like a funky place.  So he says he can get us fixed Friday morning if we stop there so I think we’ll do just that.

That's the sunset.  We rarely ever see a sunrise

The wind really started blowing hard later in the evening but our anchor held like a champ.  No worries.  The wind was so strong it actually cooled off the rear stateroom.  .

June 9-12, 2014 Shackleford Banks and Beaufort, NC

June 9 2-014

Heading out to sea

We left the anchorage at Wrightsville Beach at 6:09am.  Headed out to the inlet battling the incoming tidal current and finally turned on our initial course.  I had laid out 2 route options.  One to avoid the live fire zone the marines use for practice which extends out about 10 miles from shore and the other, a significantly shorter route running right through the zone.  Shortly before we approached the boundary of the zone I called the range operations office and asked if there were any exercises scheduled.  He checked and said there was nothing scheduled so we could breeze right through. 

Chaos in the salon

Sundeck didn't escape

Liquor bottles all rolled off (but didn't break!)

The forecast had called for 2-3 foot waves.  Normally that is about the maximum we want to endure if the swells are on the beam like they were today.  I didn't see the update forecast until we began bouncing around in some heavier than expected swells.  Turns out NOAA altered the forecast to 2-4 foot swells and then 3 -5 foot swells.  So we ended up enduring 45 miles of beam seas in the 3-5 foot category which would roll us anywhere from 10-30 degrees every few minutes.  It was tiring to be sure just trying to hang on.  And it also moved everything in the cabins around.  The big heavy salon couch actually fell into the stateroom stairs, the table flipped completely over, the grill propane tank had popped out of its holder and the sun deck table was tipped up on its side.  Even the liquor bottles were flying around until we encased them in a plastic basket. 

The first wave of Sport fisherman returning

Pretty miserable.  But at last we turned into the inlet only to miss the turn into the anchorage because of the plethora of sport fisherman charter boats flying back to port in mass.  So after swinging 180 degrees to back track we ended up enduring at least another 20 big sport fisherman coming at us at high rates of speed.  And of course they throw huge wakes when running at those speeds so it was like being back out in the ocean again with those 5 foot swells.

Finally in calm waters!

We finally turn into the anchorage at Shackleford Banks.  The entry is a little tricky because you have to wind your way through the shallows.  But we made it fine and once in the lee of the island it was relatively calm.  We took a few minuets to find a decent place to anchor since the charts would indicate 14 feet of depth when our sounder was showing 6.  No matter.  We found a nice deep area and set out our anchor and chain and are firmly ensconced  about 150yds off the beach.  No other cursing boats around. 

So after spending a few hours cleaning up everything and making a few minor repairs we sat out on the bow and watched the sunset with a drink.    Then Mary fired up the satellite TV and I hit the internet.  Fine evening!

We went to bed around 10:30 just as the stateroom was cooling off.  It gets rather warm back there after several hours of running and I haven’t discovered a decent solution for added ventilation yet.

Tomorrow we take the dinghy down and run into Beaufort where we had mail sent to the Post Office as general delivery.  Its about 5 miles from the dinghy dock.  Could be a nice walk. 

June 10, 2014

Woke up around 6am when the boat movement changed.  Sheez, am I getting that sensitized to this old tub?  The breeze coming through all the open windows was noticeably cooler and since there was rain in the forecast I rolled myself out of bed and looked out towards the southwest.  Sure enough rumbling thunder, lightening and low dark clouds heralding rain.  And lots of it.  I quickly started shutting all the windows and hatches but had to jump out on the fore deck to retrieve one of our deck chairs just as the downpour hit. 

Couldn't see a thing at first, the rain was so intense with the wind.  But, it looked like we were dragging so I checked all three depth sounders and they confirmed my suspicion since the readings were zero!   I stared up the engines and Mary staggered up to the bridge while I ran out and brought up the anchor and removed the snubber.  The wind though was twirling us around like a ballerina making it impossible to point so Mary would know which way to move the boat.  We just kept the engines running and tried to take as much strain off the anchor as we could.  I stayed out on the bow watching the anchor chain and when it let up for a brief moment would point so Mary could try and see which way to steer.  After about 10 minutes the wind finally settled down and the driving rain let up into just a moderate downpour.  We learned later that storm was packing 33 knot winds which is around 40+ mph. 

As things settled down further we played out some more chain and the anchor seemed to catch again so the heart stopping experience was over this time.

We were fortunate.  But there is some humor to it … 2 old naked people running around the decks of a boat in a torrential rainstorm while its anchor is dragging.  Luckily I doubt anyone was on shore at the time.

Mary went to bed again (remember it was only about 7am).  And after a few hours we decided to take the dinghy down since the sun had come out and the solar panels were charging the batteries.  The dinghy davit (crane) takes about 20 amps when lifting the dinghy and it all comes through the inverter which is supplied by the house bank of 12 volt batteries.  So we try and use the crane during high sun (around noon) which lets the solar panels keep up the batteries.  Marvelous things, solar panels.  

Low tide!

Once the dinghy was down we took a short ride and headed to the beach for a little walk.  We were both to exhausted to do much else so we headed back to the boat for dinner and TV.

June 11, 2014

Loaded for the beach including the ill-fated beach umbrella

Again we slept until almost 9;30!!  After breakfast and rummaging around we finally decided to take the dinghy the 4 miles into Beaufort to buy a beach umbrella.  Our beloved Canadian beach umbrella, purchased with Kathy at Severn in Canada, pretty much blew away.  Mary and I left to take a walk and I just happen to turn back and noticed a gaily colored red and white object sailing towards the sand bar behind our boat.  We got back to the dinghy but lost sight of it. A futile search ensued.  Hence the decision to buy another (non-Canadian beach umbrella with air vent holes at the top and sturdy aluminum pole with tilt!  The Cadillac of beach umbrellas. 

We returned to the boat and promptly packed up for a beach day again.  Got to the beach at low tide and I got the beach umbrella stuck in the sand and the canopy part deployed.  Took a few steps back to gaze at our newest purchase and Wham!  The damn thing took off over my head into the water.

The new Beach umbrella.  

Ok, flawed set up I’m thinking.  So we moved up around the high water line (it was low tide) and deployed the umbrella again with great success.  Wonderful shade!

Walked along the beach again but before we did that we had to sit there as the horses paraded right in front of us.  I swear they snorted when I got up but didn’t offer anything like an apple.  Ingrates!

We took a walk out to the point and since it was low tide we could walk on the sand bars.  I almost stepped on a ray .. two steps in front of me and the sand exploded and out shot this annoyed ray.  Cool!  And we saw many, many crabs which are surprisingly swift little swimmers.

They just walk where they please

Eventually we returned to our chairs and the fabulous beach umbrella, read a while and then headed back to the boat for drinks on the bow and dinner.  Yum!!  Thank goodness for the grill.  And my superb grilling abilities (the unfortunate Turkey incident not-with-standing) which have laid dormant for the last 10 years. 

We have taken to showering on the swim platform the last few nights since it doesn't lend additional soapy crud to the shower in our stateroom.  Besides its warm and after a quick dunk in the 80 degree salt water we use the transom shower to rinse off, soap up and rinse off again. 

Wonderful.

Ran the generator for several hours to cool the boat off with the A/C units and charge up the batteries and heat up water. 

Tomorrow we get mail!

June 12, 2014

There were rain showers and thunderstorms passing through the area during the night so I was up on and off most of the night.  Finally, around 5:30am things settles down or I juts fell asleep and didn't notice.  But in any event I woke up at 9:18am.  Yikes!\

Mad Mary a full pot of coffee since the started the generator to top up the batteries it being a cloudy day which nullifies the solar panel effectiveness.  We made reservations at Waterside Marina in Norfolk and at the Capital Yacht Club in DC for august.  We called the Post Office here in Beaufort and they confirmed our Mail from St. Brenden Isle, our mail forwarding service, had arrived. So since there was still rain in the forecast, I left Mary on board and took the dinghy into Beaufort.

They have a public free dock for dinghies which isn't much more than a planked walkway adjoining a pretty white gate on shore.  But there was room for me so I tied up and walked the 2 blocks to the city marina inquiring about cab service.  The Post Office is about 3 miles away and I was planning on walking up there but wanted to have a cab service available in case I did some grocery shopping at the Food Lion which is right next door to the post office.  The marina guy asked what slip I was in and I replied we were anchored out at Shackleford Banks.  He mumbled something and tossed me some car keys saying take the car but put in $10 worth of gas.  Who am I to refuse such an offer!

The car was a classic, Buick Roadmaster clunker.  Only 2 windows worked and the A/C didn’t but the fan blasted air without let up even after I turned it off.  But it ran fine.  My kinda of car.

I stopped at the post office and got the mail then headed over to the Food Lion and bought club soda, Pepsi and a few other things.  Then stopped at ABC Liquor store down the road for rum.  And then, a final stop at the Piggly Wiggly for .. well I forget what I bought there but it wasn't much. 

Headed back to the city after filling the car with $10.07 worth of gas.  I had to sort of illegally park in front of the pretty white gate fronting the public dinghy dock to off load all the stuff I bought.  The dinghy was piled high!

Took the car back but couldn't find any place to park except 3 blocks up on Front street. Returned the keys and walked back to the dinghy.  And it was still there, the large stack of groceries undisturbed.  Started up the dinghy and headed back out to the island again.  In total the excursion only took two hours which is how long I envisioned the walk to the Post Office would have been.

The only down side was the lack of Mary’s prescriptions which didn't arrive yet.  So tomorrow I may very well be walking to the Post Office!

They just wander where they want

After putting everything away we loitered around a bit and then headed back to the beach.  Talked with a nice couple there who have a condo in Morehead City.  They live in the Chesapeake but keep there boat here and make periodic visits to go boating.  They told us where to find a beach umbrella stake sheath, basically a PVC pole with a pointed tip in which you insert the beach umbrella pole so it doesn't fall over.  And of course I immediately forgot the store they mentioned but at least I know there is such a thing.

We walked up the beach and back but as we were returning I noticed our little beach spot was nearly under water.  The tide had risen far faster than I thought.  So we had a soaked book and damp carry bag.  Came back to the boat, had a few drinks on the bow, ate dinner and I showered on the swim platform while Mary did laundry and dishes.  We had to forgo the Boston Legal episodes cause it got too late.  Maybe tomorrow. 

We’re really rocking tonight from the wind and current.  No thunderstorms just rain in the vicinity.  We will have to leave here by Saturday though since the winds are forecast to move out of the northwest and this wont be a very comfy spot to stay.  If Mary’s prescriptions aren't at the Post Office tomorrow we’ll have to stay somewhere and rent a car to drive back here to fetch them. 

June 13, 2014

Anchored in a calm period before the winds picked up

Overnight we really bounced around until the tide started going out and things calmed down although the wind was blowing very hard.  But our venerable old 66 lb.  Bruce and chain stuck fast and we didn't drift at all.

The forecast though is calling for northwest winds tonight so we have to leave.  I investigated a number of marinas here and ended up choosing the Morehead City Yacht Basin which is cheap, close and relatively easy to to access.  The currents around here can run as fast as 4 knots which makes docking a boat almost impossible without banging into something.  But in the basin there is only about 1 knot at its peak.

Only problem with though is they cant take us until late afternoon when they have completed fueling and shuffling boats here for the big  Rockfish tournament.  But that's still ok.  Its sunny and aside from the constant rocking we’re snug as a bug.  Probably take the dinghy out to refuel and see the sights if its not too rough in the inlet.

Found a passable open WiFi internet connection this morning here in the anchorage.  It's probably at least 2 miles away.  But with the WiFi booster cranked up all the way we’re getting decent access.  Must be new since it didn't show up the first day we arrived here when I scanned for WiFi.  So I’m uploading several hundred pictures.

In the afternoon we decided to take the dinghy over to the Yacht Basin and check it out.  The dock guy on the phone was rather vague about putting us on a side deck since I was intending on towing the dinghy.  And I wanted to see what they had available.  Lucky we paid a visit.  All they could do for was put us in a slip, C26 among large sport fisherman.  The slip, as usual, has only a 15 foot stub finger pier which means we'll need to back in.  The maneuvering area is a little tight especially with all these big sport fisherman in slips.  But we had little choice since I found out there is a Rockfish Blue Marlin fishing tournament going on right here.  Timing is everything!

We filled the dinghy with gas and heeding the dock masters suggestion about getting in sooner rather than later to avoid the rush, high-tailed it back to the anchorage.  And it was rough.  We both got soaked numerous times from the swells coming in from the inlet.  But we eventually made it back, hauled the dingy aboard and secured it.

Then we started bringing up the anchor.  It was really well set and seemed to balk at being hauled aboard.  But using the mass of the boat we broke it out finally and started heading back to the main shipping channel. 

  It was nearing low tide though so I had to go slow since it’s a little tricky going in and out of here due to the shallows.  We made though and headed into the yacht basin after a few miles.  Before we went through some bridges which lie adjacent to the yacht basin entrance, I saw a large motor yacht heading in to the narrow channel so I knowing they’d be tying them up for awhile I slowed to a crawl figuring they’s have the large yacht secured by the time we arrived.  And so they did. 

Basin is around to the left

We pulled into the basin, and I had to basically parallel park the boat into the slip.  Did fine. And luckily we got in when we did because the winds really began to pickup shortly after we were tied up

Winner is first sportfish 

BTW, the winner of the Rockfish Blue Marlin tournament turned out to be a boat in front of us.  They caught a 754 pound Marlin.  If I can get over to the award ceremony tomorrow I'll try and get  a picture.  Oh yeah.  The 1st place prize is almost $400,000.  Sheez ...

We went to eat at  a place called Floyds 1921 which is a really a good restaurant at 4^th and Bridge streets in an old house.  Mighty fine place if anyone is in the area.  Headed back to the boat stuffed, and went to bed.

I guess it stormed overnight but I never heard a thing!

June 14, 2014

We had reserved the courtesy car for 10am.  I woke up and 8:45.  Rousted Mary out of bed and I went up to sign the car out.  Uh Oh … I left the insurance line blank and the dock guy said sorry, without car insurance we cant let you have the car.  Since we have no car we have no insurance. Foiled again!  But Mary asked Brant to help us out ... we pay almost as much for insurance as for the car rental.

So we took a cab ($6) to the Lowes Food store (not the home improvement place).  Bought numerous things including this LaCroix  water in the pink box for which I've developed an affection when mixed with rum.  Yumm!  I bought the remaining 3 12-packs since its rarely available in out of the way places.

We called the cab again and Brandon, the original cabbie return to take us back to the marina,.  Nice fellow!  We loaded everything on the boat and then I chatted with another boat owner, an older couple who go up and down the east coast.  She was attempting to scrub off the water stains left by the tannin waters of most of the rivers here and I simply clued her in on using Lemon juice which just melts the brown stains away.    Just call me Heloise.

Sweet old boat

There is this 1948 restored 60 foot yacht in here which is just gorgeous. Goes out for cocktail cruises and has been re-powered with jet drives so the captain can park it in this incredibly tiny slip.

Mary was napping so I did some updating on all the navigation stuff, and then took a walk over by the Marlin Tournament party where I was hoping to get a picture of the fish, but alas, it began to rain and they must have postponed the event.

Rockfish Award stage

I did stop at the Ace marine hardware store on the way back and bought a few hitch pins and some other hardware to replace some of the more rusted pieces we have on the swim platform.

Planning on leaving the slip tomorrow around 8 and heading over to the fuel dock to top off the tanks at a money saving $3.59/gal.  Then we’ll head up the ICW and either anchor in Broad Creek on the Neuse River or, if we have enough time, West Bay in Pamlico Sound.  West Bay puts us closer to Ocracoke which is where we plan to anchor for a few days.

Oh, and I did reset the Link 20 so its giving much better info on the battery state now than before.  Annoying thing but simple fix.  Resetting it means taking the fuse out of the blue wire on the port side battery bank (fwd battery box) for a few seconds.

We're ready for a week on the hook now!