Logs and Old Friend

Pamlico 2016    May 6    
Day 3



I awoke, took a bird bath at the new boater restroom facility and grabbed a few pics of the sunrise.

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The Bean continues to be THE meeting place for Oriental. Small but comfortable it is a sailors dream.... coffee, warm and dry easy chairs, battery recharging plugs, and welcoming people interested in you and your stories. Even with everything still soaked from the rains, streets flooded and the skies suggested more of the same, the small coffeehouse filled up with regulars. I slipped in and sat with Keith, the 'guru' of TownDock.com, recollecting the first time we met 5 years ago. He no longer provides his subscription wifi to the boating community, but most everything else seemed about the same. To me that is a good thing.

I was ready to move on. Stored the damp cockpit cover, tidied up and cast off. A brisk broad reach across the Neuse led into Adams Creek and the cut south to Beaufort. Motor sailing, the engine ran well and it was a nice early morning slog with only the occasional log to navigate.

I was in awe of the weather. Clouds continue to thicken and race by. Patches of sun would break through only to disappear in a second. As the cut opened into the Newport River and continued into Gallant Channel to port, I was admittedly happy that another downpour stayed away.

I discovered upon entering the Beaufort waterfront that the folks at the North Carolina Maritime Museum were preparing for their annual Wooden Boat Show. While talking with volunteers I ran into my old friend designer John Marples who had come down from Maine with his wife Robin to represent Wooden Boat Magazine. He came aboard Annie and we talked about everything and everybody. I was also fortunate to have a 'pre-game' behind-the-scenes tour with Paul Fontenoy, curator of Maritime History. It was nice to exchange curatorial small talk with someone who shared many of my own experiences.

After leaving Beaufort in the late afternoon, 'we' continued east toward Harkers Island, anchoring behind a grove of trees lining the shore. Drying out the cockpit cover I supped on Mountain House beef stroganoff. It was nice to again be alone with my boat.

23 kt miles, 4.1 average, 7.1 max

Dark and Wet

Pamlico 2016    May 5     
Day 2

 

Up at sunrise, I turned Annie south. Once we cleared Jones Bay and entered Pamlico Sound the wind picked up from the NE and the waves steadily grew. The clouds were low and dark and I got a bit apprehensive. Tacking downwind oriented better with the chop than running. The waves were 2 -3 ft in close intervals. Mid morning the wind clocked around to the east and carried us to Oriental on the Neuse River.

 

 

The Oriental harbor was protected and I rounded up on the city dock in front of the Bean Coffee House. The weather report was knarly, and even though it was early, I decided to lay up for the night. Put up the cockpit tent, worked on composition sketches and sat out a 3 hour downpour. Dinner at the local dockside grill with a Canadian sailor and a nice, quiet, chopless sleep.

30.6 k miles, 7.3 kt max speed over bottom, 4.9 average, 6.5 hr moving time.

 

 

 

 

  

Watch Out Above

Pamlico 2016    May 4     
Day 1 

I arrived at Ben's house on Put-in Creek where it flows into the East River. It had been raining hard for two days but the forecast claimed a respite for the next few. It was 0700 when I arrived, all quiet. My plan was to grab Annie and be on my way without a bother. As I started backing in the truck sank. It was like quicksand. It was a problem.

Ben's tenant came out first from his apartment above the wood shop. We tried boards and bricks and pushing and nothing helped. And the truck was 10 feet from Annie.

Ben appeared and said he would fetch his tractor next door. Rain fell without any regard. The truck was bridled with chain and drug out. Then Annie... tongue chained high. Finally we got rehitched and washed off a bit and were saying goodbye as I drove out an hour later than expected. The rain kept falling.

There are no images of this task, I was just too consumed. Thanks to Ben and Troy for all the muddy work. Good friends.



Heading south was uneventful and 3+ hours later I turned onto the Hobucken road deep in eastern North Carolina. Turning in to Pate Boatyard I found the self-proclaimed 'HoBuccaneers' congregated in the old boathouse enjoying a brew and immediately ready to help me in any way. Shawn, the owner, gave me a coveted Goose Creek Island sticker and after chatting a bit, I went to ready Annie for launch. The ramp was only inches wider than my 8 foot rig and the pine limbs just dipped down shy of the raised mast. Then it dumped.

Ferocious winds, pelting rain and hail. The boathouse started flooding. I bummed a beer. In 15 minutes it was over. The hail had ripped at the pine above Annie. Her decks were covered with needles and bark. The cockpit had a layer Sno-Cone size ice.

We launched and headed out the cut to Jones Bay. Heading SE I turned into Ditch Creek, anchored in the quiet evening and figured this would be an interesting trip, all things considered.

Pamlico 2016 Preface

April 30 (one week before departure)

Annie has been at Morningstar Marina across from Gwynn's Island over the winter. I had received a notice that their rates were going up substantially and seeing that it only included a parking spot in a field, I started looking elsewhere. I did however, before leaving flush the engine, having been winterized. Problem: no water pumping through. I had not replaced the impeller since commissioning in 2007 for it had always worked perfectly. Guess that's no excuse for preventative scheduled maintenance. To further complicate I had not brought sufficient tools.

I was able to locate a kit. The yard had a guy that worked on motors but proved to be a bit challenged. He struggled with reattaching the shift linkage and I was charged less hours due to his shortcomings. Four hours (!) later she was pumping like a champ.

My gallery owner Ben invited me to move over to his house on East River below Mathews. We backed in beside a shed and I went home to wait out the rain prior to heading south.

Back in Richmond

I returned home Thursday night after a week of sailing in around the Pamlico Sound. It started off tumultuous and ending hot and still with a bit of everything in between. I really glad that I still have what it demands... and very appreciative of all that it gives back. More later.

On the Pamlico River

Jury rig... new shop project on return

36 mi, 11 hrs. Hard Fought. Happy Hour.

Lunch Core Sound Style

Drying Out... East of Beaufort

Holed Up in Oriental

Heading Down the Rain Road

Break in Weather

It appears that the rain that we have been having will subside somewhat in NC after May 4... my drive day. That would be nice.

Oriental, NC  The light blue is chance of rain and the black line shows a rising barometer

Becky Thatcher For Sale.... again

I just found out that the man I sold my Drascombe Scaffie to 5 years ago has it for sale $3700. The boat is pretty much the same as when I had her, with Honda 2 hp, trailer, full factory tent, etc. If you are interested comment or send email. Sweet.

 

Wait a Little More

Today I decided to postpone my Outer Banks departure of May 1 for another week. There is a good bit of rain in the forecast and I'm hoping that waiting will give it time to clear. But who knows, weather is unpredictable in this changing season and with global warming (of which I believe)... we'll just see. Grabbed more food and batteries and continue going through provision lists. There are many that are collecting in the paperwork, some going back for just shy of forty years. One listed some 'vices' I gave up long ago. Oh well.

Just remembered: the Costa Rica coffee maker friend Terry made me. Still a vice...

Deadrise Rising

Dialing back a month or so....

In late February I drove east to see how Annie had faired during our absence and check in at the maritime museum in Deltaville. While I was away John England and crew had made great progress on a 20 foot deadrise skiff. He and Johnnie were setting frames and readying to lay in the final planks. The work was superb, like they had been turning them out for years. Here is a look from then. I'm sure they are closing in on the finish by now. Got to get back down!

 

A Memorable Winter

Spring is here and I am not ready. My cruising itch has returned but my head and body has been everywhere. That's not to say that it has been static, just different. Eleanor and I spent a chunk of the winter as artists-in-residence in a small mountain town in Costa Rica. We taught kids and adults, worked on our personal projects and immersed ourselves in the community. My Spanish improved  living with a Tico family, but I am losing it just as fast. I got an app.... now to practice for our return next year.

Annie's spars are newly varnished and I am sorting through gear and stashing food stuffs for a May sail in the sounds and rivers of eastern North Carolina. Just ordered a portable charger for my phone. I don't know that I will need it, as I don't use the phone much on the boat, but one can never have enough back up.

The beginning of May looks to be a good time to set out. First to Mathews County to load up and then south through eastern Virginia and on to Hobucken, a small town that my friend Steve speaks highly of. He may be in the area at that time and we always enjoy an unplanned get-together.

In honor of this plan (and to keep me focused) ... here are some pics from past spring trips...