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Number 100

I feel as though the 100th post should be fascinating, delightful and possibly worthy of Word Press’s “Freshly Pressed” status. However, that is too much pressure and honestly right now, nothing terribly noteworthy is going on along the way. So, since we’re talking numbers today and for those who know me as a “numbers person”, how about I share a few stats about our cruising life so far.

Number of days we’ve been cruising (this counts the summer when we hardly moved): 388 days

Average length of a typical day on the move: 7.8 hrs- this doesn’t include overnights

Longest travel day: 11 hrs- had a few of these- doesn’t include overnights

Longest overnight: 41 hours, 273nm (314 land/statute miles)

Most hours sailing in one trip: on Oct 31 we sailed 8 hrs of our 9 ½ hr day. The only time we sailed more was on a 38 hour overnight when we sailed 8 ¼ hrs- hardly counts

Top speed observed while sailing: 13.2kts- down a 4ft wave. Short period sustained: 10kts. Hours of sustained: 8.5kts (with one reef)

Scariest day/event: Year 1:dragging anchor into mangroves 5am Dec 26, 2010 and then working to pull the boat off with our 8hp outboard- the wind still 15+kts,only able to use one engine to steer into the wind as Russ pulled Ortolan away.  Year 2: so far- on Oct 31 approaching
Wrightsville Beach inlet we plowed against the current through 6ft rollers at the outer end of the breakwaters,wind 20kts. I had a death grip on the wheel as Russ was dealing with the main traveler at the stern. What is it about holidays?

Funniest event: when I fell overboard while anchored at Fort Jeff, Dry Tortugas.
Note to self- do not dip feet in water facing the wrong way and bring one leg over the side- you will flip right in. I held on though.

Best event:  Spring 2011 outside trip to Beaufort, NC when we had a large pod of dolphins having a grand time around us
for at least 15 mins- wish I had the new camera then.

Gee that was dumb: the time we hit a sandbar in Daytona Beach area, trying to get to an anchorage just off the ICW. ActiveCaptain reviews had provided good directions but we didn’t quite follow them.  The nice bridge tender gave us explicit directions in.

Days angry with each other: zero (minutes, yes)

Number of times caught in bad weather: define “bad”- a few times in fog, but the most tense was being in a squall off the Florida coast near Ft Lauderdale. The jib may have received its tear that time when we couldn’t get it in fast enough- in our defense, the furl line wasn’t long enough to wrap and tail around the winch; have since fixed that problem.

Last but not least, the number of times we’ve seen dolphins, pelicans, egrets, osprey and so many other wildlife creatures: too numerous to begin to count!

Our second sighting of a fresh water turtle

Number of regrets: none

Days we are happy to have this cruising lifestyle: nearly every day!

Today we crossed into South Carolina. Our day was easy, easy. Very little boat traffic with no pack traveling.  Pack travel  happens when you have several bridges with scheduled openings. We avoided a stretch of that by jumping outside at Beaufort, NC down 71nm to Wrightsville Beach. We also missed being delayed for exercises conducted at Camp Lejeune’s artillery range. Boats had to drop anchor and wait up to 1 ½ hrs before allowed to pass through. Announcements are made, but not everyone pays attention. We got to see three large naval vessels off
the coast, two had Osprey-type planes taking off and landing. A chopper circled, making sure no ghost or goblins approached.

Naval ship, chopper above and 2nd ship to the right

Although the wind and seas were more than forecast for what we figured would be a near-perfect sailing day, causing us to reef a couple hours in, I must say that the same event a year ago would have bothered me more. We had north winds, a following sea and a fairly comfortable ride in 3-5ft swells. We passed two monohulls early on and by 1pm caught up to and passed another cat (an older Lagoon).  The jib complains at less than 30 degrees off, so we reel it in. This day it didn’t cause any loss of speed as the reefed main was doing a fine job of keeping us flying along at 8.5 kts.

Did I miss any stats you are dying to know? If I can’t figure it out, I’ll make it up!

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Up a creek- shallow draft only

The forecast for Friday through Saturday night of 15-25kts (17-29mph) with rain thrown in for good measure, guided our decision to locate a protected anchorage for a couple of nights. Again, ActiveCaptain proved a reliable source and we found a spot- a short but wide creek off a larger creek off the larger main ICW creek only 16nm from River Dunes. A small area only 5ft deep inside, it was perfect for us. One brave monohull joined us; have to believe their keel was rearranging the bottom just a tad. Later on we only had 4.7 ft!

We were hailed twice during our short trip to give information about conditions; once about the Neuse River and the other about depth in Cedar Creek, just off the ICW Adams Creek. Was nice to provide info for a change.

We’re considering a hop outside from Beaufort, NC (remember, this one is pronounced Beau) to the Masonboro Inlet at Wrightsville Beach, NC. Sunday, if we anchor near Ft. Macon at Beaufort (did this on our trip north) we can either head out the inlet or continue along the ICW if coastal conditions are crappy- as in waves more than 3-5ft.  The ICW route presents a bridge problem a few miles south of Beaufort with another fibbing bridge that can be less than 63ft at high tide. Boats had trouble today, so now we know we’ve got to go under at mid-tide or better. Doable if we begin our day fairly close.

A pattern is beginning to emerge as we travel; now on Day 18 we see that when we are extra cautious and over-prepare, we’re rewarded with relatively benign conditions. Geeze if that’s all we need to do…but you know that one of these times we’ll be surprised by conditions going from bad to worse and then I’ll be all over the weather folk for their lousy abilities!

Jonaquin Creek was the perfect spot- if you can ignore how little water we had underneath. The light winds and current moved us around but the monohull near us hardly budged. We had just enough cell service for emails to sneak in and out. The chartplotter provided weather- oh look, snow!  XM and FM radio added to the often quiet VHF radio. The rain forecasted skimmed by us and when we checked the chartplotter and saw blue north of us, I thought something was wrong- but then Russ said “snow”!

COLOR THE NORTHEAST- SNOW, RAIN, THUNDER

All of PA was covered in blue and it was headed northeast.  A portend of weather to come- think “last winter”- sure hope not. Benj had already reported measurable snow in VT a couple of days ago; major excitement for the young folk. We endured a chilly 55 degrees and I needed a fuzzy sweater all day. Sunday was worse; our hull was 52 degrees at 7am. Brrrr.

The nearby wildlife kept our binoculars in use all Saturday morning: two beagles swam around by the creek entrance, one of them trying to catch or play with the fish; an osprey swooped down for his morning meal; pelicans made a few attempts and we were astounded to see a dolphin swim by. I saw a few fish break the water’s surface, undoubtedly trying not to be a predator’s next meal. Last but not least, how’s this for a  creature we haven’t seen yet?

A DONKEY MUNCHES IN THE YARD

Russ nearly wore out the label maker he’d bought this summer. Everything is labeled; I’m expecting toothbrush labels too since I’ve been known to mess up and use the wrong one!

Sunday afternoon we head 16nm to Beaufort, NC to a spot near the inlet channel. Monday we’ll sail – yes- no tricks, only treats thank you- south to Wrightsville Beach. Expect this will take a solid 10 hrs.