Air temp 65, water temp 68, winds SE @ 10
14 nautical miles today, 844 total miles from Marathon
No early alarm this morning because we had a short day to Swansboro and I wanted to wait for the rising tide. We picked up our anchor at 9:30am and took our time to the Onslow Beach Bridge which was only about 4 miles away and wouldn't open for us until 10:30.
About a mile east of the bridge is Browns Inlet. This is typically one of the shallowest and difficult parts of the ICW but they had dredged it last winter. Wow! What a difference! We went right down the middle of the marked channel and never saw less than 12 feet deep. Sometimes through here we are cleaning off the bottom of our keel.
Now my only worry was the Swansboro City Docks. There is a 100 foot floating face dock which we had reserved for the next two nights. But, the docks are also available to local day-boaters to tie up and walk into town. When I called for the reservation, Jessica told me they couldn't guarantee the dock would be open. You never know if there is going to be someone on the dock. But, today there were only 2 other smaller boats and they had tied up on the inside docks. We turned into the current (which rips through here) and tied up way down to the end of the face dock. With our bow hanging over, I had left about 55-60 feet behind us for another boat if necessary.
Shortly after lunch Tim and Karen came over to "fetch us". They drove us back to their new house which they had just move in full time 2 months ago. We were their first guests! After showing us all the new things they had done since we were here in October, Karen, Laura and I took a walk down to the beach which is only a 5 minute walk from the house. It was a beautiful beach day and the girls enjoyed the walk (I did too!).
Back at the house it was cocktail time so we relaxed in the screen room with drinks and munchies. It was lots of fun to catch up what we all had been doing the past 5 months.
Dinner was ribs and chicken on the grill, baked potatoes and fixin's. After dinner we talked some more then hit the sack after a busy day.
Friday, May 15th
Air temp 68, winds E @ 15
Didn't move the boat today.
We slept in a bit and I finally got up after smelling the bacon and sausage cooking downstairs. How can anyone resist bacon in the morning? Tim and Karen prepared a great breakfast including fresh waffles. It was much more than we were used to eating for breakfast but yummy.
After a long walk around town and down the beach, we relaxed on the porch and enjoyed a beautiful morning. We decided to grocery shop on our way back to the boat and have Tim and Karen over for dinner on Second Wind.
Traffic was very heavy as South Carolina had just opened the public parking to the beaches. The Piggly Wiggly in Swansboro was well stock with the fresh fruits and veggies we needed then back to the boat and put everything away. Karen left with hopes to be back in a couple hours for burgers on the grill.
The traffic was so bad getting back to their house, Tim and Karen decided to skip coming over for dinner. We were a little bummed out but understood the hassle of sitting in traffic.
Friday night on the city docks was party-time! Many 20-25 foot boats tied up and partied until almost dark with lots of drinking and dueling stereos. We closed up the boat, turned on the air-conditioning and let them party. By 9pm, we were alone on the dock except for a 52 foot Kady Krogen (trawler) that had tied up behind us. We had seen Cracker Jack the past few days on the ICW and Laura spent a little time talking with them.
After watching a couple "Person of Interest" on the TV off my phone, we hit the sack and slept well.
Saturday, May 16th
Air temp 67, water temp 69, winds SE @ 10
43 nautical miles today, 887 total miles from Marathon
We left Swansboro Church Street Docks at 8:15am. Leaving earlier would have put the tidal current against us up Adams Creek north of Morehead City. Another pretty day on the water but, once again, it was bustling with local boats who zoomed past us in both directions. Here is a video Laura took of all the boats around us approaching Morehead City.
As we turned north in Morehead Basin, the boats thinned out quiet a bit and I was able to relax for the cruise to Oriental. Throughout the day, we were trying to decide which option to choose for the next couple days. We decided to stay on the Oriental Town Dock which is free but you can only stay 2 nights. This would put us underway for the possible tropical storm Arthur on Monday so plans are to leave early tomorrow and make it down the Neuse river before the east winds pick up and build seas on the shallow waters.
The ride up Adams Creek was nice and this is one of our favorite homes. I love the colors.
The town dock was available (it has always been occupied in the past) and we tied up at 4:15pm. D was at the dock and helped us secure the boat. Laura prepared some chicken for dinner and we walked to D and Don's boat near their house in Oriental.
It was an enjoyable evening with long-time friends. I drank WAY too much wine. D drove Laura back to the boat while Don and I stayed and solved all the worlds problems. She offered to drive me back later but I decided to walk and enjoy the evening. But, I didn't realize that it was the early morning - 2am. Yikes!
Sunday, May 17th
Air temp 72, water temp 74, winds E @ 15-20
21 nautical miles today, 908 total miles from Marathon
I woke up early and decided to leave so we could get down the Neuse River before the winds built in the afternoon. We were off the dock at 7:45am (Yes, only about 5 hours sleep for the Captain) and motored out onto the Neuse. The winds were a little higher than predicted (of course). Forecast was 8-10, gusts to 15. We had 15-20 constant. When we left Oriental, we had 13 miles of east travel down the Neuse before we could turn north up the Bay River. The winds were right on our nose but the seas were low. I guess the winds had just started and not built any sea yet.
Our speed was in the mid-4s because of the wind slowing the boat while motoring. After a couple hours we were able to turn a little north but not enough wind angle to have help from the sails. I could have put up a reefed Jib and Main then tacked SE to give us a better angle NE but decided the boat was still making way through the wind and waves so kept on course. It took over 3 hours to motor the 13 miles to the Bay River. The winds were now holding in the low 20s and waves had increased to 3-4 feet close chop. The ride was not very nice as the boat was hobby-horsing through the close seas and once I saw 1.4 knots on the GPS. I should have put up some sail and tacked down the river. Odds are we would have made it much quicker.
As we turned north to the Goose Creek Canal, we rolled out about 1/3 of our mainsail and sheeted it in tight. The boat zoomed to 6-7 knots as I lowered the engine RPMs. It was a rolly ride up the river until we entered more protected waters about 1/2 hour later. Now we had to decide what to do next.
My plan had been to motor / sail another 25 miles to the Alligator-Pungo Canal and anchor in the Pungo River. This would have been very protected from the east and north winds predicted for the next couple days. But, getting there would have been problematic today. We still had to cross the Pamlico River which was very open and a similar course we had just run down the Neuse. Yucks to that. So, we decided to tie up at the R.E Mayo Seafood docks in the Goose Creek Canal. The docks were not in very good shape but they were more than strong enough to hold us in a storm. There were typically a few off-shore fishing boats in the 80-90 foot range tied up there. If the docks could hold them, they would certainly hold us. If there was room...
Turned out we were the only boat on the dock other than 2 off-shore fishing boats so there was about 300 feet of open dock. We had no problem tying up and configuring bumpers and lines for the predicted 30-35 knot winds tomorrow with storms. Plus, we had 30 amp power and the docks were only about $20 a night. Here we are tied up safe and sound.
You might ask why we didn't stay in Oriental. You can only stay on the town dock for 2 nights. We could have stayed tonight but would have had to leave tomorrow, during the storm. Maybe they wouldn't have kicked us out but I didn't want to take that chance. Could have also stayed at Oriental Marina but I thought it would have been an easier trip down the Neuse today. Oh well.... We are at a dock, have power and good cell service here. Plus, it started raining a few minutes ago so we closed up and turned on our air-conditioner. Very nice in the boat now!
Tropical storm Arthur is heading our way. He is going to be off-shore the North Carolina banks tomorrow morning. The odds of him coming ashore are very low now and our winds are only supposed to be 25-30. I'll let you know if that forecast was wrong too....
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