Neuse River Transit to Beaufort

   It was a cold, crisp and foggy/misty morning as we left Hobucken for Beaufort. I got to use the radar and the fog horn function on our VHF radio and PA system. Sue got this artsy photo of the sun shining through the mist and foresails of Tides Inn.

   At Beaufort, NC, we anchored over by the US Coast Guard station where we have stopped several times before. It was a breezy night, but this area is relatively protected with just a small swell coming through and, the holding is good. We watched a great sunset before turning in for the night.

Hobucken, NC

   It's not all island resorts and palm trees for the sailor - you first have to get to the tropical waters. And, the safe path in winter from Yorktown goes down the ICW through the Carolinas. After anchoring at the mouth of the Alligator River Canal last night, the next stop is Hobucken, NC and there is only one choice for stopping with power available for heat - the Mayo Seafood Plant.
 

   Hobucken is really miles from nowhere in the eastern North Carolina waterways but is actually not a bad place to stop. It has fuel, water and power and a convenient face dock to tie up to. The facilities are spartan, but we bring our own bed and bath facilities onboard so not a problem.

   Rivah was fearful of the docking which had long slots between the boards allowing a good view of the water below. She displayed a great "commando" walk down the pier with paws widely splayed for maximum surface contact. 

    While it is slow, winding and boring in many places, the ICW still presents many spectacular scenes and wildlife. Sue took this picture of a stately visitor posing next to our boat.

   We have also seen two pairs of bald eagles along the way. One set in the Alligator River Canal and a second pair in the canal cut just before Hobucken. Here is a picture I tried to catch of one. You can just make out the eagle in the distance over the trees. They flew right next to our boat. Quite magnificent big birds with their white heads and tails. We have also seen several dolphins along the way but none have come over to play with us. That will come in South Carolina to Florida. 

Across the Abermarle Sound

   After sitting in Coinjock for two days waiting for winds to die down we headed out across the Abermarle. As we departed the marina, winds and seas were dead calm. That was not the case in the Abermarle.    Seas were still 2-3ft and very close together. Sue commented she was getting her seasick training in. Winds were down to 15kts and just enough abeam to let us motor sail. We made good time but a bit uncomfortable.



      During the crossing we noticed the bilge pump was working overtime, something we had never experienced before. We were taking on water somewhere.  My first thought was it was the water coming over the bow down the anchor chain openings. I checked the fore bilge and it was bone dry. Next culprit could be our new cutlass bearing and packing gland were leaking. We emptied out the aft stateroom (big job) to get access to the shaft. No problems there but I could see water coming in from aft of the stern tube. That means emptying the lazarette to investigate.

 

   Its hard to believe all this stuff was in the one lazarette but they are pretty big on the Island Packets. Mystery solved. Our port scupper hose that is meant to drain the cockpit was leaking. With the wind and seas heeling us to port, the sea was backing up the hose and leaking into the boat. We could also see signs that the exhaust hose and starboard scupper hose were dripping and would eventually need replacing. We stuck a wooden plug from our emergency bag in the scupper hose and I grabbed our rescue tape and wrapped the exhaust hose. That will get us to Florida where we can reassess when to make final repairs.
  
   
     Anchorage for the night is at the end of the Alligator River just before the long canal. No heat tonight but is was only in mid-40s so not worth getting the portable generator out to heat up the boat. We donned pajamas and jumped into the cozy bed. It was quite comfortable (after a few minutes of warming up).  Tomorrow it is off across the Pamilico River to Hobucken, NC.

   Big news is that Rivah is quickly back into the swing of boat dog life. Sue took her up to the bow before bedtime and she promptly did her business. Check out the fancy lighted collar, Christmas gift from the Nashville Lawrence's.

Coinjock, NC - Day 2 (and 3)

    We arrived Friday at Coinjock after an uneventful transit (the best kind) down the Virginia Cut and Currituck Sound in steady showers. We ended up staying 2 nights because there were gale warnings for 20-30kt winds out of the southwest on Saturday. That's exactly the direction we need to go so, no sense bashing into those headwinds and waves. Tomorrow the forecast is for sunny again and 5-8kts of wind. We will proceed on to the Alligator River Canal anchorage area. A night with no heater coming up - but, we can heat the bed up with our electric blanket and portable generator.
   We took a day off today and walked around in the sunshine and 25kt winds. Here is a view of the channel cut through Coinjock. We are tied up at Midway Marina way up at the top left of the photo.

 
   I am updating our position reports on the blog via Winlink Maps so you can click on the link at the top of the blog to see the latest position of Tides Inn (displayed in a red google drop). Our latest report is from Coinjock, NC.

Finally Underway - 3 Jan 2019

   After 8 months of preparations on the boat and on the skipper, we finally shoved off today for Florida.

   9 hrs later we had made it through the busy Norfolk waters, 8 bridges and 1 lock (getting through the restricted bridge 45mins before it closes for rush hour traffic) and arrived for our first night enroute at Great Bridge, VA.  Norfolk Naval Base was full with 4 carriers in port.

   It was a dreary, rainy day but there were a couple special events that make boating so enjoyable.  As we approached the Hampton Roads / James River narrows, with a max ebbing current flowing at 3kts, we spotted a whale (probably a right whale) feeding along the edge of the channel where the water upwells from the 45ft deep channel to the 15ft shallows. We saw the whale blow several times and were able to get one photo. This is the first whale we have ever seen inside the Chesapeake in 25yrs of boating.
 

   The other rewarding event was that, in spite of the rainy conditions, we were able to sail for several hours down the bay at 5-6kts with steady westerly winds. It was a chilly and damp ride but not so bad inside our full enclosure which blocks the wind and rain. Rivah is enjoying her trip, as long as Sue is alongside keeping her warm.

   Tomorrow it is off to Coinjock, NC, as the trip continues. Supposed to rain all day - but temp in the 60s.

Florida, Here We Come!

    The boat is ready to go and finally so am I. Got the ok to cruise from the cardiologist following an Ablative procedure in October and Cardoversion in November to resolve my altrial-fibrilation. All systems are go and we are planning to depart on 3 Jan, following provisioning the boat and picking up refills of medical prescriptions. Getting old is not conducive to cruising. Good justification for cruising when you health supports it - not when financial security does. Sue and I are 65 and 66 and starting to experience health issues that can limit your activities. We're very glad to be able to get back to cruising at this point.
   We are heading, this winter season, to Florida waters. Will hang out in Biscayne Bay and Florida Keys for awhile and cruise up to Punta Gorda to visit friends. I love this photo of the Boca Chita anchorage and we plan to spend some time here again on this trip.

   Our last trip to the keys we arrived at Key West at sunset and cruised by the crowds on Mallory St at the waterfront.

   This is the view that all the people are lining up to watch. Sunset off Key West.  Will be good to see these sights again.

   

Cockpit Enclosure Rehab

    Preparing to leave now on 1 Jan, we pulled out the cockpit enclosure side and back pieces from storage in our garage and found that the vinyl windows had hardened and cracked on most all of them. We made them with inexpensive materials since they were just our first trial. After 3 years in the sun and 2 years in storage the plastic was in bad condition.

   We sewed new plastic over the old windows, the cut the old plastic off. It is a real makeshift solution, but only has to last for this sailing season as we plan to have a new enclosure made next summer. We still need to take the pieces down to the boat and do the final fitting of the aft pieces that have cutouts for the backstays, radar mount and pushpit braces. 

   All finished and ready to head south on 1 Jan.  Hope the sun shines and keeps us toasty inside. 

Dodger Maintenance - new glass

   After 15 years it was becoming essential to replace the fogging strataglass in our dodger,
it was essentially becoming a safety issue.  We replaced the center pane 2 years ago before leaving the boat in storage but, we skipped the two outer panels which would be a much more challenging sewing job.

    In addition to the window panes, we noted that several of the zippers and other seams on the dodger were ripping out as the 15yr old stitching was degrading. Time for an overhaul to get us through at least one more season before we totally replace the dodger/bimini/enclosure.
    Re-sewing the zippers and seams was pretty straightforward. We noted the zippers and some of the dodger material is on its last legs, but should last for one more sailing season.










 

 
    We also replaced the sacrificial leather protection along the front of the dodger where the mainsheet rubs whenever the tension comes off of the boom sheeting. That was also straight forward sewing without having to feed the stiff plexiglass through the sewing machine.

   Sewing on the new glass was much more challenging. Three sides were no serious problem, but the last side required the dodger to be rolled up tightly (including the center window section) to pass through the sewing machine.
   Once the new glass is sewed on, you have to cut away the old glass. That turned out to also be a challenge as the old glass had become so brittle over the years that it was not possible to smoothly cut it. Instead it often broke off in shards of hard, brittle plastic. But working slowly and methodically, we removed the old glass. You can notice in the photo the old glass often cracked as we manipulated it roughly. It was definitely in need of replacement.

     It was a major task taking a couple days and several bad words being uttered but, ultimately it was a success. Here's a photo of the dodger with new glass installed. Will definitely improve our safety posture especially in low light situations and make docking a little less stressful.  Next year its all new canvas for us.