Voyage 2010: Chapter 1

22 Oct 2010, Back on the Road, 35 14.67 N/ 076 35.47 W

We sadly left the Pelican 0815 and continued our trip South. We sent a wave at Josh's house but we learned later that Josh was still in bed. Crab pots in the Pasquotank were not as bad as in previous seasons. We wonder if it is the economy or increased regulation or maybe just the crabs. The Albamarle was calm so yesterday was a lazy motoring day. The bridge tender at the Alligator River Bridge was prompt and friendly as always. At 1600, we anchored at our usual place opposite Deep Pt in the Alligator River.

Today was another lazy day as our day would be short to Hobucken. Wind was puffy and backed to SW due to the Pungo River making for a 'heely' ride for the leg to the Pamlico River. Trip up Goose Creek was pleasant for the most part. However, a sailboat cut the G5-R6-G7 a bit too much and got stuck for a few minutes. We arrived at RE Mayo at 1630 and their docks were empty except for a wintering Scallop fishing vessel and a transient sailboat. It is sad. The locals attribute the decline to increased State regulation which is crippling the industry. By the way, the mosquitoes beat us here.

22 Oct 2010, The Last 24 Hours, 34 21.222 N/ 077 17.36 W

We have not stopped in Beaufort NC for reasons that we discussed in a previous journal. What we do is plan the last leg of our trip to Wilmington to start at RE Mayo and end at Mona Black; a trip of 120 miles. So it is true this year. We left RE Mayo at 0830 and entered the Back River with a fresh wind on the stern. Wind stayed favorable at 10-15 knots through the Neuse River but had dropped by the time we entered Adam's Creek. We encountered only polite boaters in the Creek where we had one slow pass after another. We even had the current with us through the Canal. Very pleasant!

However, once we entered the Newport River, the current turned foul. No problems as we were ahead of schedule to arrive at the sea buoy at sunset (1813 LT). We entered the Beaufort shipping channel west of Radio Island where the current was flooding at 2.0 kts. However, we arrived near the sea buoy by sunset and changed our course to SW. Love a plan that comes together (A-Team). We were blessed with a beautiful full moon night with enough wind to dampen the 2-4 feet swells from the NNE. It was not until after midnight that the wind veered to the NE and sails were less effective for propulsion and roll dampening. Still no problem and the moon was still great! We added another item to our bad list for the rigger at Herrington Harbour. The tri-color that they repaired needs repairing again. Our list is getting bigger and our patience smaller!