Voyage 2008: Chapter 4

15 May 2009, Moving back on the boat, 34 02.54 N/ 077 53.48 W

We are now back on Jule III where we will spend the majority of our time for the next couple of years. Sammy Jane (cat) will be with us most of the time but Gina (lab) will spend quality time with our son, Chris, while we are underway. Gina is not as excited about cruising as she used to be. However, she loves the boat and we will have her onboard whenever possible. Sadly, Levi will be watching from the Rainbow Bridge.

We are starting to evolve into the live aboard lifestyle here at Mona Black in Carolina Beach. We give 'useful' comments on the community garden, survey the property as we are walking Gina, started a "walking to McDonald's for Coffee" club, and much, much, more.

Our plans are complicated as usual, but we hope to leave in less than two weeks and head for the Chesapeake Bay. If the weather is really, really, good we will sail offshore to the Chesapeake. Other wise we will do the ICW from Beaufort to Norfolk. Either option will be great.

30 May 2009, Heading North: Carolina Beach to Cape Lookout, 34 37.38 N/ 076 32.90 W

Sadly, we said goodbye to the folks at Mona Black the night before and left at 0600 on Thursday. Everybody was asleep at Mona Black. We managed to leave the slip without incident and then headed for Masonboro Inlet. Wow, someone is waving at us as we leave the Carolina Beach waters. It is Wayne of SV Coastal Inn who got up and was snapping pictures of us. Very kewl!

We arrived at Masonboro Inlet at 0800 and had 70 nm to travel to the Cape Lookout anchorage. The winds were SSW@10-15 kts and we were traveling at about 5.5 kts. This was not enough to get us to the anchorage before dark. So on came the motor and away we went at 7+ kts with seas at 4-5 feet. Weather was great and everything was 'comfortable'. We arrived in Cape Lookout basin at 1930 with a few other boats already anchored. Still there was lots of room for everybody.

Yesterday was a rest day. We plan on lots of rest days this trip. We did a bit of 'real work' which is a challenge without the Internet. Nothing here except Winlink (which we can not use for work). It was blowing at 15-20 kts so no dinghy action. However, we applied a couple of coats of Cetol on the coaming and pumped and launched the dinghy. Last night it rained a bit and the wind continued to blow. A rather large power boat was dragging anchor at 0030 ET and was getting quite near us. We watched, and watched, and watched, until he was clear of us. Closest point of approach was less than 500 ft.

Today was quite busy. We recommissioned the dinghy and much to our surprise, everything worked. We were happy. We explored the Cape Lookout area in the dinghy. First we checked out the western edge (Power Squadron spit), then headed for the area where the lighthouse sits. The water is very clear and everyone is usually courteous so our dinghy trips were enjoyable. We beached the dinghy and then did the tourist thing by looking at all of the sights. Of course, we bought the tee shirts and the other doo dads. We arrived back to Jule around 1600, had dinner, and are readying ourselves for a movie. This cruising life is not so bad.