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2015 ~
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| In the Year 2009
Ocracoke Again, May
(Memorial Day Weekend) I was just finishing up my latest modification with my anchor, and we had decided to buy a dingy rather than pay the slip fees. The dingy is totally inflatable, uses oars and rolls up for storage below when not in use. We named it Too Shore... hehe of course. It is a Coleman 4 person (2 adults, 2 kids...ok... 3 adults really) Colossus for about $60. The rowing works really well when the kids are doing it. So we loaded everything up and heading down route 12 to launch from Cedar Island... (not gonna try that Oriental to Ocracoke trip again... yet.)
So I gunned the engine and asked the Admiral to go to bow to look at the water... really I just wanted her weight up front to even out the boat... how would you ask? It worked and we were off. I motored for a while, then tested the anchor by dropping it so I could set up the sails. We had a great breeze and ended up sailing most of the way on one tack doing about 4-5 kts.
Ok so about half way there I ask for the chart book... oops, I left
it at home. I have a GPS but my route from last time is purged out
so I am not sure what marker to look for.
Ok so what else did I leave at home: chart book, gas for stove (no coffee), canvas cover for a/c unit, second danforth anchor, shore power cord, nc sail pirate flag, and god forbid the HDTV. So I now have a list to check off before each adventure.
We toured the island and stopped for snow cones.
The next morning we pull up the crab trap we set the night before and had two stone crabs inside. Younger daughter was really impressed, we released them and headed out of Silver Lake and back out to the Pamlico for the sail home.
We motored out and then pretty much separated from everyone else as
they headed toward Oriental and we headed for Cedar Island.
We could see the line of boats headed out on the horizon, and we were soon on our own.
The wind was steady and we pretty much sailed on one tack all the way
back to launch. Even sailed over Royal Shoal... 3 feet of water
doing 3-4 knots. Just put the centerboard up about half way and
sailed over it, love the flexibility of this boat... good thing I didn't
have keel or dagger board.
Was motoring the boat into the launch area and noticed two buoys I hadn't seen before... until they stood up and were swimming around. Got those kids out of that water and gunned the boat over the sand bar. No problems getting the boat up and doing the usual tear down.
The kids were having fun playing in the sand while I was doing that.
Neuse River Sailin,
June 14th
Had a fellow MacGregor 26X "Seabiscuit" pull along side.
Followed them to Duck Harbor and exchanged boating mods and tips.
FlamingoRun,
June 20 - 21 So the NCSail.org group wanted to get some practice runs in before
the Pirate Sail in October, so they came up with the Flamingo Run.
We were going to have a cookout on the beach, unfortunately the tide was
so high (along with the wind) that there was no beach. So we kind
of tied up behind JennaBird like a dingy and had a group cookout on his
boat.
We anchored that night... for a while... the anchor broke loose and we drifted pretty close to a big yacht. Since it was dark and there were a lot of boats about I just ran her to the beach and anchored there for the night.
Cape Lookout Run,
July
The trough of the waves had waves in them... so we go tossed around quite a bit... and then Nicole tossed her cookies. The Admiral was close.
Decide to run up the iron sail and head for the bight.
Once we got to the beach all the passengers were happy and nausea free.
It turned out to be a nice day after the winds calmed down.
Had
to keep the boat floating as the tide changed... hence the push off
shore. There is a Hunter 38 called JennaBird anchored out.
We then did a fly by of the light house and went sound side;
because the winds didn't really die down, to the Beaufort Waterfront.
I tried to put the boat along a dock to have dinner, but then they asked
me to move so in the process of moving my port shroud caught a pylon and
bent the heck out my spreaders.
So we had dinner at the Dock House, the food and service wasn't all that great and the prices were high.
So then we got back to the launch and tried to judge the wind; it seemed to be blowing right towards the dock and a little on the starboard side... oops, nope it blew more to the port side and pushed by backend into someone else on the dock... I had to push off his boat and threw a line to nice bystander... probably one of my worst docking procedures to date.
Albemarle Sound,
August 14 - 16
By the time we got up there Friday night, the sun was setting as we
were setting up and launched in the dark. I had to follow one of
the others Xer's to get to the dock. After getting there I got my
new toy...
The next day was slow sailing at first, then the wind picked up.
We decided to all raft up and have lunch and some cool down time.
Everyone else went back to the docks while Jean and I continued to
enjoy the smooth sailing and sunset while having dinner on board. Next morning went out for some more sailing, but the wind was dead and the gnats were starting to cover the boat. So Iron Sail up and back to the ramp. The other Xer's were still tearing down when I arrived.
Even saw where they floated the old New Bern turnstile bridge to, Edenton. Looks like it is on display with metal pilings and a fresh coat of paint.
More Pictures:
Chesapeake Bay,
Sept 5 - 7 (labor day) My 42nd Birthday... and a new place to explore.
We drove up and stayed the night at Victor and Kendall's place up on Virginia Beach.
Took off in the morning to get to the launch site... of course I drove the other Xer's crazy, as it only takes me 15 minutes to set up.
We got everyone in and took off past the Navy dock and into the Chesapeake.
Had quite a few medium waves, the Admiral really liked
getting wet up front... so
yup I sailed over the Tunnel!
Iron sail to the rescue... started heading towards our overnight dockage when we noticed water in the bilge. After searching from stem to stern didn't find any active leak, so we assumed it came from the wave crashing earlier down the anchor locker drain. Since my gps didn't have any marks for this state, I pretty much had input lat and long to find the place Gwynn Island... and ask several boats I passed by. Eventually got to the docks with everyone else. They were in constant communication with us... mostly because we were carrying the main dish for dinner that night... bbq wings. Next morning we headed off to our next dock.
We did quite a bit of sailing, and did a few circles around the lighthouse, much to the chagrin of the fishing boat nearby... think we scared him off.
In the morning we became the coffee and breakfast boat, then we all headed for the launch.
The weather started to turn so I put half of the full enclosure up and eventually put the whole thing up when the wind turned. The girls actually did great... they weren't scared or seasick.
Pirate Sail 09,
October 16-18 Arrrgghhhhh... another hearty adventure awaits. Since the rain out last year the Admiral was looking forward to this year's adventure. Got to the launch area and met up with Billy on Double Cross (XX) as he was setting up. Waited for him to set up... hehe (inside joke) and we both motored down to the slips. Billy of course starts showing off with his autopilot...
... and here is my Autopilot... much easier on the
eyes I think... We then docked up with all the other NC Sail group at the Beaufort Waterfront.
Did the costume and attitude change after docking... see before and after pics below...
Then headed to the local tavern for food and drink.
In the morning we all headed out to Cape Lookout... and the Black Sail makes it's appearance again!!!
One lesson learned: even a fake black sail
will catch the wind and drag your anchor. Found a spot on the Beach and built up a small bonfire. The temperatures were a bit on the cold side. We did pose for a picture pretending that the weather was warm for some who couldn't make it to the beach.... then quickly got all our jackets back on.
They now light up the outside of the lighthouse at night.
Going back the next morning was a bit on the rough side... but overall another nice adventure. Argghh. New Years Eve &
Day, December 31st & January 1st 2010 So instead of sitting in a nice warm house and watching the ball drop on TV, we decided to venture up to Oriental and meet some of our NC Sail friends up there. The original idea was to sail from New Bern to Oriental, but the wind was dead calm and a thick fog was in the area. So we trailered the boat up to the ramp in Oriental and launched there.
So instead of motoring right over to the slip we decided to detour over to Whittaker Creek and see if we could spot any NC Sail flags... found Jenna Bird right at the start. So we floated over and met Harry, Alicia and Walter.
Got our slip and toured the area...
then headed over to M&M's for a slightly pricey dinner and good company. The kids meals came much faster than ours...
Then made it just in time to see the dragon run....
and touched the dragon before he almost ran me over.
The next morning we headed out to the sound to see
the regatta going on... the wind started picking up as we got closer to
the marker near Adams Creek.
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Yee
haa... time to open up the boat and get her ready for another year of
indulgence! Usually
I take a small trip to make sure if I have any problems they are worked out before
some of the larger trips... oh no not this time. We couldn't
resist a long holiday weekend, beautiful weather all 3 days and the NC
Sail group headed to Ocracoke. When I mentioned sailing out to
Ocracoke to the Admiral, she perked up and was ready and willing to
brave all sail and head out. Even the older daughter was looking
forward to heading out on the boat... (she likes the powering part
mostly)
The
beautiful thing about this boat is that it draws about 1 foot of
water... this really helped in getting her out of the ramp launch area
and into the Pamlico Sound... the exit from the launch area has a sand
bar that goes across the entrance, and of course I launched during low
tide.
So
I get on the vhf and ask if any of the nc-sailors are around... yup.
They let me know to look for marker 3... not hard see. 
Back to the trip... got into Silver Lake at Ocracoke and proceeded to
drop anchor in the crowed lake. No problem... yet. The
anchor held all day and night, and then the wind picked up and it broke
loose in the afternoon. Usually I would re-anchor and drop a
second anchor... (ya know the danforth I left at home) So we
motored around looking for less windy area... finally went to the
wildlife dock and paid for dock there.
We
then hooked up that night with some of the nc-sailors and had a group
barbeque and just socialized. 
that
forms there on a regular basis... so we popped in for a while and rode
some waves.
Took
Jean's friend Mary for a ride out to the Lighthouse... rough waves on
the ocean side. 
I
did launch from the West Carteret new launch site... nice and new, just
have to call for the bridge to open but they are very nice.
When
we all finished tearing down, three of us stopped at Andy's for lunch...
quite a site in the parking lot.
Quite a little haul but worth the effort... took only one daughter
Christina with us, the other one stayed with a friend.
So I put her at the far end of the dock and ran the A/C while the
Admiral showed off the new Cardboard Kitchen.
the swabbie joined her and we motored around
the other boats. Eventually we put up the sails and I set me eye
toward the Chesapeake bay Bridge-Tunnel... 
The funny part is that coming back the current was doing 2 knots and I
was sailing 2 knots... so I was basically just standing still. 
Got docked into Cape Charles and then walked to downtown for dinner
at a local restaurant. The Admiral hit the bunks early, while the
swabbie and me watched a movie.
