Another close call at the masonboro marina. i was heading into the marina because i needed someone to help me retrieve my mainsail halyard which came untide and then flew up to the top of the mast. It happened as i was trying to lower and than raise the sail in the chop offshore as a huge thunderstorm was towering over New Topsail inlet just as i arrived and was prepareing to enter. That was a different problem, but As i was about to enter the mairna, another strom was brewing and i was getting blown closer to the row of tied yachts. I had thrown the anchor so i could lower the mainsail (which i had run up on the foresail halyard) so i had to start the little putt putt engine, climb to the bow, pull the anchor and then run back put the engine in gear and swing back out into the channel. I did so, but the wind blew me right in close and though i just managed to miss a very expensive boat i did hit the pilling with the engine bracket as i swerved into the wind. so there i was in 30 mph wind and oyster beds all around and my engine running but half submerged. Nothing to do but try to motor into the marina, and i did so, luckily because that storm increased in strenght all afternoon and became quite a torrent. it seems i must be very lucky to have survived all the scrapes with disaster in the last thirty days. That and a very inexperiencd sailor.
Today i am in Southport NC. on the Cape Fear River, after a lovely day on Carolina Beach where i rejoined the intercoastal waterway for the inside passage behind Cape Fear. i even met some folks who invited me to accompany them for the Spot Festival. Spot are a small smelt like fish that are fried and served with southern hospitality, grits and hushpuppies and all. Today i am waiting for the sw winds to shift into the north which is predicted this evening and forcast to hold for three or four days as high pressure finally blows all the clouds and showers out. I expect to make a run outside the coast as far down the south carolina coast as possible
Monday, September 28, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
September 23 ... Swansboro, NC.
I spent the day recuperating ( wrenched my shoulder on the pamlico when i was trying to change my pants and steer and not get sideswipped by a wave) a bit yesterday right by the Beaufort Inlet and saw the wild ponies on Shackelton Island. Reminded me of my horses but not built so well. The forcast was for east winds but at 6 am it was out of the sw and i had to decide whether to go outside or up the interccostal waterway, Scared to go out sometimes but i told myself , no guts no glory, and beat my way out through the channel pretty easily. there was no wind to speak of all morning. With the 3-5 ft swell, the only way i could get shambala to go was headed toward africa, which was tempting after the response i got to my new blog from some quarters. anyway, turned out i had to motor after all down here to Bogues inlet and now will wait another day for the wind to shift back into the north. Don't like the intercoastal much with it's channel development on both sides. ..
So i came into Swansboro to replace gas which i burned and tried to walk to the library but it's an odd thing in these southern towns. They turn the harbors into turist townes with places like Olde Post Office Square, and move the actuall PO and Library out on to the strip where no one ever sets foot except getting in and out of their cars. You'll be glad to know that BOLONGA HOMEFRIES IS BACK at Hardees... and though i tried to hitch hike to the library , no luck.. Hoofing it the way back the sign outside the Methodist Church says "If you walk with the lord you will get there". Not much chance of swansboro residents getting there, or hitch hikers around here either.
But two days ago i was walking back from the Beufort Public Library on the strip and there on the busiest intersection, infront of the Piggly Wiggly, was a toothless old man sitting on a stool , leaning against a fence playing acoustic guitar and singing the howling blues. i crossed toward him and he ended the song. i asked him why he was playing in such a noisey intersection and he said he had to play somewhere and he couldn't at his apt complex cause they didn't want the noise. i asked him to play another cause he sounded good, but he wouldn't, he said he had to feel it inside, but he did pick some wildwood flower and he was pretty good. He said his name was jimmy, we shook hands three times and i walked away.
I spent the day recuperating ( wrenched my shoulder on the pamlico when i was trying to change my pants and steer and not get sideswipped by a wave) a bit yesterday right by the Beaufort Inlet and saw the wild ponies on Shackelton Island. Reminded me of my horses but not built so well. The forcast was for east winds but at 6 am it was out of the sw and i had to decide whether to go outside or up the interccostal waterway, Scared to go out sometimes but i told myself , no guts no glory, and beat my way out through the channel pretty easily. there was no wind to speak of all morning. With the 3-5 ft swell, the only way i could get shambala to go was headed toward africa, which was tempting after the response i got to my new blog from some quarters. anyway, turned out i had to motor after all down here to Bogues inlet and now will wait another day for the wind to shift back into the north. Don't like the intercoastal much with it's channel development on both sides. ..
So i came into Swansboro to replace gas which i burned and tried to walk to the library but it's an odd thing in these southern towns. They turn the harbors into turist townes with places like Olde Post Office Square, and move the actuall PO and Library out on to the strip where no one ever sets foot except getting in and out of their cars. You'll be glad to know that BOLONGA HOMEFRIES IS BACK at Hardees... and though i tried to hitch hike to the library , no luck.. Hoofing it the way back the sign outside the Methodist Church says "If you walk with the lord you will get there". Not much chance of swansboro residents getting there, or hitch hikers around here either.
But two days ago i was walking back from the Beufort Public Library on the strip and there on the busiest intersection, infront of the Piggly Wiggly, was a toothless old man sitting on a stool , leaning against a fence playing acoustic guitar and singing the howling blues. i crossed toward him and he ended the song. i asked him why he was playing in such a noisey intersection and he said he had to play somewhere and he couldn't at his apt complex cause they didn't want the noise. i asked him to play another cause he sounded good, but he wouldn't, he said he had to feel it inside, but he did pick some wildwood flower and he was pretty good. He said his name was jimmy, we shook hands three times and i walked away.
Monday, September 21, 2009
second posting
Sept 1.. to see the sun set off the bow, and then wake up to sunrise over the stern... pretty good alignment. two nights ago i sailed all night on long island sound. Had moonlight for the first part, and then as the moon set phosporesence alighted like constellations flowing out under the rudder and splashing out in my wake. heading around new york and the east river through hell gate and out into verrazanos narrows tommorrow...
Sept 8th Had great weather for the leg off the jersey coast. nice following seas and more or less gentle breeze. rainy now here at cape may as i take care of business and re supply.. and the cape may beach is very sandy.
Sept 11. i have more time today as i was downloading charts for both delaware and chesapeake bay from noaa site last time. good thing i took this inside route instead of the outside cause they are saying 17 foot seas out off the coast... i've been lucky the wind has been at my back for the whole trip and sounds like it will continue out of the northeast or north for the next four or five days. I am gratefull. i am in Rock Hall, a small port north of annapolis waiting out the rain and high winds. i may set sail later this morning or afternoon if it dries out. it amazes one how big the water is when out in even just one of these bays and there is no sight of land and you realize the water is all connected and the immensity starts to sink in. i love being on the water and feeling the wind pushing the boat along. i like the challenge of those tense moments when the wind is too strong , or the current is suddenly swirling , or the waves crashing over the bow and something must be done, and soon. But i most love the calm , serene times when the wind is just right from behind and the sails are set and the sun is sparkling on the water surface and there is nothing to do but be there. i am working on a tiller extension cause when it is rough going , i can't leave the tiller, even to get a bite to eat, or check the time or pee or... anything. i found a piece of two inch pvc pipe to slip over the tiller and will see if that will let me hold the tiller with one hand while i rummage in the cabin. I see lots of big boats, both power and sail, and though my boat is quite humble i think i have two advantages over those fancy yachts. The first is that mine is a simple boat. Even so there are numerous parts and systems that have to be maintained for it to be safe and enjoyable. Clearly, the bigger the boat, the more complex the systems that need repair and maintenence. I believe i spend more of my time sailing then fixing. Secondly, when i see the big yachts go by, the folks are generally way up high, and surrounded by glass or canvass or lucite. i am, on the other hand, out there, close to the water and spray and scent and uncovered to the elements, which i came to enjoy. Even the raindrops falling on the tops of my bare feet feels good.
Sept 21. Arrived in Beaufort NC yesterday four days out from Norfolk VA. The first day was mostly motoring through a set of locks and under six bridges three of which were drawbridges. A night tied up to the dock at Midway Marina in Coinjock a Intercaostal waterway town where i had a couple beers with the marina manager and his wife over some (luckily) half priced wings. Then back out on the open water with a day through Albemarle Sound, Roanoke Sound, and then two days on Pamlico Sound which is the bigest sound around. 20 miles wide and 80 mi long, it was close to 50 miles out to Cape Hateras, there were hours spent navigating without site of land in any direction. Somehow it was comforting to know that it wasn't very deep, only 22 feet or so at the deepest and much of the time i had to worry about shoals that get as shallow as five, four three feet. My boat needs about two feet 7 inches befor and running aground whcih can be serious as then you are at the mercy of the surf and waves.
So, now i'm in Beaufort Public Library which they just moved from the town center by the warf, into an empty box store out on the strip, which for a boater means a 40 min walk. They don't expect anyone to walk out here because about three blocks out of town, Live Oak Street turns into Highway 70 and the sidewalk ends. But Beaufort is a very friendly area and the waterfront is very accomodating to trancient boaters. I spent the afternoon on the Rachel Carson wildlife reserve yesterday and then anchored in the harbor last night. Today i will probably motor out a couple miles to the outer banks by Carrot island for beach time while i wait for the small craft warning, and the wind to recede to make a run outside down to Wilmington NC.
I love to see fish jump around me as i sail. Couple days ago, while i was actually looking for Norfolk but was in Rappahanock, (whoops, gotta get that GPS) saw a small fish jump a couple feet out of the water quickly followed 18 inches behind by a bigger fish that had dinner on it's mind. That's life for real. Lots of porposises which seem to like to check out my boat as it sails on, and i noticed that their fins are kind of beat up along the edges. This water out here is alive, but the sea life is threatened, as i read in the local paper that there was a very large fish kill. Estimated 5 million Menhaiden killed, which is a feeder fish for larger species with oxygen depletion being the cause in Bern, NC upstream on the Nueces River from where i exited the Pamlico Sound. Very sad to us mariners.
Sept 8th Had great weather for the leg off the jersey coast. nice following seas and more or less gentle breeze. rainy now here at cape may as i take care of business and re supply.. and the cape may beach is very sandy.
Sept 11. i have more time today as i was downloading charts for both delaware and chesapeake bay from noaa site last time. good thing i took this inside route instead of the outside cause they are saying 17 foot seas out off the coast... i've been lucky the wind has been at my back for the whole trip and sounds like it will continue out of the northeast or north for the next four or five days. I am gratefull. i am in Rock Hall, a small port north of annapolis waiting out the rain and high winds. i may set sail later this morning or afternoon if it dries out. it amazes one how big the water is when out in even just one of these bays and there is no sight of land and you realize the water is all connected and the immensity starts to sink in. i love being on the water and feeling the wind pushing the boat along. i like the challenge of those tense moments when the wind is too strong , or the current is suddenly swirling , or the waves crashing over the bow and something must be done, and soon. But i most love the calm , serene times when the wind is just right from behind and the sails are set and the sun is sparkling on the water surface and there is nothing to do but be there. i am working on a tiller extension cause when it is rough going , i can't leave the tiller, even to get a bite to eat, or check the time or pee or... anything. i found a piece of two inch pvc pipe to slip over the tiller and will see if that will let me hold the tiller with one hand while i rummage in the cabin. I see lots of big boats, both power and sail, and though my boat is quite humble i think i have two advantages over those fancy yachts. The first is that mine is a simple boat. Even so there are numerous parts and systems that have to be maintained for it to be safe and enjoyable. Clearly, the bigger the boat, the more complex the systems that need repair and maintenence. I believe i spend more of my time sailing then fixing. Secondly, when i see the big yachts go by, the folks are generally way up high, and surrounded by glass or canvass or lucite. i am, on the other hand, out there, close to the water and spray and scent and uncovered to the elements, which i came to enjoy. Even the raindrops falling on the tops of my bare feet feels good.
Sept 21. Arrived in Beaufort NC yesterday four days out from Norfolk VA. The first day was mostly motoring through a set of locks and under six bridges three of which were drawbridges. A night tied up to the dock at Midway Marina in Coinjock a Intercaostal waterway town where i had a couple beers with the marina manager and his wife over some (luckily) half priced wings. Then back out on the open water with a day through Albemarle Sound, Roanoke Sound, and then two days on Pamlico Sound which is the bigest sound around. 20 miles wide and 80 mi long, it was close to 50 miles out to Cape Hateras, there were hours spent navigating without site of land in any direction. Somehow it was comforting to know that it wasn't very deep, only 22 feet or so at the deepest and much of the time i had to worry about shoals that get as shallow as five, four three feet. My boat needs about two feet 7 inches befor and running aground whcih can be serious as then you are at the mercy of the surf and waves.
So, now i'm in Beaufort Public Library which they just moved from the town center by the warf, into an empty box store out on the strip, which for a boater means a 40 min walk. They don't expect anyone to walk out here because about three blocks out of town, Live Oak Street turns into Highway 70 and the sidewalk ends. But Beaufort is a very friendly area and the waterfront is very accomodating to trancient boaters. I spent the afternoon on the Rachel Carson wildlife reserve yesterday and then anchored in the harbor last night. Today i will probably motor out a couple miles to the outer banks by Carrot island for beach time while i wait for the small craft warning, and the wind to recede to make a run outside down to Wilmington NC.
I love to see fish jump around me as i sail. Couple days ago, while i was actually looking for Norfolk but was in Rappahanock, (whoops, gotta get that GPS) saw a small fish jump a couple feet out of the water quickly followed 18 inches behind by a bigger fish that had dinner on it's mind. That's life for real. Lots of porposises which seem to like to check out my boat as it sails on, and i noticed that their fins are kind of beat up along the edges. This water out here is alive, but the sea life is threatened, as i read in the local paper that there was a very large fish kill. Estimated 5 million Menhaiden killed, which is a feeder fish for larger species with oxygen depletion being the cause in Bern, NC upstream on the Nueces River from where i exited the Pamlico Sound. Very sad to us mariners.
Friday, September 11, 2009
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