Wahoo! One down, one to go...

The first part of the coastal cruising classes are done and the paper tests are passed! Now for the sailing part. With the weather not good for several days, the sailing will take place Friday thru Sunday. First stop, Pungo Creek Marina for fuel and water, then Oriental via the ICW. Last, back to Broad Creek by going out on the Sound and up the river.  Should have photos and lots of stories late Sunday or early Monday.
Here's to a great sail!

Cruising Classes begin...

The first day of coastal cruising classes began with  6 hrs. of classroom work, including but not limited to basic boating skills, rules of the road, charts & plotting, knots, diesel engines, safety & MOB . It was mind boggling to say the least.  Suffice to say we knew more than we thought and we knew less than we thought. Tomorrow starts cruising on board for 3-4 days, starting with a short (7 hr) sail to Belhaven, followed by a trip down the "ditch" (Intracoastal Waterway) to Oriental and then the final leg back home going around Pamlico Point into the Sound and back up the Pamlico River (probably more night navigation). Will have more to report later as we need to hit the books a bit and get a good night's rest.

Fair winds and following seas (we are praying!)

Two More Firsts!

This week introduces two new experiences for us: traveling in light morning fog and motoring to Washington at dusk using charts and dead reckoning to enter the city harbor. I was at the helm Thursday am using GPS to assist me in navigating to Washington City docks. Visibility was 1/2 -3/4 miles but the sun helped burn it off by the time we docked. No photos as we were a little busy, but the sense of accomplishment was grand!

Last night we helped a friend bring his boat up to the city.  We left 1/2 hour before sunset, to avoid the crab pots, and then resorted to charts and buoys. Elden took the helm and did a great job. As it got darker, I took the helm as it was hard for him to see in the dark. The lighted, flashing buoys were a little hard to distinguish with the city lights behind them, but the binoculars helped. We made the trip in a little under two hours. Another high in our adventure! Below are some photos of the trip, including the almost full moon last night.

Next post will have the cruising classes scheduled for next week.

Elden plotting a course

Fair winds and warm ones to all!

Full moon rising over Broad Creek

Sunset on the Pamlico

Elden at the helm

Same destination-different conditions...

We sailed to Bath yesterday with winds out of the NW at 8-10 and had a great run to Bath, NC. Sun was up, but cooler temps prevailed. Good sleeping weather. Today, we sailed to Belhaven again, but the conditions on the Pamlico and Pungo rivers were nothing like last week. The winds were forecast WNW at 8-10, but wound up 10-15 with gusts near 20-25 and mostly N. We have yet to figure out what the hull speed of our Endeavour is, but suffice to say we may have broken all records: 8.7 knots (almost 10 mph!) down river on a broad reach on the Pamlico. Talk about a wild ride!  The Pungo was a different matter as the wind was directly on our nose heading North to Belhaven.  We had to drop sails and motor through 3-4 ft. waves, breaking over us and drenching everything with salt water. Ever tried eating a banana with salt? Not too good.  We arrived safely at Belhaven after 5 1/2 hrs. of dealing with the winds.  Below are a couple of photos, one with one of many, many waves and one of the salt on the sliding hatch. Sorry, no photos of a couple of "old" salts!

Expanding our horizons

This weekend found us traveling to Belhaven via the Pamlico River with another sailboat and a trawler. We started out motoring, then tried to sail, but the winds never developed. So back to motoring.  Since the last post we discovered a situation with the steering. Seems the idler pulleys were never aligned properly and were making rubbing noises. So Elden acted like a pretzel and went into the bilge to take care of it. Good thing he is in shape! He got the pulleys aligned, and I tightened the cables and the steering works great.  Good thing as we motored most of the 37 miles to Belhaven.
Below are some pics of the adventure. We head out tomorrow back to Washington, probably under power as the winds are not predicted to be around. Belhaven Waterway Marina is a really great place to visit. The town is within walking distance and the facilities are top rate!

More to come as our adventures continue.

Belhaven-Aurora Ferry and Wookie Bear                                     







  Ready to sail, but where's the wind?

Sunset at Belhaven Waterway Marina, on the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway)

Rain, Rain and More Rain....

Just when you think the rain has gone for a while, events happen that really mess with your schedules.  "Nicole" and another disturbance decided to combine and really soak the East Coast. Three consecutive days and then two more after one fairly decent day managed to dump 21+ inches of rain in Washington, NC. Good thing our home floats!  The local marina was not hit hard, but two of the docks were under water for a while, depending on the winds and concentration of the downpours. The town had several places with high water and local agencies had a shelter set up for those displaced by high water.

Winds were clocked locally around 50 knots or so at times out of the North making things a bit chilly at times.  One recent addition to "Soteria" is a small heater that keeps the cabin area comfortable while only set on low. 

We were able to sail to Washington again for an overnighter, hoping to sail back, but the weather moved in early on Sunday, bringing more overcast, misty and cold weather. So we motored back in the company of a friend. Talk about a wet ride. Elden was at the helm the whole trip.  See, I can share!  (Ok, I was at the helm sailing up to town.)

The sun finally came out today and we were able to assess the anchor rode, which we will have to replace.  The sheeve was rusted and broke off in my hand, and the rode is very worn. We are checking into a product made by Yale Cordage called "Brait". 8 strand braid, flexible, light and very strong. Will update more later on this project.

Departure time to parts South and warmer is still being worked out. Day after the elections is looking good, but no definite date has been set. Too much to prepare for and we still have to take our class at the end of October. 

Will post more later this week as plans progress.