Ahhh Cruising again!!

Today is the first day of a mini-cruise to Wrightsville Beach.  We are in the company of Skat and Bubbles.
Left NWCM at 8am and hook down in Spooners Creek at 3:30pm.  We took it easy to stay with Bubbles and Skat.

The forecast was one that would usually leave you at the dock but we left anyway.  A nice run down the Neuse and Adams Creek.  The forecast weather was staying away.  It was cloudy but a nice mild day.

The Turning basin was tough with current on the nose and SOG down to 3.6 knots.  We pushed on.  Looked like we were going to make Spooners dry then about 20 minutes out the sky turned BLACK.  Just as we reached the turn for Spooners the sky opened.  Visibility was terrible but at slow speed we worked our way into the creek.  Entrance depth was never less than 6.1 feet.

There was a trawler already anchored here but plenty of room.  We anchored in a driving rain but no big wind or any lightning.

Bubbles had to wait for visibility then they came in.  Then Jim and Barb on Skat came in.

It poured another 30 minutes and  now it is pleasant but overcast.

That's Bubbles in the foreground and Skat is in front of the Trawler

An evening of good food and games are planned on Temptation -- except I have to go pick everyone up.  Hmmm I wonder how they are getting back tonight?

Felt like Moses being denied the Promised Land

Well maybe I've gone overboard with that statement -- but I felt it briefly today.

We had a nice night on the hook in terrible hot and humid conditions. I ran the Genset and both AC units aboard. I waited till dark to start to not annoy the neighbors too much. I know -- what a guy! It's nice but the noise drowns out everything else and I miss not being able to hear the ambient sounds of the night.

We left Cape Lookout at 7:30am this morning to see how far we could get in the forecast 110 degree heat index today. Damn the air was thick with humidity early this morning.

Anchor came up easily but the crossing to the inlet was rough. That 10 - 15kts from the South-Southwest had created short wind waves that rolled us terribly. Too much on the noise to put out a steadying sail. We just suffered for an hour and 20 minutes. Once in the inlet we had a favorable current all the way in and up Adams Creek.

WE hit Adams Creek number 1 at 12:15pm and thought briefly of going to Oriental for the night. It was hot but manageable so we pushed on. Then a favorable wind came up and we motor sailed through the Ferry crossing and on up to the Green 11 channel. BUT about 2 miles from the channel we heard thunder and saw lightning. The whole river ahead of us was dark with bright streaks of lightning going cloud to water.

I decided to anchor and wait. We headed to shore near Flanners Beach and dropped the hook and waited. Lots of lightning and a little rain -- no wind fortunately. We waited about 20 minutes in heat stifling conditions then after we hadn't seen any lightning awhile we pushed on through the light rain.

Near Hammonds shoal the rain stopped and we headed to the marina with the sound of distant thunder. WE got in and tied up before the next band hit. Paul asked how it was on the river and told us that Melinda's boat -- the marina charter boat was hit by lightning earlier. No one was injured but the boat suffered damage. Damn we were lucky!!

The heat took its toll on us. After turning on the air and taking showers we both had a 30 minute nap..

It's dinner on board tonight and early to bed. Maybe we will take a driving trip the Beaufort tomorrow -- another forecast heat index day of 110 degrees.

Flipped Out

Another fine day at Cape Lookout.

It was down right hot on the coast at mid nineties but the high here was only 86 degrees -- 84 yesterday.

A nice 10 - 12 kt wind all day.

We made a few trips to the beach but nothing of real interest there -- just a fine feeling of being on the beach and walking barefoot in the surf.

Back on the boat I wanted to scrub the underside of the hull. However I broke one strap on one fin yesterday and my replacement strap does not fit... Grrr it was for my old fins.

I tried to force it to fit and it looked like it would work then would release. Then the strap on the other fin broke. I tried to scrub with no fins but that didn't work -- kept pushing away from the hull. Grrrr..

another incident of not following through with replacements in a timely manner. I knew the straps were cracked but didn't replace them.. Now I miss this great opportunity to scrub the boat in clean water.

The rest of the afternoon was spent reading and relaxing and practicing my knots. When we went to the beach I threw out the grappling anchor and as I walked away I noticed the bowline was coming undone!!! Eeeek.

I knew that knot didn't do well when wet but this ????

I practiced a new knot to me to use next time on that little anchor -- it is called a buntline. Works in wet and slimy conditions.. Just what the doctor ordered,

Well rain and storms on tap for tonight and I promised Karen I would run the AC for her. We powered up the GENSET at 8pm -- so the other boats wouldn't notice the cooling water coming from the boat -- and hopefully will run it all night. Right now it is Coool down below. First time I've had a T-shirt on all day.. I might need covers to sleep in tonight..

Eat your hearts out my cruising friends..

Go Fly a Kite!!

Ahhh that was the watch word today.

After a nice leisure breakfast and morning of radio and position reporting I went to the beach and walked to the ATLANTIC SIDE -- found 3 very nice sea shells.

BAck on board I got out the scuba gear and dived on the boat. Thank goodness for the lycra rash guard.. I had several of these cabbage size jelly fish bounce off my arms and legs but no sting. I replaced the zinc on the prop and cleaned the strainers. Then one of my flipper straps broke and the replacement didn't fit. I tried to scrub the boat but it was a losing battle fighting the current with only one flipper. I packed it in.

I set up the riding sail and got more amps from the wind generator. It has done a yeoman's job today generating about 10 amps in the 15 kt breeze.

After lunch I got out my new kites and went to the beach. The fixed cellular flew great. I tried the generator rotating one but it would not fly by itself. Back on the boat I got out my original rotating kite with the new ball bearing end piece and it flew great. I attached the holder to the deck railing and just laid back and watched. I reeled it part warty in and tried to attach the generator about 20 feet below it but it did not work and then fouled the line.

Ohh well it has been a great afternoon of sun wind and flying and looking forward to a fine dinner tonight.

The weather has been great and the forecast storms have not appeared. The temps have been 84 degrees here with a report of 95 at New Barn. Ahhh love these temps at Lookout.

I hope to do some serious star gazing from the infamous hanging deck chair -- see spilled coffee report from this morning -- and enjoy the evening.

That tropical Storm Brent is still forecast to miss us by a lot but we can head in tomorrow if need be.. Right now we expect to leave the Cape on Thursday.

Knot Talking

Let's start with early this morning and go back to yesterday.

I was up early -- before sunrise since I just love to watch the dawn beak at Lookout. I relaxed and took a few pictures. Sitting still is not my strong suit so after I poured the first cup of coffee I thought it would be grand to sit in the swinging chair on the fore deck. I set my coffee cup down near where I was working and felt it was good out of the way spot. I started to hook the chair up and I had to tie a bowline to the rolled up Genoa. AS I was cinching it up that knot said "pull a little more slack into me" I did and dumped my full cup of coffee on the deck. It flowed under the garbage bag and split into several riverlets maximizing the spread. Damn!! I grabbed my bucket and the closest line and tied a bowline on the handle. Hmmm those knots sometimes come out \when wet -- not for just a couple of throes I though. First throw -- full bucket of water thanks from learning how in the movie "Knife in the water". Second and third throw pretty good. Fourth throw not so god then -- the knot came out.. Ohh great my new bucket -- my only bucket!! I grabbed the boat hook and retrieved it with difficulty. Whewww - back to the chair install.

I got the chair up and was relaxing in it when one of the bowlines holding the chair up said "look at me -- no tail I'm coming undone!". I immediately got out and checked the knot -- yep no tail and just about ready to upset. I fixed that and thanked that knot.

Yesterday was a great ride to lookout. We left Cedar Creek at 7:30am and motored down the ICW. We had the current so were doing between 6.4 and 6.8 knots till we hit the Newport River then our speed went to 4.9 to 5.1. This held till the inlet and then picked up to 6.3. The inlet was fairly calm with occasional boat traffic. About 1 mile from Red 10 my turn -- come two derelict barges in side tow with big tugs. One down the red side and one down the green side. Neither is moving to center or the same side. I had to run between them --not cool but preferable to going out of the channel.

The ride over to Lookout was very nice. Just a slight swell running and no real waves. One of the calmest trips across and as usual -- wind on the nose so motored all the way. WE were in and hook down by 12 noon.

A nice afternoon relaxing and puttering around. Karen took a well deserved nap. Ohhh she worked all the way from the New Port river to Lookout on the computer uploading documents for a huge press release from FHI. Good Girl and compliments to the Verizon MiFi -- slow but got it done.

We had a nice chicken dinner and the air temp was comfortable. Slept well in the fine breeze that kept up all night.

The only thing of real note here at Lookout this trip is the multitude of Jelly Fish. They are the "cabbage" variety with no streamers -- still scary looking..

I checked the prop with snorkel and the Maxi Zinc is gone -- I'll install a new one with Scuba -- water is very clear here this time.

Time to check into the waterway net this morning.

ORIN ATTACK!!

How else can you describe it?!

Karen and I started a one week vacation Friday night. Kourtney and 13 month old Orin joined us on the boat.

What a cute bundle of energy that Orin. HOWEVER -- he tests everything with those small but agile fingers. Looking for weakness.. Immediately he discovered that he could find the pull rings on the floor hatches and start pulling those up.. Wow wires and hoses in there -- let's pull on those. Ohh it went on and on but we didn't really mind -- not until he pulled on a string of accent lights in the V-berth.. Oh well easily fixed.

We had a good time and good eating. Orin had trouble going to sleep the first night but then slept through the guffaws of a game of Farkle Saturday night.

Saturday we went for a dinghy ride and thoroughly enjoyed that. I didn't think Orin was ready to overnight on the hook just yet after that cranky Friday night.

Jill and Wayne were down and we had a nice visit with them.

Saturday night we introduced Kourtney to the game of Farkle and she liked that. Karen was unstoppable though -- she won both games we played.

Kourtney decided to leave Sunday afternoon rather than Monday morning so after she left - we did -- we hot it footed it down to Cedar Creek for the night -- that's 4 hours closer to Lookout.

Nice ride but a difficult anchorage. There were several shrimp boats plying the waters -- in the Intracoastal channel and all over Cedar Creek. WE found some soft mud but easily got off then anchored easily. It's a great night with nice breezes. It also is "crowded" here -- 5 sail boats anchored.. I didn't expect that on a Sunday night. They all looked like they were heading North so should be lots of room at LookOut tomorrow..

Ahhh Lookout... Can't wait.

Happy 4th of July!!

Ahhh on the boat again.. We started kind of early this year. We were going to come down Friday evening but the traffic news Thursday night was just horrible. Two multi vehicle wrecks on I40 and 85. One killed in first wreck then 3 in the second wreck involving 3 cars, one pickup, and a18 wheeler. The 18-wheeler just plowed into those vehicles killing one person in each vehicle. The pickup looked like a crumpled fender on the 18-wheeler -- truly catastrophic. The traffic was halted for hours.

After dinner we packed and left. WE both worked from the boat on Friday. It was nice but didn't hit the sack until midnight.

Friday I worked till about 2pm and Karen till 4pm. We had Filet Mignon for dinner - on the boat of course.

Jim and Barb came over later and we played non-stop Mexican Train. Great Evening.

Saturday we decided to sail down to a little cove just east of the Ferry Crossing - Jeff and Emily suggested it. I talked Craig into going and then Continuum and Hot Chocolate and Skinny Dippin showed up. We started with appetizers on Temptation then we move the party to Skinny Dippin. WOW - too much to drink. Bob brought some genuine Moonshine -- whew it was smooth and went down like water. I was careful to only take a few sips but couple with the Goombay smash -- I was toast. We stayed till almost midnight!!

The main reason for going there was to watch the fireworks from Oriental. They looked nice but we really needed to be closer.

Today we had a relaxing morning and a huge surprise when I hauled the anchor - it was squeaky clean!! Couldn't believe it - no mud at all..

Smoke from the wildfires west of here has been dogging us all day. The smoke is heavy at times and really stinks. Gosh it's terrible and no rain in the forecast either.

We went back to the Marina. Got the AC on and closed up because of heat and smoke. I did put up my party flags? Look great on this boat.

WE are planning an evening of Farkle tonight.

Ahh the 4th of July - love it.