We Are Cruisers At Last!!
01 November 2007 | Oriental, NC to South River anchorage, NC
Doug Mayle
CURRENT LOCATION: South River anchorage, off the Neuse River near Oriental, NC
34 56.850' N, 076 33.655' W
After a good night's sleep tied up in Deaton's lift slip, they moved the slings under our boat and lifted Prudence out of the water first thing in the morning. The solution turned out to be rather simple. They removed a rubber backing from the thru-hull, removed and re-bedded the bronze thru-hull, and we were back in the water a little after 9AM. The new depth and speed transducer is flush, snug, and working perfectly.
As we headed out from Deaton's we were greeted by a pod of dolphin which were close enough to touch. These good luck omens suggest that our cruising days will be happy ones. The smiles on our faces would be evidence that we are off to a good start.
We motored across the Neuse where there was barely a whisper of wind, and maneuvered the boat into South River. Although conditions are calm at this point, we are expecting a substantial blow tonight. The predicted 30-40 knot winds with gusts up to 50 knots will be a new range of wind for us to experience at anchor (or anyplace else except when placing a hand outside a car window while going down the highway). On the ride across the Neuse, we decided to pull out the gear to deploy what we believe will be our best storm anchor solution.
We deployed a 'tandem' anchor, where we first dropped in our Fortress FX37, with about 12 feet of chain, connected to the crown of our 60 lb CQR. We then slowly dropped the CQR and paid out the chain to a scope of 10:1. We tried to do this in a straight line from north to south (because the big winds are forecast to be northerly), but our prop-walk pulling to port left us a little to the west of the anchors. We can tell, because we put a float on the Fortress and we can see exactly where it is. I would assume that 30-40 knot winds will have no problem dragging the 200+ pounds of chain into a straight line.
The theory of the tandem anchor system is that if our CQR should drag, it will be held in check by the Fortress flukes digging into the mud. Additionally, the overkill on scope should give us extra cushion and keep the shank of the CQR low and well set. Hopefully, all of this theory will be proven in practice, sometime after midnight tonight.
Until then, we have settled-in here in our South River anchorage (home for the next few days). Our 'local knowledge' has allowed us to come in past the cemetery and anchor facing north into a grove of trees (not far from where we anchored Ashiya for the first time just a little over two years ago). From this spot, we can no longer see the entrance into the Neuse. We believe that this is a good thing. As of this writing (4PM EST), we are alone in this part of the river. Lots of deep water, trees protecting us to the north, and an anchorage to ourselves. Not much more one could ask for to ride out a big blow.
Morale here on Prudence is much improved from earlier in the week. The rush of getting things done has passed, and we have found a few hours of relaxation here before Mother Nature starts making our lives interesting again. Most of all, we are pinching ourselves to be certain that this is real. For the first time, we are comfortably anchored with no slip to return to, no jobs calling us home, and no responsibilities (save to ourselves and the boat). Life is Good!