11/17/2008

I have a new favorite bar in Beaufort, NC: The Handle Bar.It's a 'private' club just east of the Town Creek Marina. The bar is full of old farts like me and maids of moderate youth and extraordinary zest.

The Handle Bar, Beaufort,NC

A picture of the usual patrons. Of the four in the picture, the guy on the far left, in the brown coat, looks the most relaxed.

Four Patrons of the Handle Bar
 After a couple of beers there, I wandered over to my other favorite bar, The Backstreet Pub. There I bumped into my new buddy, Tom, crewing on the s/v Cheeseburger in Paradise. Together we then met Vern Mountcastle and his lovely wife, Kathryn.
 Well, actually I met Kathryn first. She looked so shy and sweet sitting there at the bar.

We engaged in meaningful conversation about topics of mutual interest.
Me and Kathryn dancing
at the Backstreet Bar; Greatest little bar in BeaufortThen she started to talk with Tom. At that point we met her husband, Vern. Who was a gregarious guy with many tales to tell. He actually dated Nigel Calder's daughter; how about that? While they were not on a boat that night, they have done a lot of sailing in the Caribbean.
Here's Vern, Kathryn, and Tom, just before we were to meet Vern
Vern and Kathryn were visiting Beaufort with two other couples and the wives were the belles of the ball.Put them away, Kathryn; here comes VernLater I walked over to the Dock House bar, at Beaufort Town Dock. As I sat at the bar the big guy next to me looked at me. I said, "Howdy." He said, "Hi." Then he said, "you're on a small green sailboat, right?" Yeah, I said cautiously. "Your name is Bill, right?"

OK, too strange. Turns out I had met this guy in Coinjock last fall. But he's from my home marina, Mears Point Marina, in Maryland. He's also heading south again, but just to the Keys, again. We chatted a bit and then I headed upstairs to check out the band.

There I found Vern and Kathryn and their friends. I drank and danced for an hour or so. Then I looked outside and noticed the wind was way up. It was blowing hard and had veered to the West. I grabbed my coat, said goodbye to my new friends, and hustled back to Town Creek. Galena was holding but had swung very close to the marina dock. Well, within 50 feet. I think that's close.

The next morning I moved a little bit further out. But then the wind died

Today, I'm really going to do some work. But it's very cold outside. It's only 45 degrees out there but we have no wind. So I'll get busy.

After a quiet breakfast of eggs, beagle, and lots of coffee I decided there was no reason to put off this whole chainplate replacement project. So I started.

Chainplate Replacement Project

Remember back on about 20 Oct when I wrote about noticing cracks in the chainplates? Well on that blog entry (click here) I talked about order new chainplates and then having to wait for them to come in. But since I would be motoring most of the way to Beaufort, I figured I could get down to here before I really had to install them. Well I have to install at least the upper shroud's chainplate since it has two cracks in it. Then I can at least consider Galena mission-capable and sail her without a great deal of concern.

First issue was the rail strake. Westsail put the rail strake (a strip of teak running along the side of the boat, just below the gunnel) on after the chainplates and therefore over them. Furthermore, there is one of the four bolts directly under the teak rail.

So one has to cut a chunk of the teak out over the chainplate. It looks like this:
The cutout in the rail strake (and the #2 bolt head) is circled in red.I'm debating weather I should cut new teak to replace the piece I took out, or just taper the ends of what's left and leave the chainplate exposed.

Then I went below. At first I thought the bolts were accessible from inside the hanging locker. But no. Those were the bolts for the forward lower shroud. The uppers are the ones that are just aft of the main bulkhead. So I had to move everything off of the pilot birth (doesn't everyone use the pilot berth for storage?)

Then I had to remove a goodly portion of the ceiling. On a Westsail this means pulling down 7 of the teak slats running along the inside of the hull. They are each held in place with 5 bronze screws. Thank God for electric screwdrivers!

As an additional bit of aggravation, the two lower bolts are in line with the main cabin bulkhead. Makes sense from a structural point of view. Those bolts have been glassed over with the tabbing of the main bulkhead. That is, the bolts are covered with a couple of layers of fiberglass. See the red circled bulges below.

The view of the inside of the hull with part of the teak ceiling removed.
Circled in blue are the aft lower chainplate bolts.
Circled in red are the two lower nuts of the four bolts of the upper shroud chainplate that I have to replace. The nuts are under those bulges in the fiberglass tabbing. The upper two bolts are way up inside the bulwark. 
So, having not a lot of power tools available while sitting at anchor here in Beaufort, I used a drill to punch a bunch of holes around the bolt. Then I used a chisel to tear out the bit of fiberglass around the bolt itself.

Drilling into the fiberglass. Always exciting drilling against the inside of the hull.
With just enough of the tabbing removed to fit a wrench onto the bolt, I was able to remove the bolts. The fiberglass tabbing was very thick and very hard. No wonder this hull is so heavy. And this is just the glass holding the bulkhead in place!

The upper two bolts were not too hard. I used a ratchet-wrench tool (9/16") to get the nuts off. But, as usual with things up in that narrow slot, I now have hands and arms that are itching and scratched from the fiberglass. It will take days for the itching to go away, no matter how much I scrub my hands.
Just enough glass removed to fit a wrench on the nut and turn it a sixth of a turn.

With all four bolts removed, and with a lot of twisting and pulling and a little prying, the old chainplate came off.
The old chainplate hanging from the turnbuckle.
Yes, Galena was once white with red trim.

I cleaned the area under the chainplate and put sealant all around the bolt holes. With my friend, Capt Ron, holding the bolts in on the outside I went inside and put the nuts on. Here's a shot of the finished assembly from the inside, looking up into the bulwarks.
The top three of the four new nuts, looking up into the bulwarks on the inside of the hull.

I retensioned the rigging, put the ceiling slats back into place, put all the stored junk back on the pilot berth, stowed away the tools, tried like hell to wash off all the fiberglass dust from my hands and arms, and then went out with Capt Ron for a beer.

All told the whole thing took about 5-hours. Not too bad considering I was doing this at anchor and not at my home marina.

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11/11/2008

04 Nov 08, Tuesday
Dismal Swamp Visitor Center, NC; ICW Milepost 28 (Dismal Swamp Route)

After posting to my blog I had Capt Ron over to Galena for breakfast. We had eggs and pancakes that were not too bad if I do say so myself. Since the three boats that had been rafted up to Galena had departed we moved LastDance to my port side. That left nine boats still sitting at the center's bulkhead. The weather was still bad for crossing the Albemarle Sound. We had received word that Elizabeth City was packed with boats waiting to cross. So we stayed put. Besides, we were developing a friendly little community here.

I checked my fuel status: 16/33/20 gal. (Stbd, Port, and Deck tanks). I leave the valves setup for the engine to draw from the starboard tank. And for the transfer pump to move fuel from port to starboard tanks. On deck I have four fuel jugs that I use to ferry fuel to Galena when I'm at anchor. I'll run the transfer pump in a day or so to move the fuel from port to starboard tanks. Ron is running a bit low and may have to use some of my deck fuel to make it to Belhaven, NC.

Ron and I took a walk down the nature trail and got a little exercise. We took some more pictures of our boats rafted up at the bulkhead here.


Ron had a different take on the slowdown I was experiencing while driving down the swamp canal. I've mentioned before that when the depth was over eight feet I could motor at my normal 5.7 knots at 2800 rpm. But as the depth decreased to seven feet my speed also decreased. On the occasions when I was in only 6.5 feet (which was rare) I could only make 4.8 knots!? I thought that was because my keel was dragging through some soupy mud on the bottom. Mud that the depth sounder couldn't see. But Ron said it was due to the suction of the canal bottom on the bottom of the boat. The canal is narrow (less that a hundred feet in places) and shallow. A boat, even as small as Galena, displaces a significant portion of the water at the spot she is occupying as she moves along. That, according to Ron, causes significant squat and additional drag. Ron work in the maritime industry after retiring from the navy. So I will defer to his significant wisdom on this. At least until I get the chance to Google "Boat Squat" and "Pressure Drag."

Last night Ron to a terrible fall while moving from his boat, across another enroute to the bulkhead. He fell on a powerboat gunnel right on his chest. He said he heard a rib crack. But he didn't feel any pain when he breathed deeply; although it hurt when he laughed (which he does, often). A few days from now he would say that when he hauled a halyard or sheeted in the main it felt like he had marbles rolling around in his chest. He'll get it looked at later. All day he sat around moaning. I actually felt sorry for the guy. Rich and Meg, whose boat he fell into, also felt a little bad for him. The incident made me more aware that for the past few months I have let myself go to hell, too. My weight is way up. I've got to stop the beer drinking and concentrate on my rum diet. When the larder is down to just Dinty Moore Stew, I'll drop the extra weight.



s/v Oo La La, Westsail 32 #81


Galena and Lastdance rafted up.

On Wednesday, 5 Nov, I woke up with a pain in my throat. I felt like I was catching a cold. I hate having a cold. I took aspirin and drank a lot of hot chocolate. And later in the day I felt fine. I guess I was just sore from snoring too loudly.

Last night it started to rain as the cold front we had been waiting for finally arrived. In the morning it was that nasty winter drizzle that makes everything feel damp and clammy.

Since we're down in the swamp canal, surrounded by trees we don't feel the wind that is reported as 25-30 gusting to 40. I mean we don't feel it at all! We are also in the shade. Together that means my wind generator doesn't spin and my solar panels don't... whatever they do. Galena's batteries are only good for a few days without charging. And I've been watching movies and using the computer to watch the weather. I've not been frugal with the power usage at all. So I've had to run the engine for an hour or so to top up the batteries today.

I had the pleasure to meet Audry and Gion (sp?). A cute French-Canadian couple aboard s/v "Haboob!" enroute to the Exumas and then continuing on south. Gion said his name is french for 'William' and that english-speakers just can't pronounce it correctly. So we called him Willie, much to his liking. Audry asked a lot of questions about crossing from Florida to the Bahamas and the procedures for clearing customs and the like. It's always nice to have the attention of a pretty girl. So I waxed poetic about my many crossings and my lack of adventure with regard to clearing in to the Bahamas.

I spent the day doing little odds and ends of maintenance and cleaning up. I checked the oil in the engine, polished my big brass lamp, organized some of the crap that seems to accumulate on the navigation station. The nav station table top is right at the bottom of the companionway ladder. As such I tend to just throw things there when I'm done with them. And there they sit. For days. Until, finally, when I can no longer stack things on top of one another, I start to put things where they belong.

I napped from 1pm till 4pm (life is rough, isn't it?) then I had a nice dinner of rice and beans. Ron and I have 'movie night' aboard Galena. We watched 'The Whole Nine Yards.' I talked with Sarah of Moonlight Serenade and gave her a few pointers on putting pictures inside of her blog. She and Bill are still planning on a January departure from the Chesapeake Bay. January??? Don't they know how cold it will be? Hopefully I'll be in Miami or crossing the Gulf Stream about then.

06 Nov 08
Elizabeth City, NC. ICW Milepost 50 (Dismal Swamp Route)
Trip: 21nm, Total: 202nm, Engine: 1930hrs
Anchored out at N 36° 17.901' W 076° 12.702'

Lastdance and Galena cast off at about 0930 to make the 1100 opening of the lock at South Mills. We planned on just putting down the canal and that's what we did. It's only about 4 miles and we took all of an hour and a half to make it. That's slow cruising. But it actually felt better than leaving at 1015 and hauling ass.

The bridge is first. They opened at exactly 1100hrs and we had arrived about 20-minutes early. We moved forward toward the locks, which were already open. On our starboard side between the bridge and the lock is a steel bulkhead that has room for 6 or 7 boats. Being right in town, although it's a very small town, it's would have been a better place to hole-up while waiting for weather.

On into the locks with a fairly strong wind from the starboard side. Just as we were casting lines around the bolsters the rain started. We had an uncomfortable wait while we locked down about 10-feet. Then we motored on down the river to here, Elizabeth city. We had heard that there was no room for anymore boats. I had thought that some would have departed since the wind was down to 15-20 kts and from the northeast. Lastdance found a slip at the Pelican Marina. I chose to anchor out. Mostly I was afraid to enter the marina in the wind. Why bother with fighting my way into a slip when I could anchor out? And there was wind, but no fetch. So the anchorage was quite calm.

07 Nov 08
Anchored at Deep Point, Alligator River, ICW Milepost 102
N 35° 40.472' W 076° 03.539'
Trip: 44nm, Total: 246nm, Engine: 1937

We arrived here at 1430hrs. I went over to Lastdance for an early sundowner, or two. The sun was shining brightly and the temperatures were up into the mid-seventies. I sat in the sun with my shirt off for the first time in weeks.

Back on Galena at 1700, a little the worse for wear.

We had a very quiet motorsail across the Albemarle Sound. Dead calm most of the way. I was struck by the fact that the sky, water, and shoreline were all just shades of gray. No other color in sight.

Nothing but gray

The trip down the Pasquatank River out of Elizabeth City was uneventful except for the fact that I counted 19 sailboats in a row from horizon to horizon. Everyone agrees this is the time to go south.

Lastdance on the Pasquatank River

We had only a short delay at the Alligator River swing bridge. I had just missed an opening for a couple of boats about a mile ahead of me. So we sat still for about 5-minutes before the bridge opened again. Mostly I think the bridge tender was waiting for a bunch of boats to catch up from behind. So we went through with a crowd.

Along the way I was passed by Ed and Elaine aboard m/v Bay Ranger. We had met at the Dismal Swamp visitor center. I don't know who makes that boat but it quite the charming little vessel.


Ron and I will depart early tomorrow to make for Belhaven,NC.

I've been playing with my new radar. Trying to develop an understanding of how the real world corresponds to what I see on the screen. Here's a picture of the chart and the radar screen. Pretty good comparison, huh?


Not only a good view of the shoreline, but also you can see the several boats behind and ahead of me in nice little rows.

Every time I anchor here I have to get sunset and sunrise pictures. For some reason they both look wonderful here.
So, here are the pictures for this year:


Sunset with Lastdance in the foreground


And sunrise the next day with Galena in the foreground. Always inspirational.

08 Nov 08
Belhaven, NC, ICW Milepost 138
Anchored in the river just west of R'8'


Holding sucked with the CQR. Nothing but soft mud here. So I left that anchor down and motored up to drop the Bruce. It set immediately. There was a forecast for high winds from the West tonight. So two hooks are not ridiculous. It's just that hauling up two anchors in the morning will be much harder than hauling up one.

On the way here I had a nasty encounter with a jerk aboard a large, new-looking sailboat. He was passing everyone in the canal without so much as a howdy-do. As he approached Galena, on her port side, I was approaching a bridge. There was no way he could squeeze between me and the bridge fenders. But he was coming fast, just off to my port. Finally when he was about 75' behind me I blew five toots on my horn and signaled him to stay back. At the point he backed off and slowed and fell in behind me; about 25 feet behind me! As soon as I was past the bridge he started around. Again, he was very close. I held course and as he came by I shouted some comments about his lack of understanding of the navigation rules. He said I should look behind me and just get out of his way. We had a few more words as he rapidly pulled ahead. The boat name was "Living the Dream." If you see him somewhere give him a wide berth. He's not just an ass, he's dangerous!

Ron went into the marina here. He needed fuel and he likes the comforts of being in a slip: Shore power, Cable TV, etc.

As I prepared to dinghy in to see Ron, I was shocked to find that I had not filled my gasoline can when I had fueled up with diesel. I only had about a gallon of gas in the small tank that goes into the dinghy. So I tossed the big deck jug into the dink.

I dinghied in to the marina and joined Ron for a walk to town and a drink at the local watering hole. I think it was called The Rack Room. It is just to the right at the first light in town. We had a few beers and chatted-up the locals. The bartender was a lovely lass; very attentive with a great smile. The locals were fun. The place was a pool hall and bar. And, what luck, we were there on Karaoke night!. We had to go back to the marina so that Ron could settle his account for slip and fuel. When we got there the bar was open. It didn't open until 7pm. Isn't that odd?. So we had a couple of beers and chatted with the other boaters. To give you a feel for the place, Ron and I were the only ones drinking beer. Everyone else was having martinis, Manhattans, and Merlot. Yeah, it was that kind of crowd. So we walked back to the Rack Room. Ron left at about 11pm while I stayed till 1am. I had an interesting walk home. I also had fun getting into my dinghy which I had left tied to the stern of Lastdance. Once out of the marina I hit full throttle and my little dink came up on plane. I scooted across the river at 16kts literally laughing out loud at the moon.

I didn't buy gas. Damn!

09 Nov 08
Anchored in Adams Creek, 4 miles south of Oriental, NC, ICW Milepost 187
Trip: 43nm, Total: 320nm, Engine: 1952hs
NE of R'6' at N 34° 57.026' W 076° 40.009'

Ok, this will go down as the worse day of the trip... so far.

I overslept and Ron woke me up by circling Galena and shouting to me from Lastdance. So I'm up and in a hurry. I get the motor of the dinghy, I put coffee on to boil, I clear the deck for travel. I start to haul up the anchors. First the Bruce. No problem. Then the CQR. It stops coming up and the chain is tight back toward the stern. And my anchor trip line/ball is nowhere to be seen. I think maybe there's a current I don't know about. So I put the engine in gentle reverse. Bang! What was that? I still can't find the trip line or the ball. It's a large hard plastic ball about 10" in diameter. I'm in the dinghy and checking the prop shaft. Nope, no rope there. I get a boat hook and run it down the rudder slot over the pintles and to the bottom of the keel. I feel the line tight along the bottom of the keel. It won't budge.

The only thing to do is to dive down and clear it. The whole situation just doesn't make sense to me. So I dig out my snorkel, mask, and fins. Over the side I go. Did I mention that this is November!!!!????!!! Talk about cold water. I dive down and there's the problem: the trip line is wedged behind the batten I installed at the bottom of the rudder to protect the slot between it and the keel. It's hard to explain but I'll try. Galena has a full keel and an aft hung rudder. But there's a slot about two inches wide between the rudder and the back edge of the keel. When I sail over crab pots or other lines, they tend to slide along the keel, which is fine. But then they come to that slot and they move up and get caught there. So years ago I installed a batten about 12" long and attached to the keel even with the bottom of the rudder, extending over the slot, and sprung against the side of the rudder. Works great for any line sliding along the bottom of Galena's keel. As long as it's going from fore to aft. The trip line, with float was pulled from aft to forward. And it slipped behind the batten. and it was caught. and the float had been up near the prop and had been hit. So I pulled the line aft and cleared it. Then I scampered back on board Galena and dried off as fast as possible. Man it was cold!

OK, words don't describe it well, here's a picture of the drawings from my actual logbook:


Altogether I spent over an hour getting the anchor cleared and up. Oh and the prop had punched a hole in the float ball so it was trashed.

As I was drying off in the cockpit, Ron had the courtesy to take a picture

Me as I dry off after my little trip over the side

Anchor up and off we go.

You can see the line of boats heading down the channel ahead of and behind Galena

In the clear morning sun the Pamlico River was calm and beautiful. As the Albemarle was all just shades of gray, this river today is just shades of blue. I know, the water just reflects the sky. But still, it's quite striking.


When we turned down the Neuse River to the west heading toward Oriental we were pounding directly into a brisk breeze and a 3' chop. Our speed was down to 4.4 kts. We decided we would skip Oriental. The marina was expensive and the anchorage out in front was full. So we continued on down to here on Adams Creek. I was going to try to get into Cedar Creek at ICW Milepost 187. But I could see that that spot was pretty full. So we stopped here.

As I was turning off the marked channel and heading into the anchorage area I was called by a local who advised me I was heading into a shoal. He was right! I turned and he directed me to a spot well off the channel and in 7-ft of water. Ron and I anchored there. The guy who called and advised us came sailing past and chatted. In fact I invited him to raft up and have a drink.

His name is Wayne and he's a retired fire fighter from Edison, NJ. He sails his Tartan 37 around Adams Creek an over to the Neuse River just about every day. He loves to chat with the transients each spring and fall. Someday he'll also head south. Just not right now. Ron rowed over to Galena and during the gam we found that Wayne and Ron actually know some of the same people in New Jersey. Small world.

Wayne, the unofficial mayor of Adams Creek

Just after dark Wayne cast of and Ron rowed back to Lastdance. I had a quiet dinner and was early to bed.

10 Nov 08
Anchored in Town Creek, Beaufort, NC, ICW Milepost 204
N 34° 43.495' W 076° 39.971'

A gentle down-current run from Adams Creek. At times we were motoring at 7.5 kts!

OK, another bad day aboard the good ship Galena.
Ron has a slip here for Lastdance. In fact he may stay here for a month while visiting with his son, Chris.
I'm coming into the creek and looking for a place to anchor. Usually I continue south, through the bridge and over to the anchorage right in front of the Beaufort Town Docks. But the current there is terrible and the moorings are filling the anchorage. And there are just so many boats that finding a place to anchor is a challenge.

As we left the Adams Creek Canal, we were passed by four navy go-fast boats the likes of which I had never seen before.

Anyone know anything about these boats?

So this trip I figured I'll look for something here in Town Creek. I motor in and in just a few boat-lengths I'm in trouble. I look to run behind a boat anchored in 'the channel' and I see 7.2-ft on the depth sounder. Within a boat-length I feel Galena's bow rocket upward and feel the sickening lurch as a shoal slide under the keel toward the stern. I hit full throttle and hope to power off the hump. No luck. I'm up a foot in the air at the stern. The depth sounder reads 3.9-ft. I draw 5. The prop is half out of the water. Ron agrees to pull me laterally from the bow. The couple from s/v Brilliant, who knew ron from Norfolk were passing by in their dinghy and they took a line over to Lastdance. He pulled and Galena's bow swung to port but I was still high and dry by the stern. I re-rigged the tow line to the starboard side and Ron gave another pull and with a lot of twisting back-and-forth of my rudder I was able to wiggle Galena free from the bottom.


Here's a chart view of my route (starts at upper-left) and the shoals that I didn't know about.
My track is the thin red line.


Ron continues on into his slip in the marina and I head out to the river to make another approach attempt. I come in and find a spot. I drop the hook in 10-ft of water and have Galena drifting back while I let out rode. The yachtie in the boat to my port side says, "You know there's a shallow spot right behind you?" "No, I didn't," I say at the precise moment that Galena backs onto this shoal of which he spoke. Well I had already paid out 60-ft of rode so I just winched myself forward and moved another 60-ft to the north. There I anchored without additional incident. But now I'm in the middle of the channel. But I just light up Galena like a Christmas tree at night and don't worry about it.

Ron and I went to the SandBar (the bar here in the marina) for a beer. The news is on the TV. Some bar stool ass next to me makes some nasty comment about Bush robbing the country blind. I turned to him and said something to the effect of, "Hey, Fuck you!" Which I thought set the tone of the forthcoming conversation quite well. I asked what, exactly Bush had done to cause the current financial crisis. He had no answer. I asked what actions Bush had not stopped that caused the problems. He had no answer. What an ass! First of all, you don't bring up politics in a bar full of strangers and just expect everyone to agree with you. Secondly one shouldn't spout bullshit rhetoric without having given it any thought. All that and I had had a not very fun day to that point.

I went back to Galena and finished putting her to bed. I was going to be here a few days and I wanted everything just really put away. That, and an early dinner took a few hours.

I talked with Dean, of s/v Briar Patch. He was rowing by and we chatted for a bit. He built Briar Patch himself 20 years ago. He's sailing off shore down to Wilmington tonight. Seems like kindred spirit. Maybe I'll bump into him again down the road.


Ron's son was coming down to visit with his two grandchildren. I went over to Ron's boat and met Chis for the first time. Chatted for a couple of minutes and then headed over to the bar again.

A few beers later I was joined by Holly. She was a Canadian who was crewing on a sailboat headed for the Dominican Republic. Her skipper, Capt Bob, was a competent man with 60,000 ocean miles under his keel. But he was getting old and wanted some help on this run. So she had answered his add and he, she, and another guy, were on their way. Holly and I talked for a couple of hours when suddenly I hear, "Holly! What are you doing here? Why didn't you call?" It was Capt Bob. He was pissed. He had dropped her off and was waiting on board his boat to come pick her up. He didn't know she would be stopping for a few beers. He said to me, "You got a boat?" I thought, hell, I talk to the girl and now I have to keep her? He clarified the question with, "You got a dinghy to take her back to the boat?" Sure, no problem. He storms off. We finish our beers and I take her home to her boat.

Today, the 11th of November (Happy Veterans Day, btw) I get a knock on my hull. It's Capt Bob. Two things on his mind: I hope you didn't think I was upset with you last night. And, by the way, you want to take her off my hands?

Bob Dudley and I chatted for about half an hour. I liked the guy. At 75 he feels he might use a little help on the longer passages (he's heading directly from here to Dominican Republic) but feels that Holly, with her inexperience will just not do. He's trying to find a nice way to put her off here in Beaufort. Bob's been sailing his boat, s/v Cheeseburger in Paradise, for 20 years now. He was in the Pathfinders, a special army unit, and has over 60 jumps to his credit. We share a lot of the same values, likes, and dislikes.

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11/04/2008

Swamp, that is.

Here Galena sits, in the middle of the Great Dismal Swamp, awake at 0300, rain pattering on the overhead, drinking hot chocolate, and writing up my blog. Life is good.

I'm on the bulkhead of the North Carolina visitor center on the Dismal Swamp ICW route. There's room for only 4 boats on the bulkhead here. So we're rafted up four deep. We have 11 boats here for the night. Some of us will stay another day because of some bad weather coming. The next stop is Elizabeth City. There have been 15 or so boats a day coming down this leg of the ditch. Most of them will be stopping in Elizabeth city. So I'll be staying here where it's quiet.

On the evening of 31 October I arrived in Solomons Island, MD, and anchored behind the little island (Molly's Leg?) at the entrance to the river. When I awoke (late) my neighbors were gone. I received an e-mail from Dave (s/v Phoenix) that morning. He used to be on O-Dock at Mears Point Marina with me. He'd moved his boat here some time last spring. He now lives aboard there at Solomons. I called him and arranged to spend some time visiting.

About 0900 I moved Galena to a better anchorage up the river near the Holiday Inn. Then I dinghied over to Dave's boat. He's in Zahniser's Marina; one of the largest in the area. We visited a while.

Dave, working in his boat-home-office: s/v Phoenix

Dave introduced me to Tom, s/v Star of the Sea. It's a 27' Island Packet. Nice little boat. Tom intends to sail it to New Zealand. He's already sailed it three time (Yeah, total!). He has a lot of learning ahead of him. Since he knows little about the ICW Tom said he'd follow me down to the Bahamas. He figures I know the way and can teach him a few things. Silly man.

Dave bought me lunch and then I got a call from Sarah and Bill (s/v Moonlight Serenade). They have their boat on the hard here and are doing some serious modifications before heading down to the Bahamas late this year. I had a great visit with them. Dave joined us as we had a late dinner at one of the many eateries in the area.


Bill and Sarah working on s/v Moonlight Serenade



Bill and Sarah taking a break

I also met Richard (s/v Wanderlust) on a Westsail 28. They are also 'heading south' and may cruise with me; on and off.
s/v Wanderlust
On Saturday morning, 01 Nov 08, I headed out of Solomons Island and toward Belles Creek. Belles Creek is a place I've almost always stopped at on these trips down the Bay. It's 50 miles south of Solomons and 50 north of Norfolk. Good holding and a secluded anchorage. There's usually one or two other boats there. This time I was the first there. Shortly after I anchored another boat arrived. s/v Turbulence is from Ontario. So they anchored right on top of me.
I had a quiet sail down the bay to Belles Creek.

01 Nov 08
Belles Creek
N 37-41.427 W 076-20.047
Trip: 48nm, Total: 97nm, Engine: 1912 hrs

I left Belles Creek very early. In fact I left earlier than I realized at the time. There was a time change during the night that I had completely ignored until I looked at my cell phone and noticed the time was different from that on my GPS. I didn't have the GPS on Auto DST. So it, and therefore I, was an hour off. While I thought I was leaving at 0715, it was actually 0615.
Looking back at the Belles Crk Anchorage before dawn
Looking toward the Chesapeake Bay from the Indian River at dawn

Sunrise on the bay
Anyway, Sunday, 02 Nov 08, was a great day of sailing. The wind was out of the northeast and I was heading south. The wind was 10 to 15 kts and the chop was up to 3-ft. I had everything up most of the day and Galena was making over 6-kts. On occasion I had to drop the Stay Sail just to keep Galena from being overpowered. And for an hour around 1100 I actually fired up the engine because the wind just died for an hour. But then I was back to hauling ass! I even passed two boats which were also heading south. Galena never passes anyone and yet there she was: galloping along happy as a clam. The Aries wind vane steered well all the way so I just sat there reading a book and watching the bay roll by.

As I approached Norfolk I talked with Capt Ron (s/v Lastdance). He was sitting in the naval station's marina in Norfolk. He said there was room on the T-head next to him and I could just tie up there for the night. So I did. The wind came up and I was happy to be inside a marina's break water rather than on the hook at Hospital Point (which is what I had planned).
Lastdance and Galena in Norfolk
02 Nov 08
Norfolk, VA
N 36-57.18, W 076-18.55

Ron and I were up at 0600 and departed the marina at 0700. We wanted to make it to the Jordan Lift Bridge for it's first opening at 0830. But the bridge opened at 0820 instead. So we had to mill about with 5 other boats waiting for another opening. We hurried and had to wait.

Ron and I had discussed taking the Dismal Swamp route to Elizabeth City rather than the usual Virginia Cut route to Coinjock. I'd already done both and the swamp is something everyone should do at least once. Ron hadn't. So we turned left and left the pack. Most of the boats in the group that came through the Gilmerton bridge with me headed down the normal, deep, Virginia Cut. Only a few take the Dismal Swamp route. Mostly because the ditch is only 6-ft deep in many places. It's also very narrow.

When I arrived at the lock we had about an hour wait until the next locking. They only lock boats through four times a day. I was going to go through on the 1100 locking. So I dropped the anchor and waited with four other boats. Ron rafted up on me and we had a mid-morning snack while visiting. Just before the lock opened a gaggle of other boats arrived. Ron was concerned that they would cut in front of us and, being faster, would get to here, the visitor center, before us and take up all the dock space. I said we would just raft up to them. Ron still had concerns. I suggested that if we couldn't raft up at the center, I'd just drop the hook and we'd raft up in the ditch. Once the last locking takes place there would be no more traffic to worry about.

The lock opened and we started in. "Five boats on the starboard wall," the lockmaster said. Lastdance was number 5. So I rigged for port side tie-up as I headed toward the lock. Then the lockmaster said, "Green sailboat. don't enter the lock!" I hit hard reverse. the boat behind me did the same. As I struggled to keep Galena under control the lockmaster said to bring her in right behind Lastdance. So I quickly switched to a starboard-side tie up as I headed into the lock. Then the lockmaster said, "Green boat! head to the far end of the lock and tie up port-side-to. So I maneuvered through the lock and, at the same time, repositioned my fenders for a port-side tie-up. All very frustrating.

All told, we put 13 boats in the lock. Five on each wall and three in the center. We took all of an hour to move all move into the lock and then out after locking up twelve feet.
The Deep Creek Lock
Since I was moved to the port-side front, I was in front of everyone! And the swamp is far too narrow to pass. Sure, it's all a no wake zone. But I could just see the powerboats behind me fuming at having to motor along at 5.7 kts.

Looking aft at the powerboats following me
Once here I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff and Julie. They are on an older Westsail 32 (s/v Oo La La). This is their first trip south and they are heading over to the Gulf Coast of Florida.

03 November 2008
Dismal Swamp, North Carolina Visitor Center. ICW milepost 28
N 36-30.394 W 076-21.352
Trip: 34nm, Total: 180, Engine: 1923

Galena and others at the Dismal Swamp Visitor Center.
So here I sit. Still raining and cold outside. And I'll probably sit here for a day or so.

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10/31/2008

Thursday, 30 Oct 08, 0735-hrs
Galena departed Mears Point Marina heading toward the Bahamas... Again.

I'm now sitting in Solomons Island, MD
Trip: 47nm / Total 47 nm; Engine: 1904 hrs

It's 0200 hrs and I just woke up to check the anchor. Yep, it's where I left it: 88-ft off Galena's bow.

It was a cold day with very blusterly conditions to start with.
In fact, the wind was a big problem when I left the slip this morning. Wind was 15 gusting to 25 from the NW. That put it from 2-O'clock as Galena lay in her slip. I have to turn to port as I motor out. So when I was finally ready to leave the slip (which took much longer than I had expected; man am I out of practice!) I had to use a 'thief knot' at the bow, starboard side. I cast off the three leeward (port) lines, I cast off the port stern line. That left Galena hanging from just a bow and breast line on the windward (starboard) side. I made a final check to insure that I had disconnected all those pesky little things like shore power and cable TV lines. I checked the dink (which I would tow) to ensure it was properly positioned. Then I waited for a lull in the wind.

At least that's what I told myself I was doing...

Actually I was just savering the moment. I was about to start yet another adventure. This one would be unique. The first two I had my wife Jane with me. The third had Capt Tom on Evergreen sailing in tandem with me. This time I was all by myself.

Finally, the wind abated a little. I yanked the trip line for the thief knot at the bow and dropped the loop from the piling at the breast line amidships. The wind immediately started to swing Galena's bow to port. I gunned the engine and she started out of the slip. 3/4 of the way out I backed down a little to allow the bow to finish swining to port and then accelerated down the fairway.

We've had high northly winds for the last few days. The wind has blown all the water out of the bay. Usually in my slip I'm sitting in 7 to 8 ft of water. This morning I was reading 5.6-ft. And it was high-tide! As I turned around s/v Amici at the end of the dock and headed toward the marina entrance I was reading 5.2 ft. Remember Galena draws 5-ft. As I motored past the covered slips near the entrance to the marina I felt Galena rise up as her full keel slid up onto the muddy bottom. I hit full throttle and watched the water depth hit 4.6 ft. Galena continue to rise up... and slow down! As I got down to about 1.5 kts she started to settle into deeper (5.2') water. Finally I was out into Kent Narrows. I was 10-minutes early for the drawbridge. I checked in and started treading water waiting. The tide was heading out (South) and the wind was NW. So I would have a fast run through the bridge and the lower part of the Narrows.

After the bottoming in the marina I was concerned about the shoals just at the southern end of the Narrows. I'd read as little as 6.8 ft there in the past.

As a side note, last year I went all winter without hitting the bottom more than about two or three times. And here I was, rubbing the new bottom paint off only a few hundred feet into this trip. This doesn't bode well.

Through the bridge at 0800 hrs and into the southern leg of Kent Narrows. I read 5.2' at the shallow spot near Green '3' and that was the end of the shoals. A few minutes later I had turned into the wind and raised the sails: a double reef in the main plus the staysail. I was moving along smartly, directly downwind.

As I turned SW into Eastern Bay, my speed increased to 6+ kts. I shook out one reef and settled into my routine.

It was cold out. The sky had cleared and the sun was shining but providing absolutely no warmth. The temperature was about 60-deg. I turned into the Chesapeake Bay, proper, at about 1030 hrs. Now I was running almost dead downwind again. Ii shook out the final reef in the main and ran with full main and staysail. Galena was making about 5.5 kts most of the time. When the wind gusted (to about 25 kts) she sped up to 7kts. Then she slowed back to about 5.

At 1330 the sun started to warm things up a bit. The air was still cool. And the wind was uncomfortably cold. But sitting in the sun I felt warm for the first time in days. I stripped off my heavy winter coat and then my sweatshirt. I was basking in just a T-shirt and sweatpants.

That warmth lasted only about an hour. By 1430 everything got cold again. So back I was again bundled up.

Everything seems to be working well. Galena just sailed along quietly. But then the wind died. My speed dropped to less than 3-kts. My arrival time at Solomons Island quickly moved to 'after-dark,' So I fired up the engine and motor-sailed the last 15 or so miles.

I made it here at about 1645-hrs. I had seen 9 other sailboats ahead of me running down the bay. And I had heard a bunch of them calling marinas in the Solomons area. But no one was anchored in my little anchorage just inside the river entrance.

I slowed down to 1.5 kts. I went forward (I almost said 'I ran' but you never let them see you run; it looks so un-seamen-like, and so much of this is posturing for the other sailors) and dangled the anchor. I noticed that there was a lot of construction going on. everyone was building more docks. They were encroaching into 'my anchorage.' But I picked my spot. I put the engine in idle reverse. I walked forward and released the anchor break. Down it went just as Galena lost all way. I payed out rode as she started to slowly turn downwind and started making sternway. At 35-ft I snubbed the rode and set the hook. I walked back to the cockpit and increased revs in reverse. I check side ranges (masts and shoreside objects) and noted that Galena came to a stop once the catenary was taken up. So engine to idle and back to the bow to set my snubbers.

I settled in to a nice cup of hot chocolate and a can of stew. I also called Sarah and Bill of Moonlight Serenade. They keep their boat here and I was interested in seeing them again. Sarah said they were planing on coming down on Friday afternoon. So I'll sit here all day tomorrow and visit with them.

Saturday morning I'll head down to Indian Creek and then Sunday to Norfolk. There I may join up with Capt Ron on s/v Lastdance if he's still around.

Next entry, pictures. I promise.

This was just a started-post.

The adventure begins. Cool, huh?

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05/28/2008

17 - 18 May 2008
Beaufort, NC


I stayed in Beaufort for a few days longer than originally planned. Partly because of the weather. Partly because I was having such a good time. As I said, I really like this town. And, yeah, Moonlight and I partied our collective little hearts out. Three days of good meals and great times. Each day we thought we were leaving the next morning. And since they are so much faster than Galena, we would say, "goodbye" each night. But then the sun would rise and there we would be, still anchored next to each other.

One of our favorite places was the Backstreet Pub. It's off the alley behind Front Street.

The entrance to the Backstreet Pub

Downstairs is a small bar with a fireplace. Very old world feel to the place

Bill and Sarah downstairs at the Backstreet Pub

Upstairs there's another bar with a bandstand and dance floor.

The upstairs at the Backstreet Pub

One morning Moonlight Serenade and I were at a coffee shop drinking coffee and playing dominoes. Karen and Angela, whom we had met the night before at the Backstreet Pub, stopped by. We taught them how to play. When we found out they were musicians, we invited them out to Moonlight Serenade for a jam session.

Karen, Bill, Sarah, and Angela on Moonlight Serenade

Karen plays the fiddle and Angela plays the guitar. We sat around making music for a while as the wind blew about 20kts outside.

After a bit Bill, Sarah, and I went to town for dinner. When we stopped by the Backstreet Pub for a beer, Bill went out to check on the boats. The wind was still blowing about 20kts and the current had just shifted with the tide. In just a few minutes Bill came running back yelling that, "The boat's not there!" He thought someone had stolen it. We ran down to the dinghy dock and as we got into the dinks we saw Moonlight Serenade. It was about 200 yards downwind of were it had been. We hurried out there since she was riding very close to another boat. It had obviously dragged. Sarah raised the anchor as I fended off the boat that was close aboard on the starboard side. As the hook came up we found it had fouled on a mooring ball's mooring line. Once we got that cleared off the anchor Moonlight's fin keel caught on a boats anchor rode. Bill backed her off that and finally made it into clear water. We moved back to where Moonlight had been anchored earlier and dropped the anchor. We just wanted to catch our breaths and settle down a bit.

By the time Moonlight was well anchored again and I returned to Galena it was about 0100 hrs. Looking at the positions of the other boats around Moonlight, Bill believed that his anchor had been tripped by some other boat. I agreed. It just didn't seem like Moonlight would have dragged like that without any help.

19 May 2008
Aligator River Anchorage, South of G-37 at ICW Milepost 101.
Trip: 92nm, Total: 2976nm, Engine: 1821hrs


I left Beaufort early in the morning, as usual. I got was up and moving just an hour or so before Moonlight Serenade. The tide was with me most of the way. Moonlight had said they were going all the way to Milepost 101. I usually make it there in two days. After all, it's almost 100 miles! And a fifty mile day is just about right for Galena. But with the current with me, and the longer days this time of year, and with the early start I had, I just might make it.

About 1700 Moonlight called to ask where I was going to anchor for the night. I was just at the bottom of the Allegator-Pungo Canal. If I enter it, I have to make it all the way through; 20 miles. There's no place to stop once you get into that canal because it's just too narrow. There was a full moon tonight and I would be able to make it to the top of the canal by sunset. So I decided to go for it.

I came out of the canal just as the moon was rising. It was big and orange. Bill on Moonlight hit me with a light as I came into sight. I anchored in 9-ft of water in a dead calm. So I rowed over to Moonlight Serenade and had a great dinner with Bill and Sarah.

20 May 2008
Coinjock, NC
Trip: 51nm, Total: 3017nm, Engine: 1830hrs


I sailed off the hook before down. At first the Albamarle Sound was calm. I was sailing north with about an 8-kt south breeze. But as the day wore on the winds came up higher and higher. By the time I hit the swing bridge the wind was blowing at about 20-kts and the seas were up to 4-ft.

As I made it to the top of the Sound the wind was 25-30 kts. The seas were over 6-ft and it was really nasty. I made it in to Coinjock early enough in the afternoon to have a little nap before dinner. I was anchored behind s/v Mistriss, who was right behind Moonlight Serenade. See, I keep saying goodby to them and keep ending up right next to them day after day. My good fortune.

We had dinner and drinks and called it a night. Oh, and said, "Goodbye" once again.

21 May 2008
Hampton Public Docks, Hampton, VA
Trip: 50nm, Total: 3078nm, Engine: 1838hrs


I made it to Hampton after an uneventful run up the ICW and through Norfolk. Again, I'm tied up next to Moonlight Serenade. We all went out to a pub named Marker 20. There I met Kim and Brian, friends of M.S. After a nice light dinner and a couple of beers, we again said, "Goodbye" and called it a night. This time, the goodbye was real.

22 May 2008
Solomons Island, VA
Trip: 92nm, Total: 3171nm, Engine: 1856hrs


I was going to go all night and end up in Baltimore. The gang from my home marina was going to spend Labor Day Weekend rafted up in the Inner Harbor. I wanted to surprise them and just show up there. I had called my buddy Capt Ron and he was going to be there early on Friday.

But the wind was right on the nose. And the seas were about 3-ft and pounding into Galena with a very tiring motion. So about midnight I decided to head into Solomons and drop the hook for a few hours sleep.

I've been here quite a few times before and was fairly comfortable coming into this place in the dark.

I got the hook down and immediately fell asleep.

23 - 25 May 2008
Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD
Trip: 71nm, Total: 3241nm, Engine: 1869hrs


I had to motorsail all the way here. The wind was either non-existant or right on the nose all day long. By the time I got here there was four of my friends already anchored. s/v's Sea Woof, Lastdance, Cloud Nine, and m/v Bliss. I rafted up with Lastdance.

I partied with Capt Ron and the others for a while and fell asleep.

The next day we spent a lot of time talking about how we spent the winter. The others from O-Dock arrived throughout the day. Rising Tide, Integrity, Zufrieden. Capt Ron and I wondered about the waterfront for a while and went out for diner.

Some of the boats at the Baltimore Raft-up

After another couple of days partying with my buddies it was time to actually finish this trip.

26 May 2008
Mears Point Marina, Kent Narrows, MD
Trip: 30nm, Total: 3270nm, Engine: 1856hrs


I called Jane and headed home to Mears Point Marina. It was only 30 miles across the bay and up the Narrows. I had to motor all the way home. I arrived about 1300 hrs. When I got there Joel and Joanne (s/v So Excited) and Billy and Karen (s/v Betterdays) were waiting to catch my lines. Jane took some pictures as Galena found her way into her slip after almost 3300 miles and seven months of cruising.

Galena turning into her slip at the marina.

Joel and Billy catching my lines

Jane and I went out to have a little lunch and then she drove me home.

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