Passage Harbor Village marina to Casper’s Marina, Swansboro, NC
6:50 AM Underway
12:40 PM Docked port side to.
6.87 engine hours 39 miles

Trying something new. Actually writing the blog while underway. We have some 3 mile runs and that’s about a half hour with out changing course. The autopilot is great for the wind and tide on these long stretches.

We got underway in spite of the wind blowing the bow around and the stern line getting caught on the water spigot. The bow got blown almost into the next slip. I then inched Liquid Therapy forward enough that the bow sprit against the piling kept the bow from blowing into the next slip. Susan got the line free from the dock but it was in the water as she tried to be in two places at one time. The 30 foot line was now trailing behind the boat, as she pushed the bow off the piling. Hey, the wind was blowing more than we realized! The boat was finally out of the slip and almost across to the other side of the channel, about to hit the concrete wall. Alas, I couldn't go into reverse because the line in the water might get sucked into the propellor! Susan rushed from the bow to the stern to get the line out of the water. I hit reverse to back away from the concrete wall and then we were underway. That’s another reason not to get a bigger boat. Too far to get from one end to the other. We keep seeing a style of boat we like called ‘downeast’.This is a sleek boat, usually with a navy hull and white topsides with some teak trim, but alas, no rails, which are a must on these windy days!

Bridges - Today we have to time our arrival at two bridges that open on schedule. The first bridge was only 3 miles away and opens only on the hour. We certainly would not make the 7AM opening and slowed the boat down to a crawl. Even so, we were going to have a 12 minute wait in the gusty wind for the bridge to open. Not too bad. I’ll make speed adjustments for the next bridge, 14 miles away, that opens on the hour and the half hour so that we arrive just as the bridge opens. As it worked out I actually had to speed up a bit due to the wind to arrive just as the bridge opened.

Docking at Casper’s marina was quite a challenge as we turned downwind and now down current and I had to be in gear moving forward in order to control the approach to the slip. This was happening much faster than you want to travel in close quarters. Susan and the two dock hands were going to have to work fast and I was going to have to reverse hard to stop the 22,000 lb boat’s momentum without hurting someone, tearing the dock down or wrecking the boat. ‘That this would be a very bad time for the engine to quit’ is always in the back of my mind. All of us timed the maneuver and the boat came to a gentle stop. The dock guys were very good.
After a rest, we took a walk about the town and ate at a nice pub.
Tomorrow we are trying for a 47 mile run to River Dunes Yacht Club in Oriental, NC for two days. The wind forecast is again 15-20 knots out of the northeast. Just the direction we are headed. Another rough day ahead.

Today’s picture is me with my hair that hasn’t been cut in almost 6 months. I might start a rock band when I get home.