Brilliant's Log 03-08


29 April 2008 Carolina Beach to Mile Hammock, NC.

The foul weather that forced us to change our plans to head inshore, kept us at anchor an extra day. The strong winds and rain would not have made for a good day. On Tuesday with better conditions we departed in company with "Two Loose" and headed north on the ICW. Some of the trouble spots we had encountered last fall, where the waters had shoaled were on this stretch. But passing a large dredge as we cleared Carolina Beach was a good sign and we had no problem with shoaling. It was basically an uneventful day "driving the ICW "Ditch" with the exception of timing our first two bridge openings. This is one of the keys to making good time on the ICW and we managed to goof up the first two and ended up having to idle for over 45 minutes. In the afternoon "Two Loose" needed fuel so we planned a stop at the Beach House Marina. A VERY narrow channel in and a fuel dock way back in a corner was challenging, but we both got alongside ok. We also decided to add a bit of diesel at $4.23 a gallon (ouch) as long as we were there. It also gave Stephanie and Annette a chance to pick up a few supplies at a nearby market. It was getting late by the time we arrived at Mile Hammock and the anchorage was quite crowded. Mile Hammock is a little harbor that is attached to the Marine Corps' Camp Lejeune and they use it for amphibious training. They do, however, allow cruising boats to anchor in the harbor, but we are not allowed ashore. Despite the crowd, by 1845 we had both found spots to anchor and after our experience last fall here we made sure we got a good anchor set before we settled in for the night.
Log 45 NM


30 April 2008 Mile Hammock to Beaufort, NC

We enjoyed a quiet night in Camp Lejeune's backyard. Unfortunately, a breeze did come up in the night and "Two Loose" woke to find their anchor had dragged and the boat was stuck in the mud. They were able to get off easily, but not a good way to start the day. I don't even think they'd had coffee! We decided to do better with the bridges, so carefully planned our departure to make the Onslow Beach Swing Bridge that opens on the hour and we did well. Unfortunately, as they opened the bridge for us the Navy and USCG informed us that the ICW was being shut down for a USMC live firing exercise. So rather than dodging bullets we decided to drop the hook in the middle of the canal, relax and enjoy the sounds of small arms fire and the random howitzer for an hour. After that is was clear motoring to Beaufort. The nasty shoal at Red 61 where we bumped bottom last fall was dredged, so no problem there. We anchored in Taylor Creek, just off the Beaufort town dock, while "Two Loose" when into the marina. They were very nice and shared their key to the showers, so we too could enjoy a long hot shower. After we got together for a dinner out and choose poorly. It was rather late and we ended up going to a gourmet restaurant called Aqua. Pretty typical, big plates, beautiful presentation, elf-food. We went home after and made a sandwich. The only nice thing, besides the company, was that because service was sooo slow, the manager knocked twenty percent off the bill.

Log 38 NM

1 May 2008 Beaufort to Broad Creek, NC

Pulled up our second anchor and then the primary, the mud wasn't too bad, and "Brilliant" was underway to make the little Beaufort Bridge opening. En route to the bridge, as we passed along the Beaufort waterfront, we quite unexpectedly ran aground on an uncharted shoal. Thankfully, the bottom is soft and we were able to quickly back off the shoal. We still made the bridge with time to spare. "Two Loose", who stayed in the marina mentioned after the fact that the dock office had warned about that little shoal. They thought since we'd been here before that we knew about it. Oh well, no damage done. Clear of the bridge and within a quarter mile we were aground again. This time it was a sudden senior moment about which side of a red channel day marker, not on the ICW, to pass. Once again "Brilliant" backed out of the mud with ease, the Captain, red faced, then continued on the right course. The tidal current was against us and we made slow progress to Oriental, NC. We had hoped for a spot on the town's free dock, but no luck. As we turned around and began to look for a spot to anchor we ran aground again. This was getting very old, but again it was a soft stop and with a little more power got back to deeper water where we found a spot to anchor in 8'. The wind had picked and was blowing 15 knots with a bit of a chop coming into the harbor by the time we'd anchored. Pete was uncomfortable with our exposure to a stronger south breeze and checked the weather on-line for Pamlico Sound. With the forecast winds increasing to 20 knots during the night he decided to up anchor and find better shelter. We said goodbye to "Two Loose" who had taken a slip in the Oriental Marina for the night and headed out for Broad Creek about 10 miles further down the road. The nice thing about the decision was that as we cleared the Oriental Harbor we were actually able to shut the engine down and sail. For the short 10 mile run we cruised with a full jib only and had a lovely relaxed two hour downwind trip. The cruising guide's description of Broad Creek made us nervous, it's very shallow and the channel is poorly marked. Worried about going aground for the fourth time in one day we were cautiously inching our way in. About the time we discovered that GPS positions and both the electronic and paper charts had errors larger than the width of the channel (not good), we saw another sailboat moving up fast on our stern. We called them on the VHF and offered them the lead into the creek. It turned out they were a local boat and gladly showed the safe way in.

Log 32 NM

2 May 2008, Broad Creek to Belhaven, NC

We had a quiet night in Broad Creek, the forecast wind never came up. We had a romping sail for the first two hours as we caught up with "Two Loose" just prior to entering one of the narrow canals on the route. As we emerged from the canals north end we found the wind again and sailed across the Pamlico River and up to Belhaven. It was nice to save a bit of diesel. As we hoped we found our friends John and Cheryl on "Kloosh" already anchored at Belhaven. We had met them in Maine last summer as they were just getting ready to start cruising. Cocktails aboard "Kloosh".

Log 35 NM

3 May 2008, Belhaven to Alligator River Marina, NC

Long day of motoring up the 20 NM Albermarle Canal. We were able to use the mainsail while motoring in the narrow straight canal to take advantage of a strong south wind. It helped boost our speed and we made good time. Once clear of the canal and into the Alligator River we brought out the jib as well. The wind and waves were picking up as the Alligator River Swing Bridge opened for us. We cleared the bridge and turned right and into the Alligator River Marina for our first night in a marina since Jacksonville. We topped up our diesel ($3.99), filled the water tanks, did laundry, hot showers for the crew and visited with friends. All we missed was having dinner out, Miss Wanda (the owner of the marina) closes the restaurant at 2000.

Log 46 NM

4 May 2008, Alligator River Marina to Elizabeth City, NC

After MUCH discussion we decided to try the Dismal Swamp Canal. Last fall it was dangerously low and we really couldn't do it, so why not now. "Two Loose" decided that their 6.5' draft was a bit too deep plus they wanted to get to up to Annapolis, so they opted out of the Dismal. We said goodbye to "Two Loose" and in company now with "Kloosh" we headed out for Elizabeth City. We picked the right day to cross the Albermarle Sound. The sound has a nasty reputation for making big waves because of the shallow depths if you have to go against the wind. We had a good southerly breeze and when we cleared the last shoal on the Alligator River we were able to set our sails for a lovely broad reach to cross the sound. Into the Pasquotank River the wind eased a bit but the calm water allowed us to keep sailing. We slowed to less than 3 knots, but it was so nice sailing that we just continued. About 6 miles from our destination the wind finally died on us and reluctantly we started the engine. We were lucky to find a side to berth on the free city docks.

Log 30 NM


6 May 2008, Elizabeth City to NC Welcome Center (Dismal Swamp)

We delayed our departure for an extra day so that we could catch the Rose Buddies and the wine and cheese party they throw for cruisers. The Rose Buddies are a group of men that host a party and go out of their way to make cruisers feel welcome in Elizabeth City. Once again we met the town's Mayor as he was walking the docks and had a chat with him. We also had a fabulous seafood lunch at a little local restaurant/seafood market called Quality Seafood (and it was). We really like Elizabeth City. On the 6th we woke to a very thick early morning fog, that cleared in time for our planned departure. With "Kloosh" in company we motored up the beautiful Pasquatank river and into the Dismal Swamp Canal. With less than 15 NM to the South Mills Locks we could go slowly and enjoy the natural beauty of the winding and narrow river. It was unbelievable how many turtles we saw sunning themselves on the logs along the shores. In addition to the wide variety of birds, we also saw one very large snapping turtle and a snake swimming across the canal. The South Mills' lone bridge tender/lockmaster opened and closed the small bridge for us and the four other northbound boats. Once all were secure in the lock, he flooded the lock and lifted us the 8' then opened the north end of the lock to allow us to enter the Dismal Swamp Canal. The canal has a published minimum depth of 7' in the center and in most places it does. Where it was less, the bottom was soft and "Brilliant" was hardly slowed down. The problem we found was the debris, logs, limbs, junk, etc. that our keel would suddenly bump into. Worried that something might foul our propeller, we really had to slow down. We covered the 5 NM to the unique North Carolina Welcome station safely. We rafted to another sailboat that was already tied up to the Centers free short dock and then rafted "Kloosh" to us.

Log 16 NM

7 May 2008, NC Welcome Center to Navy Norfolk, VA

The Welcome Center is unique because it greets both the cars on route 17 and the boats transiting the Dismal Swamp Canal and made for an excellent overnight stop. It has all the amenities you expect at a rest stop plus it has a lounge, book swap and loaner bikes for cruisers. They also have a new swing bridge across the canal to a State Park, just opened, with a nature center and 16 miles of trails into the swamp. Another nice thing here as that with traffic on the canal controlled by the lock openings, after 1530 no one is moving on the canal. No traffic, no wakes during the night. Waking early we got underway to make the 1100 lock opening at Deep Creek on the northern end of the canal. The 20 NM to the lock went quicker than expected with a bit more depth and a little less bumping. The worse section was near the Lake Drummond feeder ditch where the water as shallow as 5.4'. We draw 6'. Luckily it was very soft. At the deep Creek Locks the friendly lockmaster help us get tied up then entertained us by playing one of the conchs from his collection as he lowered us the 8' into Deep Creek and the southern end of the Elizabeth River. We'd timed the tide perfectly and joined a group of 15-20 northbound power and sailboats making it through the last of the bridges on the ICW. Calling ahead we, were able to get the only transient berth left at the Navy Norfolk Marina.

Log 32 NM

9 May 2008, Navy Norfolk to Hampton River, VA

We spent two nights at Navy Norfolk and hired a diver ($2.50 per ft) to clean the winter's growth off the bottom of "Brilliant". Hopefully, this will reduce our drag and improve our fuel economy. Blustery day with strong winds made getting off the dock challenging. We motored across Hampton Roads and up the Hampton River to downtown Hampton. With the wind trying to push into shallow water, it took us much too long to get two anchors set. That finally accomplished Pete jumped into the dinghy and went ashore to pick up our rental car for the weekend.

Log 5 NM

14 May 2008, Hampton River, VA to Deltaville, VA

We ended up staying in Hampton longer than we planned. A very strong storm hit the Chesapeake Bay and we were glad to be in a protected anchorage. With the rental we managed to take care of restocking supplies aboard and to get Stephanie out for a nice Mother's Day breakfast. But for the most part our time was spent aboard waiting for the winds calm and switch to the south again. Wednesday's forecast was for light southerly winds and we departed Hampton on the ebb tide. With 1-2 knots of current helping us, we enjoyed a great sail all the way to the York River entry where the current reversed and the wind failed. We motored and motorsailed the rest of the very uneventful trip. The narrow winding entry into Jackson Creek at Deltaville was no problem and we anchored next to "Kloosh" on the southern branch. Quiet spot... very nice?

Log 41 NM