We enjoy going to Ocracoke. Although last time, fog on the Pamlico Sound made the trip a little more exciting than we would have liked. I had Veteran's day off and I took two vacation days giving us five days to travel. As usual we were watching the weather very closely for many days before our departure. As luck would have it, tropical storm Ida was churning in the Gulf of Mexico. She looked pretty harmless given her relative strength and forecast direction. The overall forecast was really nice with high temperatures in the seventies and light winds. We learned long ago that actually sailing to a destination is not very likely, so we do our best to keep the little diesel serviced and ready at all times.

Saturday November 7, 2009
We had considered leaving on Friday night but work was so stressful that I wanted to wait until Saturday. It is difficult for us to arrive late on Friday and be ready to leave the dock early on Saturday under the best of circumstances. Our plan was to leave for Ocracoke on Sunday morning and come back on Tuesday depending entirely on the weather. We left home at about 8 am and stopped at IHOP in Asheboro for a nice breakfast. Traveling during the middle of the day allowed us to make good time even with the breakfast stop. When we got to the dock we found Don and Trish from Ragtop working on their mainsail flaking system and Bill and Susan from Bonafide were fishing.

I had a little project to complete if we were to have showers on the trip. The water pipe that carries hot water from the water heater had failed at least twice so I took that as a sign that it needed to be replaced. Before I left last time, I had pulled the old pipe out after I had attached a stout piece of line to it. Installing the new pipe was a simple matter of taping it to the piece of line and having Judy help me while I pulled the line back out to the water heater. While testing the new pipe, I discovered the cause of another annoying plumbing issue that we had noticed over the last few trips. I thought the water pump was not working properly because it would run and pressurize the water but it seemed it could not quite pump the last few pounds of pressure. With the water heater uncovered I noticed that when pressure was applied to the water heater, the safety valve would leak. The safety valve is designed to open if extreme pressure is applied to keep the tank from exploding in case of a runaway thermostat. I don't know what the "pop off" pressure is but I am sure it should be higher than the normal 40 or so pounds that the water pump would generate. This explains the pump's behavior. I will need to do some research and hopefully I can simply replace the valve without replacing the water heater.

Nick and Jeanette arrived back from Ocracoke in the early afternoon. Nick had planned his trip so that he could sail on at least one leg of the trip, and not run the motor. We filled the water tanks and generally got the boat ready to go then Judy made dinner of chicken and black beans and we went over to Bill and Susan's for snacks after dinner. The weather forecast had not changed. Temperatures were to be mild and winds very light. We turned in early so we could get an early start.

Sunday November 8, 2009
The weather forecast was still holding. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were forecast as nice days. Wednesday would be a different story. Tropical storm Ida was to merge with a high pressure system to the north to produce a classic Nor'easter. The timing of this merger was the critical element of the forecast.

We left at 8:30. Winds were from the West but very light so we motored all the way. It is a long and boring ride when motoring but we could not have made the trip before dark under sail. The trip took almost exactly 6 hours. We tied up at the state dock beside the ferry dock and paid for one night. We went exploring in the village. This time of year, many of the shops are closed or have limited hours. Judy likes to do some Christmas shopping because of the unique merchandise she can find. I walked to the other end of the village looking for a part I thought might temporarily fix the leaking water heater. I found the part but was unsuccessful fixing the valve. Hot pressurized water is especially important when we stay at the state dock because they do not have showers. All showers are taken on the boat. We would have to turn the pump on and off for each other while showering. The state docks are a great bargain for anyone 62 years of age or older because they get a 50% discount. For those of us who have not achieved that advanced age it is about average and when you consider the lack of shower facilities and the "first come first served" arrangement it is a bit below average. The commercial marinas are much more expensive but the fact that you can make reservations and take a shower ashore, we may consider them next spring during the folk music festival we want to attend. On our way in to Silver Lake we noticed a dredge boat working further down the channel toward the ocean. Just after dark, the dredge boat made its way in to Silver Lake and tied up at one of the big ferry berths on the other side of the transient slips. I had never seen a dredge up close and it was very impressive.



Since I failed to snag a Spanish mackerel on the trip across the sound, and the fresh fish market was closed, we had leftovers for dinner. We rigged the ship's theater and tried to watch some recorded TV programs. It had been a really long day and we had done a lot of walking after the trip cross the sound. After sleeping through the last half of a one hour program we decided to give it up and go to bed.

Monday November 9, 2009
We woke to a beautiful morning. The forecast for Tuesday was still holding but I wanted more assurance. I dialed the National Weather Service office in Newport, NC where I knew I could talk to meteorologist. My experience has been good each time I have called. The fellow I spoke to assured me of a nice day on Tuesday. He could see no reason we would have a problem making it across the sound. He indicated that I would not want to try it on Wednesday. I told him that I had listened to the weather forecast but I wanted to get an assurance from an expert. He said, "Well, this is as close as you are going to get" and I was satisfied. We went over to the park office and paid for another night.

We spent the rest of the day just messing around. First we went to breakfast at the Pony Island Restaurant which was quite a hike from the boat. We had never eaten there but most of the restaurants that our friends had suggested were either closed for the season or closed on Mondays. Breakfast was good and the service was good. After breakfast Judy went shopping and I went in search of an official Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Dept. tee shirt. I would have bought a tee shirt anyway since I wear them all the time, so I figured buying this one would at least send some money to a worthy cause. We did a good bit of walking and looking around. I bought ice and some bait shrimp on the way back to the boat. I caught a nice spot but he wasn't big enough for dinner. Our breakfast was so heavy that neither of us was really hungry for lunch. I noticed a boat under the shed at the museum near the docks. The Ocracoke Preservation Society had acquired the flat bottom fishing and hoped to restore it. I think I could have gotten a job as head of a committee if only I lived closer. We ate a light dinner later in the afternoon and watched some recorded TV before we turned in.

Tuesday November 10, 2009
We were up at 6 and left at 6:45. A big Hunter 44, Laura Belle left 15 minutes ahead of us. We had spoken to the crew the day before and learned they were from Oriental. The weather was warm and overcast. It did not take an expert to know it was closing in. The best thing we could do is to get across the sound as soon as possible. I knew the ferry would leave at 7 sharp but I figured with a 15 minute head start, we would clear the channel before he caught up with us. I was wrong. Not only are those guys big, they are fast too! Silver Lake (the ferry) caught us long before I thought she would. The good news is, dealing with a ferry in a narrow channel is much easier when you can see them compared to our last experience in the fog when we could barely see the bow of our boat. When dealing with ferries the rules are simple. Stay out of their way. We made it out of the channel just fine and headed due west for home. The wind was light and from the starboard quarter. We set the big headsail and it gave us a slight speed advantage but it also helped minimize the motion of the waves coming from astern. The farther we went the more the weather closed in. It never got bad at all. The winds were light and the wave action was only moderate. We had not reached the halfway point when we caught up with Laura Belle moving under sail alone. The crew waved at us and we waved at them. It struck us as odd that they would be sailing with such a big boat and a light wind but they gave no indication or trouble so we didn't think any more about it.

The rest of the crossing was uneventful and we landed at Ensign Harbor shortly before noon, almost exactly 6 hours after we left Ocracoke. We had eaten a very light breakfast and we were both getting hungry. We decided a late lunch in town would be good. Charlie Gibson (our dinghy) had been lying in Nick's back yard since our last trip and he needed to be packed up and taken home for the winter. After we got that done, we packed everything we could in the car and rigged the boat for rain. After showers, we went into town. Judy wanted to shop at the provision company and I wanted to check out the consignment shop which was unfortunately closed for the day. I picked up a few things at the provision company then we ate delicious burgers at the M&M Restaurant. We ordered a piece of pecan pie (to go) for a snack later. Due to the weather, the Oriental Marina was filled. We walked over after lunch and noticed Laura Belle at the fuel dock accompanied by the tow boat. According to the crew, when we passed them out on the sound, their engine had quit, although they had not indicated any trouble. They thought the fuel filters were clogged but it turns out that they simply ran out of fuel due to a malfunctioning fuel gauge.

We were both tired after 6 hours on the water but we managed an hour or so of recorded TV before we turned in.

Wednesday November 11, 2009 Veteran's Day
The storm arrived sometime after midnight with lots of rain and wind. We had no plans other than going home so we were up early to get ready. We dodged rain and wind getting things loaded and left around 9 am. By the time we left the rain was getting serious and it made driving difficult. We ran the windshield wipers all the way home. In Goldsboro traffic came to a complete stop on highway 70. After sitting motionless for 20 minutes we decided to find an alternate route. I don't know if we actually saved any time but at least we were moving. We stopped in Clayton for a nice Chinese lunch and continued home in the rain.

We had a great time this weekend and the little ship performed flawlessly, plumbing issue not withstanding. Ocracoke is a great destination and we hope to return next year. We are looking forward to at least two more adventures this calendar year so stay tuned.