Thalia's Voyage

A chronicle of a 1985 Passport 40 sailing days with Pat & Judy O'Brien

Vessel Name: Thalia
Vessel Make/Model: Passport 40
Hailing Port: Oriental, NC
Crew: Pat & Judy O'Brien
About: Pat & Judy are old moutain people from Colorado exploring new adventures of the water world.
06 June 2012 | Bellhaven, NC
06 January 2012
24 December 2011 | Oriental, NC
19 October 2011
02 October 2011
25 September 2011
03 June 2011
02 June 2011 | Oriental to Ocracoke & Return
Recent Blog Posts
07 June 2012

Belhaven to Alligator River Swing Bridge

We left the slip at Belhaven Waterway Marina as Brenda pushed out our bow with her boat hook (longest boot hook I've ever seen!). The wind caught our bow as Brenda held our stern line in towards the dock. Such a graceful exit in a narrow channel from a lovely place to visit.

06 June 2012 | Bellhaven, NC

Sunset in a Gazebo

Bellhaven, NC 35' 32.2" N Lat 076'37.3" W .Long 6/5/2012

20 May 2012

Sunsets, Sea Turtles, Moon Rises, and Flying Fish

The 70 nm overnight trip to Masonboro (Wilmington, NC) commenced on Thursday (5/10/12) at 10:30 hours when our crew threw off Thalias dock lines. Judy, Cameron (aka Railmeat) and Jim Privett stowed the fenders and dock lines as I turned south towards the mouth of Adams Creek and the ICW to the Beaufort [...]

06 January 2012

Celebration of Life

Celebration of Life

24 December 2011 | Oriental, NC

Christmas Post

Direct from the CrabPot/Christmas Tree show room in downtown Oriental Judy and I wish all our scattered friends (?) and the soon to be BIRTHDAY GIRL (you know who you are) Peace and Love from Sidney’s. Those who have been to Sidney’s are on the scattered friends secret list.

19 October 2011

OFF TO OCRACOKE

OFF TO OCRACOKE

Sunsets, Sea Turtles, Moon Rises, and Flying Fish

20 May 2012
Pat OBrien
The 70 nm overnight trip to Masonboro (Wilmington, NC) commenced on Thursday (5/10/12) at 10:30 hours when our crew threw off Thalias dock lines. Judy, Cameron (aka Railmeat) and Jim Privett stowed the fenders and dock lines as I turned south towards the mouth of Adams Creek and the ICW to the Beaufort inlet. Jim & I had checked the weather prior to and the morning of the trip. The forecast was for 10 to 20 kts West winds thru the next 36 hours with 1-3ft seas and a period of 11 seconds. There could not be a more ideal weather window.
So, we motor along the ICW for 4 hours towards the Beaufort inlet.

The inlet is the first real taste of the Atlantic. In the past it has been 1-2 ft seas (nice) or 10 ft short stacked seas (ugh!!) with ankle deep water in the cockpit. We motored past the Coast Guard station and into a very pleasant sea state ( 1-3 ft) in the inlet and brought Thalia around to the north for the Cape Lookout bight. 16:00 hrs and we are preparing to drop the hook in Cape Lookout. Jim spots this big head cruising by the boat. Captain Pat suggests a periscope from a drug runners submersible. The crew sends the Captain below as a precaution. If it is a drug submersible the crew does not have the time to keep the Captain on board since they are busy with the hook. More astute eyes recognize the head of a large sea turtle on the second appearance. Judy goes below and in 30 minutes a lovely meal of quesadillas, red beans and rice appear magically out of the companionway hatch. We all gathered in the cockpit for a sunset dinner in the Cape Lookout bight.

A slowly setting sun prompts the crew to get underway towards the Masonboro Inlet. At 20:00 hours we are just outside the bight. Jim and Cameron raise the sails. I kill the engine and off into the sunset toward the outer buoys. We scoot past two freighters at anchor at the three mile limit and continue on a beam reach toward the Beaufort Racon (the outer marker with a unique radar return). Now, enveloped in total darkness , we approach the racon which is about a nautical mile off our starboard beam. With six knots of speed we sail into the darkness since moon rise is about 2.5 hrs away at 01:15 hrs. The wind pipes up (25 kts) and its rail in the water time!! Oh goody….time to alarm the crew, Jim and railmeat, sleeping below. So I let out the mainsheet a bit and then move the traveler over to the leeward and shes back up on her feet with an improved ride and 6 kts of SOG. Judy, my watch mate, comments that the experience is like a movie or Disney ride. Surreal…….In a little cacoon surrounded by black seas with white foam shooting by us. One hour later Judy spots a glowing orb rising out of the eastern seas off our stern. I comment that “its not on the radar so we’re good” and my mate says our radar is not that good! It’s the moon Captain Pat not a drug interdiction by the Coasties. With the moon painting the sea the night seas came alive with the life of the night.

02:00 hours and our shift is done as Jim and Cameron prepare to take over. I brief Jim on our current course, speed, where we are at on the chart, nature of the radar returns, wind and sail plan. We had one unkown radar return at 12 nm out off the port bow by about 20 degrees with no visual on it. About an hour later Jim got a visual on the boat. A fishing trawler. I went below at 02:30 hrs with instructions to get me up if there were any issues or at the latest at 06:00 hrs to see sun rise. 06:00 hours Judy and I are up next and I get briefed by Jim on the nights happenings. Jim and Cameron go below for some rest and Judy MAKES COFFEE!!! so we can watch the sunrise with coffee in the cockpit. It could not have been a more perfect time. Kind seas (1-2ft waves @ 10 seconds), 60 degrees, and a beam reach to the Masonboro buoy. Emerging on the horizon at about 9 nm are large white dots. As we close over the next hour they become better defined and are hotel or condo buildings on the shore of Masonboro. About a hour later we are at the Masonboro buoy and Jim and Cameron come back on deck to bring in the sails while I fire up the diesel. We motor into the channel and towards the SeaPath marina. I hail them on the radio to let them know we are on approach and find out our dock assignment. With fenders on and Judy, Jim and Cameron with lines in hand I approach slowly as lines are tossed. We tie her up and kill the engine. There is a secret pleasure I am experiencing as I methodically go thru my shut down procedures for the boat…..A lovely and safe night passage!

After showers at the marina we spent the late morning/afternoon walking to lunch at the Mellow Mushrooms. During the early evening Jim and I checked the Atlantic weather. The forecast for Saturday was winds NE early am swinging to E by late morning, 10-15 kts, 2-4 ft seas with a period of 9 seconds. So, having decided that Saturdays weather looked good we agreed to leave in the morning after checking the weather. We settled down in the cockpit for an evening meal and as we lounged the evening’s entertainment unfolded on the waterway. Cruising…….Cruising dudes and dudettes in enough clothes to make a single pennant between them holding their beloved adult beverage doing 5 kts in 20ft inboards being seen and seeing!! I suggested to Judy that perhaps we could lower Pommes Frites (our 8ft dingy with a 2hp Honda outboard) and I could sport my love handles and an adult beverage as we cruise with locals. So we spent our evening in the cockpit assisting all young narcissistic cruising couples. No…….we did not lower the dingy and join them! But we did talk about getting cards with numbers 1 thru 10 to hold up as each young lithe couple cruised past our judging position.

Saturday the crew was up by 07:00 hrs and checking weather. The return forecast was am winds out of the northeast and swinging to east and southeast during the late morning. With such skimpy encouragement we got underway by 08:30 hrs. Out the Masonboro inlet and onto a N or NE course. Wind was out of the NE so we pulled up the sails and headed NW while waiting for the wind to swing. We were headed inland and within an hour we were out of water. Someone suggested that we come about on the opposite tack before we run over the swimmers. Just kidding we had at least 1.5 miles to the beach! So, we came about on the other tack. The captain, ever alert to course changes, observed the compass and the wind and proudly announced “ We’re good to go for Morocco! Nice close reach”. Fortunately the alert crew reminded Captain Pat that our destination was Beaufort. Under the guise of democratic crew management the Captain asked “ Whose for Morocco?”. Alas no hands only stern looks! So……………….we resumed a NE heading. Started the motor and took the sails down since we were straight into the wind. The wind never changed from the NE so we settled in with breakfast in the cockpit as we motored NE. Around 16:00 hrs we saw some dolphins about 50 yards inshore of us. They stayed out there for a few minutes before disappearing. Probably an hour later we got into a small school of flying fish. Some had obviously been flight certified since the covered 20 yards with 2 foot elevation. The newbies stayed 1 foot off the water and ran headfirst into a wave. Do fish get headaches? Some might. 19:30 hours we turned on the nav lights and with dinner watched the sun set. With nav lights, radar and six pairs of eyes we approached Beaufort. I was tense as was my two observers. We stayed busy for the last hour of approach confirming radar targets with visual targets, visuals with radar, and looking for visual targets that were not on radar. We saw one freighter going out and two were anchored in the mooring field. We slipped past the sterns of both anchored freighters and toward the flashing red sea buoy marking the entrance to Cape Lookout. Gliding past the second red sea buoy and into the Cape felt sublime….We could relax some. In 5 minutes we dropped the hook backed on it and hooray it stayed. I shut down the engine and started my shut down routine while some went to bed and others stayed up for cocktails. An hour later and all were in bed. A wonderful trip was had by all.
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