Albemarle 2011

Sunday, October 2 - Tuckahoe

Up at 6:15, left Jordan Creek at 8:15. Winds 10-15. Made Wilkinson Bridge by 11:30 sailing in light winds. Started motoring at 3:40, around MM 110. Anchored at Tuckahoe Point by 4:40.  2 sailboats and a trawler were anchored further in, we were just before the point in 8 ft. of water. Windy and cool evening. Soon after dark a long dredge came by with pipes and living quarters attached. Eerie to see their lights pass so close to us.

Monday, October 3 - Columbia

Up at day break, anchor up at 7:25. Low sun in my eyes, moving slowly due to poor visibility. Through the Alligator River Bridge and sailing by 9:45. Wind on the sound starts off at 15 but builds to 24 by 1:30. Tacking all day, also dodging crab pots which are hard to see in the chop. Cold and windy, waves over the bow and occasional wave in the cockpit. Sun in and out of clouds. Bob Dawson calls to tell us that his engine won't start so he can't leave the dock, and that Nelson and Ondra hit something in the Alligator Cut on the way, and Ondra fell down into the cabin and needed medical care. We get to Bull Bay and the channel into the Scuppernong River late in the day. Water gets shallow here, you have to stay close to the markers. The river is secluded and pretty, wide in spots, and cypress trees on the banks. We could not get a spot at the dock in Columbia so we anchored behind red #10. By now it was almost dark. We were so tired after fighting the Albemarle  that we were in bed by 8:30. It was a calm night, very quiet except for barking dog in the distance.
Columbia Navigation:  Steer to the left of the big tower. Channel is to the right of the house with the red roof.

Tuesday, October 4 - Edenton

Up at 8:00, anchor up at 9:45, nice and clean. We were out to the point at Bull Bay and turning towards Edenton at 11:40. Amy called to check on us after hearing about the problems the other two boats were having. Got to the bridge at 1:30. Less wind and waves, but gusting to 20 and choppy, wind on our nose. After much tacking, finally got to Edenton Bay. We followed the channel to the breakwater, went left and turned back to go behind the breakwater. We had a good slip with a wide dock. We were unable to raise the centerboard. We were settled in by 4:45, and tired after another day battling the Albemarle. We ate spaghetti on the boat.  The dockmaster was welcoming and friendly. We were the only ones staying on the dock so it was quiet. We had a nice hot shower and walked around downtown before settling in for the night. The city wifi did not work but I was able to get on the office supply store's wifi.

Wednesday, October 5

We ate breakfast at a cafe that looked like it would have a better breakfast than it did. The coffee was good. The weather was nice, sunny and breezy. We rode our Mobikeys around the historic district and over as far as Walgreens. We asked someone at the office supply store named Kermit where we would find a travel lift. We rode the bikes out to a marina, but no one was around and it didn't look like the travel lift was used much. We stopped at the hardware store to see if there might be something we could use to get the centerboard up. Everywhere we went people were interested in our Mobikeys. The woman at the office supply said she had seen us earlier on our "funky little bikes." We spent the rest of the day trying to get the cb up. We had a good supper at Bistro 309.

Thursday, October 6 - Columbia

We hung around Edenton waiting for Layton Marine to call us about hauling us to fix the centerboard. We never knew for sure if they could haul us. We decided to go ahead and leave around 10:30. The wind changed, so now it is on our nose again. It took us until 5:00 to get to Columbia. We docked at the same spot. -  35.55.27n and 76.15.569w. We had called the town to see about dockage but they were not obliging due to the Scuppernong Festival they were planning on having the next day, however there was nothing going on when we got there. Also asked about a place to haul and she told us to call Cypress Cove Marina, but we could not get into it as it had a narrow and shallow channel.

Friday, October 7 - Tuckahoe Point

Anchor up at 7:15, out of Scuppernong River at 8:15. Morning mist on the blue water, cypress trees, all make for a beautiful scene. Motoring into the wind at 4.5 kn. 11:00 marker WA, 2nd to last, sails up but had to motor most the way, running low on diesel. We were heading into Alligator River Marina when David saw his neighbor's tug, Miti Mo, and hailed him on the radio. The marina store was busy with lots of bicyclists from an organized ride using the bathrooms. The marina owner was not in a good mood when we docked, maybe that was why. Diesel was $3.75. The cb bumped when we were leaving. At this time the depth was only 6 ft. in her channel. We went down the river with several other boats and were glad when they stopped at Bear Point so we could have our pick of spots at Tuckahoe.

Saturday, October 6 - Belhaven

Left at 8:00 and motored to Wilkinson Bridge by 12:00. We anchored in Belhaven harbor and attempted to get the centerboard up with ropes and winches, but failed. We left the boat and went to Raleigh so I could work the election. We left the dinghy behind Andy Fisher's building.

Thursday, October 13- River Forest Boatyard

Went aground going in, had to get JR to come guide us in. David had me go out on the mast, but it only served to make us laugh, not to help us get moving. David worked on getting the centerboard to release all day, then JR came over and forced it down using a piece of wood as a lever.

Friday, October 14 - Back to Jordan Creek

Finally got Axon to put us in the water around 2:00, meanwhile the sky was looking stormy. We got back to Jordan Creek without any more problems.