October 21,2011 Friday Ball Creek to Beaufort, NC

More to come!

We left Bill and Mary after coffee and the ladies returned from the store to restock our galleys.
We had an absolutely wonderful day on the Pamlico Sound on our way from visiting Bill and Mary. We met up again with Tubby, a small trawler being single-handed. This is the third time our paths have crossed on the way south!

When you enter a narrow channel from a larger body of water there is this thing that happens with several boaters converging between the buoys. What happens is at least one of the boaters will feel the need to barge ahead and cut others off so that they will be one boat ahead of someone else! It's alot like cars on a highway approaching a construction zone where there is a lane drop. We will all go single file but seems necessary for one car to get ahead of someone else.

Several power boaters sped by and created this huge wall of water with their wake and it's next to impossible for a sailboat to not get rocked! A slow pass by the power boater and a throttle down by the sailboat make for a safe and respectful pass! For many power boaters this is not in their vocabulary! The worst offenders are the sport fishing boaters who view us sailboats as slow, in their way and most of all not real boaters! Sailboats have to have forward motion with water passing their rudder in order to steer, while power boats need only to add power and turn their wheel. This limited maneuverability of sailboats in rarely understood by power boaters. In all fairness there was one power boater who made a slow pass today!

Reaching Beaufort, NC was another relief since we have been here twice before and this is the town marina where they have a loaner car for you to restock at the local "Piggly Wiggly" market.
We didn't see any wild horses that roam some of the islands. We decided to have dinner out at the marina and collect the two free beers that come in your welcome pack when you register for a slip.

The power boater that gave us a respectful and considerate pass (one w/o the wall of water from its wake) was docked in the next row near us. I made it a point to tell the couple how much we appreciated their thoughtfulness!

Once again we took advantage of a pump-out and diesel fuel. Showers were taken, a short walk to some local shops and finally sleep time!

Captain Sid



Captain Sid

October 20, 2011 Thursday Pungo River to Ball Creek, NC

Bill and Mary, our sailing friends from Marathon ,FL whom we met during our last trip on Fiu live nearby on Ball Creek, NC, which is on the same peninsula as Oriental, NC. Since we have to pass the opening to their bay and we haven't seen them for over a year, Bonnie called to try and arrange a visit. Both are interesting and fun to be with. However, they have crossed over to the dark side and have a trawler they enjoy! We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and had key lime pie for dessert! Next morning Mary took Bonnie and Pat to the store to help us restock.

The creek leading to their house and dock is very shallow (less than 5'). We managed to power our way to their dock where we rafted with Pat and Walt. Leaving was a little easier since there seem to be more water in the creek. There is no tide here but the wind actually blows the water out of their creek and it can remain shallow for long periods of time depending on the strength and duration of the wind.

Captain Sid