River Dunes to ... Change of Plans

Thursday, May 21, 2015

What a day we had as we left the relative luxury and security of River Dunes! We debated about leaving but the forecast sounded doable and we wanted to get in a good position to cross the Albemarle Sound if the weather cooperated. It was choppy at about a mile out and a bit unsettling when a Grand Banks 42 that had gone out before we did suddenly stopped and seemed to be drifting in the water. When we finally contacted the captain by radio he said that he had lost his steering and was going to try to fix it. He waved us on and he had two other crew members with him so we kept going but the waves kept getting bigger.The Great Loop trip has been described as hours of boredom punctuated with moments of sheer terror. This was one of those moments when the “not fun” part extended out to hours. We were tossed as waves came over the bow and occasionally over the upper helm – John wisely decided to steer from the comfort of the lower helm. All we could do was hang on and watch as things that weren’t securely fastened went flying onto the floor. Our boat was groaning and working hard to keep us on course. Later we heard on the radio that the Grand Banks had called the Coast Guard who notified TowBoatUS and help was on their way.We then went through a narrow ICW channel where we were protected from the winds and the water was calm. This lasted for a seemingly short time and then we needed to cross the Pamlico Sound and enter the Pungo River. The waves weren’t quite as bad, thank goodness, but were still worse than either of us expected. The marina where we were tied up for the night was open to the river and the southeast wind was hammering us, so everyone was rocking and rolling. John estimated that there was 25 kts. of wind still right on our bow while we are tied up. Finally the line of thunderstorms moved through and the winds diminished after that.



Winds still coming at us in Dowry Creek Marina

Captain’s Log May 21, 2015

Departed: River Dunes Marina, Oriental NC, 6:15 a.m.

Engine hours: 5.7 hrs. – 704.2 total for trip
Actual hours: 5 hrs.  30 min.
Miles covered 46.28 - Total for trip: 4998
Arrived: Dowry Creek Marina, Belhaven, NC. 11:45 a.m.
Weather: Overcast, 72 degrees, wind east 10-15. Found sea state at the mouth of the Neuse River to be 2-3+ feet with an occasional 5 footer. Clouded over and wind was calm as we came through canal. But as we crossed the Pamlico River it picked up southeast 15 -20.  We departed early to beat the forecasted weather of T-storms and increasing wind. We did beat the T-storms but not the wind. Docking at Dowry Creek Marina went ok despite the high winds blowing us into the dock.

 Friday, May 22

OK, then. Remember those moments of sheer terror we had yesterday? Today was one of those days of hours of boredom. We started out well enough, the winds were dying down and we even were excited that we passed the 5000 mile mark soon after we departed. The celebration was short lived, however, when we heard a faint whine from the rear of the boat. Then it was a little louder. The captain tried varying the speed of the engines but the whine only went away when he stopped the port engine.

Over 5000 miles!

John's theory was that we may have strained the cutlass bearings and prop shafts the day before in the rough water. Now even in calm conditions the port engine wasn’t happy and was making complaining noises. We shut that engine down and were relying solely on the starboard engine. John called around and found a place that could fix it in the Norfolk area, still over 100 miles away! We were now on the Pungo/Alligator River canal and John decided to call Towboat US just to see what they would suggest and he was told that we had to keep going and get on Albemarle Sound in order to get towed to Norfolk. Otherwise they would tow us back to Belhaven on the Neuse River – we didn’t want to go back and see those waters again!



The Pungo canal water was very brown caused by the tannins
from decaying plant material

A bald eagle landed on the channel marker post right in front of us

So we pushed on down the Alligator River and into the Sound. The water on Albemarle was very tranquil and glassy! We had been warned about how rough it could be if the conditions were bad, but the winds died down to a light and variable breeze. What started as a normal 5 hour day to the Alligator River Marina grew into a 12 hour day. As we crossed the Sound were met by the tow boat driver, Eddie, and pulled another 25 miles to Coinjock Marina. It was getting dark by the time we got there and the mosquitoes were out in force – I didn’t even get off the boat.



Not really the view you want to see off your bow...

As we got closer to our destination of Coinjock, Eddie unhooked from the
bow then maneuvered his boat along side to take us to the wall to tie up

Captain’s Log May 22, 2015

Departed: Dowry Creek Marina, Belhaven, NC at8:20 am
Engine hours: 12.1 hrs /total on trip 716.3
Actual Hours: 12 hrs 10 minutes
Miles covered: 83.79 total for trip 5081, towed for 19 miles. 
Arrived: Coinjock, NC
Weather: Clear, cool- 65 degrees, wind NW 10-15, warmed to 75, wind died down to calm in pm.

Departed Dowry Creek and after about an hour the port cutlass bearing began to squeal.  After a bit we shut down the port engine and proceeded on one engine. As we got into the Alligator River we were able to contact TowBoatUS and asked if our insurance would cover this and give us a tow.  They said yes and we proceeded to cross the Albemarle Sound to meet them on the other side.  The winds were calm and it was perfect conditions to cross the Sound. We got towed to Coinjock for the night and the tow would meet us the next morning and continue the tow to the Atlantic Yacht Basin where we could get pulled for repairs. It was a long day for us.   

Saturday, May 23, 2015

The tow boat was there at 7:30 a.m. as promised and expertly moved us out from the wall where we were tucked in between two bigger boats. We were in the channel for a little while and then we were out on the Currituck Sound where the waves were a bit rough and we were bounced around with no way to control the boat – reminded me of a Nantucket sleigh ride in which the harpooned whale pulls the fishing ship along.



Steady as she goes - we were really rolling here!

 Captain’s Log May 23, 2015

Departed: Departed Coinjock Marina, NC at 0740 am under tow.
Engine hours: 0 hrs. – 698.5 hrs total for trip
Actual hours: 6 hrs 20 min.
Miles covered 38 Total for trip: 5119
Arrived: Atlantic Yacht Basin Marina, Chesapeake, VA at 2:00 pm.
Wx: Clear, cool 65 degrees, Wind NW 10-15. Skies stayed clear and temps rose to above 75 degrees. Wind stayed same. We were towed the entire way, I had both props tied off so they would not spin. Wind made crossing the Currituck Sound a little rough 2-3 footers on the beam and occasional 4. But as we proceeded north up the river the waves decreased as the river narrowed down to a channel and eventually the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal.

May 24 - indefinite

It was Memorial Day weekend so the shipyard was only open to pump fuel. This gave us time to get settled, clean the boat, explore the great Farm Fresh Market nearby and get ready for a visit from a former classmate that we were supposed to meet in Elizabeth City until our plans suddenly changed. She and her husband drove all the way over here to Great Bridge and we had a wonderful time catching up.

Tied up on the long wall at Atlantic Yacht Basin - view taken from our
stern - we were just outside the fueling area

John worked hard to give the boat a good cleaning -
the drawbridge over Battlefield Blvd. is just to our west

We hadn't seen each other for over 40 years - so good to reminisce
with former school mate, Nancy Magro Gile



Our "photo shoot" was fun - can you tell Nancy is Italian??

As of this writing we don't know when we will be pulled out or how extensive the repairs will be. I will post once we are underway again. Meanwhile, I am thankful for so many things - sunny days, calm winds, modern communication, loving family and supportive friends - among many others.