Well, after three seemingly short years of being land-locked, my
Cap'n Dave awoke one August morning and said, "Honey, let's
go sailing!". I said "Ok!" We both turned in
our letters of resignation by week's end, and began the laborious
process of preparing for departure to, again, points unknown!
We learned a long time ago not to set plans in stone when it
comes to where we plan to sail. All we knew is that we were headed
SOUTH - where ever the winds and currents take us!
Much to do! Much to do! We immediately took inventory of our
gear and began ordering parts and equipment. New dinghy and outboard
were first on the agenda. We needed to replace our holding tank,
as well as our drinking water holding tank. Needed a new sail
repair kit, new stainless steel mounts for the wind generator,
anchor rollers, charts of the Keys, new TV/VCR, updated Waterway
Guides, new laptop for my journal,,,, the list grew larger and
larger! We soon became on a first-name basis with our UPS and
FedX delivery people, who were almost daily bringing "boat
toys" to our door!
Poor ole' "Patience" needed new paint on her bottom,
as well as in the galley. Sails needed mending and the teak needed
some TLC. Running lights needed re-wiring, as did the masthead
light. We worked like the devil to get her ready in time for
our planned October departure date. It was indeed a labor of
love!! By the time we were finished with her she was outfitted
to the hilt, and shiny as a new penny!
Now came the fun part! Provisioning! I made multiple trips to
the wholesale grocery store. The poor bag-boys shuddered to see
me comin'! I'd usually end up pushing two grocery carts filled
to the hilt with canned goods! Each and every one I marked with
my magic marker as to content and date purchased. This time I
also developed a computer spreadsheet of every item purchased,
used, replaced and the costs associated with it. This ended up
being one of the most valuable uses for my laptop! I was able
to, at a moments notice, take stock of my ship's stores, rather
than having to rummage through lockers looking for that can of
non-existent tuna (or whatever!). I have since set up that spreadsheet
for other sailors and customized it to their needs. As a matter
of fact, Cap'n Dave and I became known as the "computer tutors".
Surprised how many folks have computers on board!
October 8, 1995
The day has arrived at last!!!! We were indeed GOING SOMEWHERE!
Our good friend Jim (you may remember Jim and Lisa from my previous
"Diary" in the Abacos,,,, a.k.a., the "boinkers")
piled the last of our equipment into the back of his truck and
drove us to Little Washington, North Carolina, where "Patience"
sat patiently awaiting our arrival. Jim also, knowing my fondness
for Tequila, brought me a farewell bottle of Quervo 1800 and brought
my Cap'n Dave a good bottle of rum (AAARGH!!).
Arriving in Little Washington, and stowing the last of our supplies,
it was time to say "farewell" to our landlubber friends
and put good ole' "Patience" in the wind! Jim also
took us to "Patience" in 1991 when we left for our first
Bahamas adventure, and, as then, he stood on the end of the dock
and waved at us until we were out of sight. I brought out the
binos and, much to my surprise, he was still waving as we both
faded into the horizon. It felt good to have the sun on my face
and wind at my back! With a little sadness mixed with A LOT of
excitement, we were finally on our way to begin the most exciting
journey of our lives thus far!
My Cap'n Dave's brother, Steve (one of the four drunk men and
a parrot on "Patience" in the Abacos) had a little 22'
sailboat, "Freedom", and planned to sail along with
us. He left several days earlier, and we were to meet up with
him in Beaufort, North Carolina (one of Blackbeard the Pirate's
old hangouts and one of my favorite ports!).
We hadn't been sailing more than half and hour when we heard someone
hailing us on the VHF. It felt good to hear, "Patience,
Patience, Patience - Moonshadow" It was a neighboring
sailboat in the marina. Our friend, Jim, requested he call us
and tell us that,,,,,, we'd left our spare fuel tanks (full) in
the back of his truck!!! Not wanting to turn back at this point
we carried on and made arrangements for friends to meet us with
the tanks when we got to Beaufort.
En-route up the Pamlico Sound we crossed paths with another neighboring
vessel from our marina, "StarPort". She is a HUGE red
and white catamaran that her captain, Vic, spent quite some time
building. It was the first time I'd seen her under sail. He
must have had the autopilot on because he was lounging in the
sun on her bow with a woman I'd never seen before. When he saw
us he stood up and waved wildly, knowing we were embarking on
our journey.
Vic had watched us prepare "Patience" for this cruise,
and the day before we left I had driven down to the boat to stow
provisions and build a "potato box" (no more airborne
potatoes for me! They HURT!) and a new chart holder. I had my
head stuck way down into one of the lockers and I heard Vic on
the dock behind me say, "Terri, you'd better not get off
that boat! All us guys are trying to figure out a way to auction
you off!! Do you know how hard it is to find a woman that's willing
to sail off into the sunset!" I laughed and invited him
to "go with", joking, of course. So,,, I found it interesting
that the next day when we past him he had a "babe" on
his deck! I grabbed the binos for a closer look, and I smiled
inwardly with delight, hoping he'd at last found his "sail
mate"! Vic is a young, very handsome musician, with a passion
for boat building. Why no young lady hadn't scooped him up before
now was beyond me!
Our first stop for the night was in historic Bath, North Carolina
(another Blackbeard haunt). Very quaint township. Not even sure
if it has a traffic light! Lots of history here! A new public
dock had just been built, and, although it was only about a two-hour
sail to get there, it was at least a start. After securely docking
I went below into the galley and started the now familiar task
of preparing our first meal of this unpredictable journey on "Patience"
while Cap'n Dave took Bart (the macaw) out into the cockpit to
watch the sun set (and have some rum!). It will still never cease
to amaze me how good food can taste on a boat! I prepared a simple
meal of tuna and gravy mixed with a can of Veg-Al, served over
rice, along with a nice glass of white wine (Cap'n Dave had Rum).
Something one would probably NEVER prepare on land, but it was
without a doubt delicious in this setting!
Tomorrow would be a long day's run to Oriental, North Carolina,
and wanting to get a first-light start, after dinner we bedded
down for the evening. First night back on "Patience",
and all was, once again, right with the world!
October 9/10, 1995
With the excitement of it all I awoke at 0500, put on a fresh
pot of coffee, turned on the VHF to hear NOAA weather, and took
Bart out in the cockpit to watch the sun rise. The deck was moist
with dew, so I took a towel and shined up our portholes, enjoying
every moment. My "SPECIAL TIME"! Memories abound!
A school of ducks swam up and I found a tasty morsel for them.
I was anxious and ready to GO! Dave's not the early riser, and
I try to be patient and quiet until he's ready. But, today it
was difficult!
We finally put her in the wind about 0530. It was a beautiful,
cloudless morning, nice breeze, but NOAA had called for rain in
the forecast, so we tried to make the best of the weather. We
made great time, experiencing a few drizzles along the way, but
nothing uncomfortable.
Upon our approach to the entrance channel to Oriental I was at
the helm when this extremely inconsiderate power boater named
"Mardi Gras" (I always check boat names as they pass for future reference!)
zoomed by and nearly swamped us. I'm used to these guys now, though
their rudeness always rubs me a bit, and was just hoping he wasn't
going to the same harbor we were. I turned into the wake, and,
though a little discomforting, nothing dramatic. At this point
I was almost glad to receive his wake! Made me realize I was,
indeed, on an adventure that many only dream about,,, and,,, this
was PART of it!
Next thing I know I hear someone on the VHF calling this guy,,,,
NUMEROUS times,,, telling him he was entering the channel entrance
incorrectly and,,, TOO FAST and would most definitely go aground!
The calls became almost desperate, AND MUCH MORE FREQUENT! Not
wishing anyone any harm, ever, though still a little ticked off
that the guy was so generous with his wake, I grabbed the binos
and watched the excitement. You could still hear his engine revved
to the hilt. I re-checked my charts and I could see what the
guy on the VHF was talking about. As you're coming down the Neuse
River there are severe spoil banks along the coast. To enter
Oriental's channel you have to go pretty far out into the river
and round the channel markers. Well, this guy, obviously ignoring
ALL the rules of the water, decided to take a short cut across
the spoil banks and bypass the channel markers. He must not have
read his charts, but I've long since learned that just because
one has charts, doesn't necessarily mean one USES them! Funny
how there are a few "sailors" out there that figure
if there's water, you can go there!!! Wasn't long before his
loud engine came to a screeching halt! He was AGROUND, and in
an area few boats could get to! I'm sorry, but I couldn't help
but smile as I turned "Patience" towards the first channel
marker and eased her on in, passing near enough to wave at his
grounded vessel. He DIDN'T wave back! (Bad Sport???)
We set the hooks in Oriental behind the breakwater about 1600.
I had steaks for the grill, and we settled in the cockpit for
our usual sundowner cocktail. Nice sunset!
We were simply relaxing, enjoying the evening air and watching
the stars begin to peep out, one by one, when I noticed a shrimp
boat tied up to a nearby dock. I commented to Cap'n Dave that
she was listing strangely. We looked around the harbor for a
familiar boat, more from habit than curiosity, but saw none we
recognized, although there were several boats anchored in this
harbor, and we wondered how many of them would become future steadfast
friends. It was nice, quiet and peaceful. We decided to remain
here another day and take care of some minor repairs that we'd
postponed, knowing they could easily be done underway.
Next morning, for a change, Cap'n Dave awoke before me and put
the coffee on to brew. I could smell it, and awoke to hear him
going up the companion way into the cockpit, when all of a sudden
he yelled, "Terri, come look!" I am now quite accustomed
to having my full wits about me when awakened suddenly on a boat
(remember when we came down on old Bill from "Sarawak"
our first seemingly peaceful night in Marsh Harbour???? …when
I learned that finding you're pants in a boating emergency is
not a high priority!!!!), so I jumped up and flew up the companionway.
Dave said, "what's wrong with this picture?" Still
rubbing sleep from my eyes, and adjusting to the morning sun,
I first looked to see if we'd drug anchor. Breakwater seemed
in the same place,,, so I was confident we were holding well,
so I went back down below to put more clothes on. Almost irritated
at the "guessing game" I returned to the cockpit and
continued to observe, when it finally hit me. At the nearby dock
was a strange sight,,,,,, a set of outriggers sticking about 3
feet out of the water! That listing shrimp boat had sunk!!!!
It wasn't long before all these, seemingly, little men began
milling around the dock, pointing and shouting,,,, throwing their
hands up in obvious dismay. Soon a Coast Guard cutter pulled
up and began putting out oil catchers, divers donned their scuba
gear and were swimming all around it,,, firetruck came. Cap'n
Dave and I fixed our morning coffee and settled into the cockpit
to watch the morning's activities. Quite exciting, but I was
feeling very sorry for the poor captain and crew of that working
vessel. Shrimpers are hard working individuals, and these poor
guys were more than likely out their livelihood, temporarily at
least.
Oriental is an old fishing community, with lots of charm. North
Carolina has so very many quaint towns, rich with history, and
beautiful people! So, after coffee and a light breakfast we
lowered the tender and puttered into "town", which consists
of quaint bed and breakfasts, many arts and gift shops, and a
nice waterfront restaurant. We sauntered over to the marine hardware
store (one of my favorite places to shop!!!) and bought some new
cable for the GPS, a few new pulleys and shackles, a new jib hank,
a bit of new line, and Dave took me into a little gift shop and
bought me some brass sailboat earrings. I immediately put them
on, and they have become part of my daily attire.
We called home to let everyone know of our where-abouts, then
crossed the street to have lunch in the waterfront restaurant.
This is a nice, laid-back community. Little to no traffic, everyone
has a smile to share, and the smell of a local seafood packing
house permeates the air (a smell you have to get used to, but
I was ready to smell the ocean again, and it was heaven's scent!
Spending most of my life in Florida it brought back memories
of "home"!)
We decided to head back to "Patience" and complete those
minor repairs. I was on top refinishing some weathered teak and
Cap'n Dave was busy running new wires to the GPS. Busy, busy,
busy, and enjoying every minute of it. We were working so intently,
each with our own agenda, that we barely noticed when a dinghy
pulled up along side us. A neighboring vessel had tried to hail
us on the VHF, which we didn't have on at the time, to tell us
we were dragging anchor!!!! I looked up, and to my amazement,
we were only about 30 yards from the breakwater! We are quite
used to quick plans of action, so I immediately started the engine
as Dave clamored to the bow to pull the anchor. I moved "Patience"
a little further up into the harbor, and this time Dave put down
two anchors! Needless to say, neither of us could relax, and
both of us were constantly poking our heads up to make sure we
weren't dragging. We had only set out one anchor here because
the current was light and not much breeze, but evidently the holding
was poorer than we had anticipated! Live and learn! Just nature's reminder that she's
in control, and you gotta watch her every minute, because she's
just waiting to catch you with your guard down!!!!
It began to rain quite heavily, which was my cue to grab my bucket
and scrub brush, plug up the scuppers, and give ole' "Patience"
a good bath! Most everyone was doing the same, and we all ended
up waving at each other and laughing like kids. When the rain
stopped the closest vessel to us dinghied over and introduced
themselves. They were a young couple who had just sailed over
from Germany! They invited us to town for dinner, but, still
not comfortable with the holding situation we politely declined,
and invited them over later for cocktails at sunset. This has
been an exciting day!
October 11, 1995
More rain in the forecast today, but we're anxious to put some
water under our sails, so we went ANYWAY! We hoisted the dinghy
and secured her, stowed most of the gear, and headed SOUTH!!!
Next stop was Beaufort, and, though not a particularly long haul,
the weather would undoubtedly hinder our progress, so we again
got an early start. Leaving Oriental the clouds began to roll
in, and not long after we passed the last channel marker it began
to rain, and rain hard! Visibility became ZERO, and we relied
on the GPS, solely, for guidance, hoping another vessel wasn't
ahead. We had to cross the Neuse River, which in reality, was
only about three nautical miles, to enter Adam's Creek, our first
leg of the ICW this trip. This crossing was rough and unpleasant.
So rough, in fact, that we lost a belt sander overboard. First
loss of the journey! At the time, however, we were more concerned
about getting across the river and into the protection of the
ICW. I could see a bright schoolbus yellow sailboat not too far
in the distance, and saw her round a corner and disappear, so
I knew she'd probably entered the ICW and was counting the minutes
until we could do the same. If she hadn't been such a bright
shade of yellow I doubt I would have even noticed! Finally entering
the "ditch" the waters quieted to a dull roar and the
rain slacked off a bit. There is a curve in the ICW near
marker "7" at Cedar Creek where a private channel continues
straight. Approaching this curve I noticed the bright schoolbus
yellow sailboat had mistaken the private channel for the ICW and,
rather than turn to starboard, kept going straight! MISTAKE!
They were aground, and had their dinghy launched trying to pull
them off, and the boom swung far to starboard with a guy hanging
off the end bouncing up and down trying to dislodge the yellow
boat from the shallows. I watched with the binos and saw them
move, and, after we passed them they got off the bank. "Patience"
doesn't have a powerful motor, and today we were traveling strictly
by motor, so the yellow boat soon passed us.
This wasn't the end of the excitement with the yellow boat. Nearing
Beaufort there were some channel markers recently downed
by a boat gone awry, and undocumented shoaling. There, at one
time, were two entrances to Beaufort right before the bascule
bridge. One being at one time a shorter path to Beaufort, the
other stays within the ICW. The yellow boat decided to take the
shorter route, and I heard a local SeaTow outfit trying to hail
them, over and over and over, to warn them of the recent shoaling
and missing markers. We couldn't see where SeaTow was seeing
us from, and deduced they were either on the bascule bridge, or
on a high widow's watch nearby. I was amazed that they would
indeed try to warn anyone,,, that being their livelihood and all,
but, was pleased non-the-less. Apparently the yellow boat didn't
have their VHF on, or were out of range. Finally SeaTow hailed
us (Blue sailboat,,, Blue sailboat,,, astern of Yellow Sailboat,,,
Please Answer! This is SeaTow. Over!) and asked if we could possibly flag the vessel
down. Waving and yelling didn't do it, so I put on my bright
yellow slicker and stood on the bow waving a pair of yellow foul
weather trousers trying, in vane, to get their attention. All
of a sudden we saw them turn on a dime,,,, do an about-face,,,,
and retrace their path. Evidently their depth sounder gave them
fair warning, and they cautiously made their way back to the ICW.
A near miss!
It was only about twelve miles down the ICW to reach Beaufort
from Neuse River, so, even with the rain and poor visibility we
were able to make it by 1300. Pulling into the Town harbor we
were amazed at how crowded it was! Hard to even find a place
to set the hooks! Taking our time and scoping the situation out
we spied "Freedom" and anchored near her. No sign of
Steve on board, who was obviously sitting at some dockside lounge
having a cold one, and more than likely saw us come in.
We set the hooks (well!) and, as always, sat on "Patience"
a good hour before leaving her, just to feel comfortable with
the current, swing, holding, etc. We decided to lower the dinghy
and head for shore to look for Steve (and join him, perhaps, for
a cold one??? Or two???). Also decided to stay within visual
range of "Patience" JUST IN CASE….
Finding a nice waterfront restaurant and pub called "DockSide"
we went inside to order two beers and took them out onto the deck
to check out the harbor's activity. When I went back into the
pub to order a second beer I noticed this tall, tan, muscular,
short haired blonde woman sitting at the bar talking to an obvious
local fisherman. She had a strong German accent, and, mentally
I named her "Fraun Hilda". The only words I could
understand from her conversation were "Bobby Lou" (and
all I could think of was Ricky Ricardo!). She intrigued me,
and I felt I'd like to get to know her, and probably would!
At the DockHouse you can "buy" showers at the nearby
bathhouse, and buy a dinghy dock permit. I decided this was going
to be our new point of reference for anyone who wanted to wish
us a last farewell.
I called home for a progress report, and learned that several
of our friends were coming to meet us here in Beaufort. Two
were bringing our forgotten fuel tanks, five more were just coming
to hang out with boat people in a cool little boating town, and,,,,,
our old sailing buddies Kim and Kay from "Blue Whale"
(who sailed with us in the Abacos homeward bound around "Don't
Rock" behind Whale Cay Passage naked!) were coming as well!!!!
I'm so excited I can hardly contain it!! We hadn't seen them
in three years! They were en-route to Ft. Myers to prepare their
new Tayana 37' for an extended two-year cruise. I'm psyched about
tomorrow! Closing now!
October 12, 1995
Friends coming! Plans to make! Laundry to do! Excited here!
I awoke early and took the dinghy to town (yes, new dinghy, new
motor, Terri is MOBILE!) Was able to make it to shore and do
some last minute provisioning, and reserved the mid-morning for
laundry. I was just finishing my laundry and walking back to
the dinghy dock when,,,, I ran into Kim and Kay ! Happy! Memories!!!
Abaco Memories! The most SPECIAL kind! They had just pulled into town,
and, helped me back to the dinghy with my laundry, and we agreed I'd transport
it out to "Patience", send Dave back for them, and await
their arrival. So, that's exactly what we did. Cap'n Dave brought
them aboard "Patience" and, they, wielding lots of munchies
and crunchies they well know boat people savor, boarded our humble
abode and shared their bounty (they brought their OWN Rum!) (sorry,
but I still HATE rum!).
I had taped a good movie, "Captain Ron", and I prepared
a light meal of cheese, French bread, white grapes, good vibes,
and they brought their own Vodka and grapefruit juice. We sat
in the cockpit and watched sunset, then brought the VCR outside
and watched Captain Ron and had popcorn desert.
Kim and Kay spent the night on "Patience", and, next
morning we all seemed to awake at the same time. They were leaving
early today, so we were wanting to savor every moment of their
time with us. Kay brought some wonderful coffee, which I put
on to brew, and, in the meantime we sat on deck to watch sunrise.
Well,,, what do you think we saw??? You'll never guess this one!
Kim was sitting on the bow,,, me checking anchor lines, and Kim
whispers (because it's still sunrise time,,, not many folks up),
"Terri,,, come up here!" So, I did,,, and he pointed
to this small head in the water. I recognized it right away,
and totally went into a fit of laughter!!!!! It was my "Fraun
Hilda" swimming across the channel with a canoe line between
her teeth,,,, TOWING THE CANOE! Hard for me to even tell Kim
why I was laughing,,,! I guess you just had to be at DockSide
to see this strong, viral, short-haired, tanned, blond German-speaking
lady, whose only words I could understand were "Bobby Lou"
(Ricky Ricardo???) towing a canoe across the harbor,,, between
her teeth! TOO FUNNY FOR WORDS! She and I will meet again, I
KNOW this!
Well, it would take a lot to top that morning's events, so, still chuckling I went below and prepared a breakfast of Huervos Rancheros, along with orange juice and muffins. We feasted and laughed and took a long walk down memory lane. It was so good to see Kim and Kay again, and we tried to cram as much into their short visit as possible. But, alas, they soon had to leave us, and I was sad to see them go!