A Tale of Two Chemists: Material Attraction

Material Attraction … Wednesday 19th June 201

We had a wild storm last night. It was about 2.30 in the morning and started with light rain, but quickly became a torrent with high winds, thunder and lighting. We closed all the hatches and I lay in bed clutching the hand held GPS that we always set up as an anchor alarm. I've never been that confident the GPS alarm would wake us up if we were dragging but it's great to be able to monitor your position when it's really howling outside. The trusty Rocna held just fine and I was just about to drift back off to sleep when water started dripping on my face - it turns out I hadn't done a very good job of closing the hatch above me and the water had dripped through, pooled in the hand rail, only to work it's way through and torment me. After the storm we slept in until 8.30 - I think the latest we have ever slept on the boat! To be honest I think events will show that I didn't really wake up until 11.15 am.

Our plan for the day was to leave Beaufort around lunch time and head north up the ICW with favorable tide and current, but as the morning progressed the wind, which had moved round to the North East, along with the current in Taylor creek, conspired to drive us uncomfortably close to the other boats so at about 11 am we decided to raise the hook and head out of the anchorage. We had plenty of time to make the 11.30 am opening of the Beaufort Bascule bridge that we needed to pass through, but almost blew it as we narrowly avoided running aground on a sand bar right next to the docks. I'm not exactly sure why I thought the little yellow buoys (that I couldn't read) would signal a "no wake" zone when the chart clearly shows a shallow section on it. I must still have been asleep. However, as we got closer I was able to read the fine print … "danger" … and it dawned on me that this particular route wasn't a good idea. I quickly stopped the boat, backed up and went around the offending shallows. Note to self: suggest engage brain before engaging transmission. Not two minutes later we saw another boat come out of the dock and run aground at almost the same spot. It seems that lead and sand have a strong affinity for each other.

We had a steady and uneventful motor up the Adams Creek canal and out into the Neuse River. The favorable currents we had planned for in the afternoon turned out to be 1-2 knots of adverse current in the middle of the day. When we arrived at the Neuse river we motor sailed with the genoa to cover about 6 miles of very choppy water and then turned into the South River to anchor. Once through a narrow buoyed section the river opens out into a beautiful bay where you could anchor anywhere in 9-11 feet depths. We chose a spot on the east shore not far from the entry channel, but noticed that all the other boats were anchored together about a half mile further south. Two boats that followed us in from the Neuse River also headed to the larger gathering. We did feel a strong sense that we should be anchored near the others, like they are in the "right" place. Gloria says this is another example of her brother Rod's theory that fibre glass attracts - which certainly seems to be the case in tight anchorages! Well it's very peaceful right here and we are settled in for the night. Perhaps the other boats are all cruising together … but perhaps we are also starting to revert to our anti-social ways!

Mike

34 58.137 N, 76 34.748 W