Brrrrrrrrrr

The Neuse River, North Carolina
N 34 58.16 W 076 41.285

Friday, 9AM
Well we did it. About 14:00 yesterday afternoon we made landfall in Beaufort, NC. Our third day at sea, we made 120 miles, although I confess that we used the engine and sails for the last 100 miles.

The night before, after passing Frying Pan Shoals, the wind died to less than 5 knots. Not being patient enough to just sit and wait, we used the engine for a boost. Normally, I don't use the engine at sea because the pitching caused by waves causes the propeller to lift out of the water. This time though the waves were so small that it worked OK.

As it turns out, it was a wise decision. Just 30 minutes before entering the Beaufort Inlet, the wind abruptly came up at 20 knots from the NE. It is going to stay that way for three days. If we had been caught 100 miles out in that wind it would have taken an extra 24 or 36 hours of uncomfortable sailing to get back in. (Gee don't we sound spoiled and timid.)

After entering the harbor, we passed the docks in Moorehead City. There was an enormous aircraft carrier there with unfamiliar lines. I think it might be the same unfinished carrier we saw first in Newport News, then again in Norfolk. She was christened last year. I don't remember her nam.

By 18:00 we were anchored in Adams Creek. The totals for our voyage, 78 hours anchor-to-anchor, 366 nautical miles (421 statue miles). By going outside, we avoided 505 statue miles of Intra coastal Waterway, and 10 to 15 days of motoring on the inside, and the death of 50,000 horse flies that we would have swatted passing through Georgia. We also avoided the states of Georgia and South Carolina,and half of North Carolina.

Davy Jones & Murphy cheated: Yesterday morning while on watch, I heard a strange noise. I looked around and I found a shackle and it's screw-in shackle pin sitting on the cockpit cushion beside me. Investigating, I found that it came from the topping lift. The topping lift is a line that runs from the top of the mast to the end of the boom. It holds the boom up when the sails are down. The end of the boom, fastened to the topping lift by this shackle and pin, hangs out over the water when
the wind is behind us. Against all odds, when the pin came loose, the shackle and pin must have flown horizontally back into the cockpit and landed nicely on the cushion beside me. Dave Jones was robbed of another prize for his locker. Mr Murphy, of Murphy's law, must be rolling over in his grave. On the other hand, I recall that in 40 years of engineering, I was always fond of saying, "Murphy's Law is recursive." (Computer types love and kind of humor that includes the word recursive.) What
it means that just when Mr. Murphy depends on Murphy's Law to spoil everything, the same law sometimes spoils Murphy's fun.

Just in case we are in any doubt about having left Florida, we are presented with two stark reminders. First, ITS COLD! We had to seek out long pants and flannel shirts yesterday, for the first time in many many months. True, the thermometer says that it is in the 60s, but our Florida-conditioned bodies know better. ITS COLD. Second, as we weighed anchor this morning, I found the anchor chain covered by globs of black sticky Chesapeake mud rather than white Florida sand. Ah yes, I remember
now.

This morning we're going to Oriental to hang out for a day or so. We have no particular mission. We just like Oriental.