28 August 2010

The last weekend in August

It was the last weekend of August 2010. Hurricane Danielle was forecast to stay away from our coast with a track that takes it just east of Bermuda. A High Pressure ridge was moving Hurricane Danielle off our coast with a Northeast wind, cooler temperatures, and low humidity. It looked like an ideal day to take das segelboot out. The weather forecast for the Pamlico Sound was Northeast winds 10 to 15 knots, seas 2 to 3 feet, subsiding to 1 to 2 feet in the evening with wind becoming 5 to 10 knots. The morning sunrise was beautiful. It was time to wake up the rest of the crew and prepare to get underway.

We got underway around 09:30 EST. Michele was at the helm. Raymond was home for the weekend and wanted to go sailing. He completed his first week at North Carolina State University. I was glad to have a crew this time around. I enjoy the company of my best friend and wife, and as the saying goes "that is why I like having you around".

At the dock, the weather did not seem bad. Our slip is well protected from the Northeast wind. But when I was out taking my morning pictures at the Oriental fishing pier, the wind was coming out of the Northeast at 10 knots, so it seemed the weather forecast was correct. When we cleared Whittaker Point, the wind was coming out of the Northeast at 12 knots. We made our first track to South River. We had an exhilirating ride to South River. We were averaging 5.8 knots with a 15 knot wind. When we got to the entrance for South River, we decided to continue northward to the mouth of the Neuse River. The winds and the seas started picking up. The winds were now gusting over 17 knots.

There were several sailboats enjoying the Northeast breeze and cool summer day. It was still the dog days of summer and having temperatures in the mid-80s was nice for a change. There were a few power boats out on the Neuse River. On one occasion, I had to change my present course (a starboard close haul) to avoid a close encounter with a trawler crossing our path. The trawler was heading north bound on the Neuse and I was a close haul on the starboard side. I was hoping to enjoy our present track for a little while longer, but they we coming too close for comfort. We tracked to avoid them. There was another sailboat running a parallel course with us and they had the same problem.

We decided to make a run for Oriental Harbor and have lunch. It took us about 45 minutes to make and eat lunch and only 45 minutes to make it back to Whittaker Point. The wind was now blowing over 20 knots. Our wind indicator was showing 17 knots on the run to Oriental. The seas were still coming out of the Northeast at 2 to 3 feet, so it wasn't a smooth ride as we expected. We decided to continue down the Neuse River towards Adams Creek hoping the conditions would calm down. We were averaging 5.3 knots on our run. When we got to Adams Creek, we decided to head home.

As we made our track to Oriental Harbor, the winds were clocking at 22 knots. The seas were still 2 to 3 feet. It was even a more exhilirating ride home. We were keeling close to 20 degrees at times. Two regular members of my crew were home. It's Friday Night Football in Carolina and Daniel wanted to attend some football game at home. He stayed home and watched the fifth member of the crew (Ziva, "I love this dog!"). The adventure we had today would had made Ziva a nervous wreck . On a day like today, she would be happy to trade in her sea legs for some solid land and a shady spot under a tree. After mooring das segelboot, we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon at the pool.