Snode Creek to Dowry Creek anchorage

The morning was cold at 12 C.  Did not want to get out of bed.  Evenually I got out, made Bacon and Eggs and departed at noon.   

I could only go 20 miles before the Pungo Alligator Canal.  The canal is 23 nm, and there are no anchorages, so once committed, there was no real turn back.

The winds were 15-20 knots.  The whole day was 13C.   

At 3pm, I decided to pull into Dowry Creek, since it was well protected from North and West.  And the nearby marina had wi-fi. The wifi was very slow but worked on the laptop.

At 18h I dingied to the marina and met some cruiser who invited me to their group supper.  Nice people.  

Nice full Pink Moon.

Oriental to Snode Creek

Friday morning was stormy.  We were supposed to be out of the free dock by 8AM due to the Oriental Boat Show.

At 9:45, I left the dock to let the boat ahead of me out.  I came back in to wait for the rain and did some final shopping at the flea market.

The sky cleared about 11:30.  Radar showed no more cells.. Nobody bothered me about overstaying at the free dock.

Looked like a nice beam reach of 14 miles on the Neuse River.  The weather was warm, and I was not in any rush.  Nice sail of 4 to 6 knots - no engine.  After 14 miles, the wind shifted to the nose and increased in intensity.  It was rock and roll.  The dinghy was bouncing a lot, causing the inflatable floor to dislodge.  I slowed down Bellum, dropped the dinghy, and kicked the floor back down.  A little risky maneuver.  

At Ball Island, I came head to head with a dual barge pushed by the Tug Island Explore,r which was coming down the river taking most of the river.  I had to come to the side to let her through.

At 6PM I decided to anchor at Snode Creek.  Other than few big houses the local was fairly isolated.  A little rolly. 

Tired, had a Bushmill and made a pork tenderloin.  I turned off the BBQ and the electronic valve.  The next morning, the 20 Lb tank was empty.  It has served me since Miami. 

Swansboro to Oriental

 I got up early (again) and found Bellum had been spinning round the anchor.  When I pullled up the anchor, the chain seemed to have spun a 'lot'.  

The morning was cold again.  About 11C.

I had called Dudley's marina about how to dock for fuel, they told me there was not enough water.  

Departed slowly while trying to update my wifi applications on my way back to the channel.  Sped down the Bogue Sound in a strong face on wind towards Spooners Creek at MM 200 to get fuel.  I estimated arrival before noon and got there at 11:30.  The entrance was un-nervingly shallow with a blind turn.  Once inside the Bougue Sound, it was very well protected gated commumity with lots of boats and to my suprise there was an anchorage.  I docked by myself and called Tim and he came out and fueled the tank and Jerry can. 19.3 Gallons.  My biggest fill up.  Tim told me I could use then anchorage and if I tie my dingy "outside" the ramp, there would be no problems.  And there was a Walmart Super Center one mile away.  I was tempted but it was too early for me to close the day.  And I had too much food aboard. 

After some lingering, I departed the dock without help.  Once outside, the winds were strong and in my face.  I passed a sailboat and passed the Beaufort Channel railroad and traffic bridge and the winds calmed in the Adams Creek.

About 2 PM, my right eye became very floggy.  I tried some eye drops but it didn't help.  I notifed Norm and Jason on the chat.  I contacted my insurance broker and got the information on getting approval from Alliance Insurance about visiting a hospital.  

I was getting tired.  I was becoming a long day.  I sped to Orient in hopes to get a free dock

It was a fast and bumpy ride across the Neuse River. 

Made it into Orient and found free dock 1.  I adjusted my fenders and someone helped me tie up.  

Had a great shower and updated my blog and made leftover sausages since I did not want to BBQ at the free dock.

There was a boat show during the upcoming weekend and I had to vacate the free dock by Friday.

On Thursday, I walked the town, visited the flea markets, marine electronics store to pick up Chris’ Seatalk adapter.  Did Piggly Wiggly,  Got a lot of junk at the flea market.

I had to undock and redock several times at the free dock during my stay.

Wrightsville Beach to Swansboro

I departed Wrightsville Beach and headed south to Hammock Bay or further.  The weather was cold and I had several layers.

Figure 8 bridge was no problem since there was no serious winds.

It was a nice change of scenery towards Hamock bay.  I got there about 3PM and decided I had energy and time to get to Swansboro bay, another 18 miles.  

But the Onslow bridge was building a new draw bridge and they left the new bridge half way down so no sail boat could cross at 4PM.  At 4:10, the lifted the bridge but it was too late for me.  I dropped the anchor to rest and tidy up a little bit.  I then relized I had dropped the anchor between two no anchor zone that had lines on the seabed.  It seemed that I was between the two.  At 4:40, I was told the bridge would open at 5 and two other sailboats appeared.  I hauled anchor and waited for the opening.  

Now I had 10 miles to do against the current to get to Swansboro.  I was concerned because the anchorage in front of Casper Marina and Church Marina had strong currents and a poor holding according to the reviews.  

I passed one of the boats at Onslow Bridge who was anchoring and decided to anchor below her near the bridge.  The anchor did not hold as quickly as ussual but it did test well - eventually.  All before sunset.  Later I noticed the other boat re-anchored closer to Casper ... further from me.

I was a cold night and I put in the companion way door.  

Got up a couple of times to find we had swung 180.  There was not a lot of wind, so I wasn't too concerned.