Ocracoke - Since numerous rain showers were predicted for our trip from Morehead City to Ocracoke, we got underway early. It was a fine morning to motor up the Newport River and through Adams Creek/Canal to the Neuse River. After we turned E toward Pamilco Sound, we could see storms building to the south. The breeze was making for an excellent day of sailing, but we were not keen on sailing through squalls on the Sound, in the dark, arriving at a narrow channel to a new harbor. Checking the charts and Active Captain, we decided to look for shelter in West Bay behind Cedar Island. We managed to thread the needle between two storms - OK, so we got lucky and they both missed us - and sail to within a couple of miles of the bay entrance, which is wide and deep if you pay any attention to that sort of stuff. We motored about 3 miles back into the bay to get some protection in case the storms got nasty (they didnt) and dropped the hook in 8 feet of water. After spending an hour watching the US military blow things up on an island about 2 miles away (Danger Zone/Prohibited Area found on the chart), we had dinner and hit the sack in a secluded, quiet back bay..... I dont know if it was the same pair of attack jets all three times, but on the second pass, they were low enough that I could discern the difference between the sucking of air into the jets intake and the roar of the exhaust from the tailpipe. Fortunately, this mission only lasted about 40 minutes, from 9:15 p.m. until just before 10. The REST of ther night was peaceful in a quiet, secluded back bay. We were up early and ready to go, sailing off the hook with a nice S breeze back onto Pamlico Sound. We sailed until the wind died a few hours later and motored toward Big Foot Slough Channel into Ocracoke (Nine Foot Shoal Channel is not as reliable and only saves about a mile coming from the S). We had to wait for 3 ferries - two departing and one arriving - and made an easy approach to Silver Lake, the Ocracoke anchorage. Having anchored out for two nights, we bit the bullet and paid $2 a foot to put Arabella on a dock so we could get showers. Expensive showers. The next day, we moved to the US Park Service dock where, using my new Park Service Senior discount card, we paid 60 cents a foot for dock space. There are no showers at these docks (or anywhere else in town if youre not renting a house), but we managed to complete a few small boat projects and ride our bikes around the island some. Plus, there were two boats in Ocracoke from Seapath Yacht Club! Always good to see neighbors. Originally, we had hoped to be in Ocracoke to see Your Mommas Big Fat Booty band a week earlier, but the delays at Swan Point had scuttled that idea. Imagine our delight when Carol found in the local ad/arts rag that the Willie Painter Band was playing Friday Night! We got there early enough to say hey to Willie and Bill Newton and spend some time with a few other Triangle folks who had made the trip. The band was in excellent form and we enjoyed a set and a half before riding our bikes back to the dock. What a nice way to end our time in Ocracoke.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 20:44:41 +0000
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