Ocracoke Island

Door into Summer and Reboot arrived last night at Ocracoke Island.  The trip down the Neuse River and into Pamlico Sound was uneventful.  What little true wind we had was always just close enough to the bow to make sailing impossible.  I have hoisted a temporary jib and hoped that with the jib and main I would be able to make some progress close hauled.  However the furler is not working properly so I could not get the jib deployed.

The beginning of the trip from Oriental followed the Intracostal Waterway route.  The rest of the trip was in water about 12 to 14 feet deep.  This is deep enough that I don't feel I need to keep my eyes glued to the depth gauge the entire way.  There is a bar across the sound so we did experience some depths of 5 to 6 feet under the keel.

The entrance to Ocracoke Island is, alas, like many long and skinny.  Since there is hourly ferry service to the island the channel is kept in much better shape than many, but it is still tiresome to have to hand steer for a couple of hours as you work you way in.  Entering Silver Lake I found that the anchorage was crowded with those who had come before.  Apparently there had been a cruisers gam the weekend before and boats were also arriving for the festival.  I dropped the hook.  Ed (Door into Summer) had taken a slip so they were all set (except for the substantial financial outlay.)  He dropped his dinghy in the water and came out to see me sparing me the effort to get Reboot's dinghy blown up and launched.  We reconnoitered the anchorage and found a good spot well back.  With Ed aboard we moved Reboot over to the new spot.

After a nice dinner on shore I came back for the night.  In the middle of the night we had a wind shift and everything spun around.  Only then did I discover that a small sailboat (maybe 21 feet) had 300 feet of rope rode out and was spinning around all over the place.  I managed to get Reboot clear only to hear from other cruisers that this boat (with current registration from 2009) had been the bane of the anchorage for weeks.  I am sure that the wind will shift a couple of more times so we will have to see what happens.

I have been fighting a major allergy attack ever since Madison.  After a quick trip to shore to see Claudia and Ed and David and LeeLee (Bamba Shack) I have spent most of my time napping.  Hopefully this will help me get over the postnasal drip and sore throat I have had for days.

I have been sitting on the deck listening to the music from a local bar.  The volume is just about perfect since I am 1/2 mile away.  I am sure it is ear splitting in the bar.

Tomorrow I hope so spend some more time on shore and also do some minor provisioning for the trip back.  Ed has suggested we go out the Ocracoke channel and return via the Atlantic.  I think that if they go that way I will take a pass.  Without a good working jib I am hesitant.  Plus, if we go out I will have to drive up Adam's Creek again, an 8 hour boring time behind the wheel.

Fair winds and following seas.