Back on the Ocean…and Finally Get Some Sailing

Beaufort to Wrightsville Beach  – 70 nautical miles sailed

My eyes popped open at 6am after staying up staggeringly late last night (nearly 11) trying to catch up on the series episodes (Outer Range and Fallout) I keep falling asleep for and holding Ana back. We had the regular preparatory tasks to do – boil water, activate navigational equipment, clean water and fog off the cockpit windows, haul anchor – to be out of here at first light to make the 70 mile ocean trip to Wrightsville Beach before it got dark. We had a few extra tasks today, as last night I deployed all our fenders around the boat and tied the dinghy along the starboard side as a giant fender in case our neighbours swayed over here again. Fortunately, that did not happen and all the boats behaved themselves.

 

There was a parade of boats throwing huge wakes on the way out the inlet, not to mention the three knot current we were fighting against so it took a while to get to the ocean, but as we reached the end, Ana spotted another pod of dolphins, so I think our sea mammal luck has turned. And shortly after this, we reached a major milestone; we were finally able to put up our main sail. This is the first time we’ve been able to use it since leaving home, and it was awesome. With both sails out we were doing about 5 knots in the light wind so we also used the motor as we needed 6.5 knots to get to the anchorage before dark. The main sail stayed up the entire ride.

As it was Sunday, we had a more substantial breakfast then normal, as is our tradition. As Corb Lund played in the background, we ate ham, cheese, and mushroom omelettes on toast as we sat in the cockpit on a glorious morning with the autopilot set to the heading and no winding channels or shallows to navigate. This open water ocean passage gave us a chance to relax and we realized the long days navigating the ICW really are exhausting as you have to be paying attention every minute of the trip and there are few straightaways for breaks. During the ride we did some administrative stuff, more route planning, got our new secondary anchor rigged and ready, did some reading and writing, and enjoyed the time on the water. We reached the Masonboro Inlet around 4:30, saw another few dolphins, and were safely anchored in a large and well protected anchorage at Wrightsville Beach by 5, along with a dozen other boats.

We had an early night and a peaceful and restful sleep at anchor.