I usually start my posts with some drama that arose just before leaving, but this trip went off without a hitch. Granted the last 2 trips I tried to take ended up being cancelled due to health issues, but that was months ago and I was determined to get back on the horse. The plan was to sail out of the Cedar Island Ferry boat ramp to Portsmouth village on Friday, Ocracoke on Saturday, then back to overnight around the boat dock in order to pull out early Monday morning.
Things evolved, but that is part of the story. After said health scares, I had asked for a Spot GPS tracker for these trips and after a ridiculous amount of effort I got it working. The red tracks are from Fri/Sat and the blue one is from Sunday where I forgot to turn it on.
We arrived at the boat ramp at 11am and were immediately nervous as the wind was blowing 15-20mph sustained and the seas were moderate. It was predicted to slow down as the afternoon went on, so we soldiered ahead. The Pamlico is well known as having a long fetch and shallow depth that makes for steep, confused waves with a short period. We put the boat in at the ramp and my 2-wheel Highlander struggled to get out with just the trailer, spinning out in the sand that covered the concrete ramp. We got the truck stuck in a previous episode and so I knew it would be a struggle on our return.
Pulling out of the harbor we saw the worst waves of the day, which is typical when leaving a harbor. Seas were 3-4’ with some getting around 6’. With a reef in the main I felt in control and the sailing was a blast. It moderated as predicted in the afternoon so we could take some video. The quickest way to moderate the sea is to take a picture, so these look less impressive than they were at the time. (Sorry for the camera orientation)
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M4KkYwTcEM[/youtube]
I started to describe Portsmouth, but Wikipedia does it better:
“Portsmouth Island is a tidal island connected, under most conditions, to north end of the North Core Banks, across Ocracoke Inlet from the village of Ocracoke. The town lies in Carteret County, was established in 1753 by the North Carolina Colonial Assembly, and abandoned in 1971. Its remains are now part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore.
Ocracoke Inlet was a popular shipping lane during colonial times. Established in 1753, the town of Portsmouth functioned as a lightering port, where cargo from ocean-going vessels could be transferred to shallow-draft vessels capable of traversing Pamlico and Core Sounds. Portsmouth grew to a peak population of 685 in 1860. Though small, Portsmouth was one of the most important points-of-entry along the Atlantic coast in post-Revolutionary America.”
In planning for the approach to Portsmouth, I was most concerned about having to go halfway out the inlet that leads to the ocean in order to reach the village pier channel. I definitely didn’t want to get sucked out and the maps make it look as if you would not be able to see the pier until you got close. Neither of those were issues. We saw the pier from quite a distance, but the charts and satellite views of the shoals were completely inaccurate. So the actual challenge was just getting to it in the falling tide.
Shallow water is where the SJ21 shines. We made it to the pier, but it was still very exposed to the 10-15mph wind, so I didn’t like it as a sleeping spot. We checked the map and headed to a small creek in the village. When we pulled into the creek there was less than a foot of water, but we bumped our way to the dock. Within an hour we were hard aground, but in mud and it was fine.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YRUz-I8SW8[/youtube]
*I don’t have asthma but the zoom motor combined with my actual breathing makes it sound that way.
We went for a walk around town and discovered we were the only humans there. Many of the houses were open and still had pot belly stoves and furniture. The church looked as if it still gets services with pews, an organ and piano. The life saving station was a beautiful building that I forgot to photograph, but stole a pic off the internet for you. We hiked to the top and looked around. It was really neat.
The welcome center was closed, but they left their 4 wheeler with the keys in the ignition. That was their mistake. I won’t admit to unauthorized use of government equipment, but in theory someone could have just started it up and driven all around town if they wanted. After dinner we walked back to the church and rang the bell accidentally disturbing some nesting flickers.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZOnZc2s2LY[/youtube]
Did I mention that the temperature never got to 50 degrees? It was high 40s in the day and low 40s in the night. So with the sun going down at 6:30p, we had to huddle in the boat and struggle to stay awake until 9p. We checked the VHF weather channel for the forecast. The plan had been to go to Ocracoke on Saturday, but the forecast for Sunday was sustained 20-25mph with gusts into the 30s from the north. That is about 60 miles of fetch and we saw 30mph wind on our last trip and had no interest in seeing it again. So, we made the decision to head south into Core Sound a day early where it is very shallow and anchor at the Long Point cabins run by the NPS.
We had to wait until 10:30a to have enough water to get out of the creek, but did so with little drama. The sail to Core Sound was easy with winds starting around 10 and slowly diminishing to nothing. So, once again, we were becalmed after having seen 20 the day before. We fired up the iron ginny and kept rolling.
I mentioned that we were worried about getting the boat out of the water because of the sandy ramp. We scouted potential alternate boat ramps online and on the chart the night before. We saw what looked like a small harbor with a private ramp on google satellite maps and decided to investigate. It was a 2 mile walk back to the car from there, so we thought we might talk some good ol’ boy into letting us use their ramp and walk to get the trailer. The harbor was a bust and it had taken so long to get there with the wind dying that it was 3:30p. Clouds had rolled in so we were tired and cold. The bay was protected from waves, but there was no protection from wind and nowhere to get off the boat.
We decided to continue the trek to the Long Point cabins and it was a good decision. We pulled in around 4:30p motoring the whole time. This spot was also completely abandoned. All the cabins were boarded shut and other than the views of the ocean, there wasn’t much to see. We ate dinner on the deck of one of the cabins and watched the beautiful sunset before retiring for the night.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=828Fsu0i4CQ[/youtube]
I forgot to check the forecast that night, so when the wind picked up around 4:30a, I started getting worried. I could tell it was about 10-15mph by 6a, so I got up and checked the VHF. Current conditions were reported as 10-15mph sustained and gusts into the 20s. Winds were predicted to build to the 20s sustained and gusts into the 30s in the late morning. We had to motor directly into the north winds to get out of Core Sound, then turn west and head to the boat ramp to get back, and all that wind was going to drive some big waves down the length of the Pamlico. I woke my son up and said, “Let’s go, we have to move now”.
Motoring up Core Sound was not fun. It was cold and we were motoring directly into the wind. Seas were 2-3’, but an occasional steep 4-5’ set would completely stop us and the engine would push us forward again. Navigation was also not easy because the entire sound is littered with Clam farms in the shallows which camouflage the markers. Cedar Island’s point comes way out into the sound and is too shallow to cross, or at least I wasn’t willing to cross it with all the Clam lines for fear I might tangle the prop. So we had to beat further north and east than I wanted but had no choice.
Once we got out of Core Sound and into deeper water, the waves really picked up. The last 30 mins trying to get around the point to make our turn was miserable. Every wave sent spray up over the bow. I sent my son below and nestled up close to the cabin top to get some protection. It stopped the spray from directly hitting my legs, but just ran down my jacket and soaked my crotch. Waves at this point were consistently 4-5’, up to about 7’. It was hard to make any headway, but the period had lengthened and were less peaked so we were more able to ride up and down the smaller ones.
We finally made it to the point and could take the turn west towards the Ferry station and boat ramp. We were still motoring and I started to get worried about how much gas we had. We had burned much more than expected the day before. Winds were now sustained at 20mph, gusts into the mid twenties. We were taking waves on our stern quarter when we pointed directly at the ramp, so we had to run more parallel to the shore as well as wanting to stay high as I knew we would make a lot of leeway with the wind and waves pushing us to shore. We agreed to motor for 20 mins and check the gas situation.
Twenty minutes later I checked the gas and just didn’t think we would have enough to make it. I definitely wanted power as we reached the dock, so we decided to put up the mainsail. I had taken the jib off in the Core Sound to reduce windage and was regretting that, but going on deck was not going to happen and I didn’t think I could put it up through the hatch successfully. We got the main up and reefed. It initially felt better sailing and it was much faster than motoring.
Here I am going to talk a little about sailing the SJ21 in extreme (for it) weather. I honestly don’t go out looking for these winds. I know all my reports have these high winds, but that is just how it goes on the Pamlico, especially in the winter when I seem to go more. These reflections are mine, on my boat, in my conditions. Your mileage may vary.
In these conditions I always pin the keel and put in a hatchboard. If the boat were to get knocked down, the keel could swing in and put a big hole in the bottom. The hatchboard has always been a precaution if I got knocked down and took water into the cockpit, but in this case, I realized it also would be useful should I get pooped by a wave from the stern. Even reefed we were over canvased and the best sail would have been the jib as it is smaller and can be loosed easily even when running down wind. The main hits the shrouds and can’t be de-powered running dead down wind.
With the main up, we tried to head directly to the ramp, but that was about twenty degrees off the wind/waves. That was a mistake. Several trips ago, also in winter, I single handed and had some similar conditions. I broached a few times, but I saw them coming (or at least the ones after the first) and they were gradual. We had a few minor broaches this time initially, but recovered fine. Then a 6-7’ set came through. The first one stopped me, the second one spun the boat 90 degrees instantly, pivoting on the keel. It was disturbing. I am not sure what would have happened if the keel had not been pinned, so add that to reasons to pin the keel.
We determined that we had to run parallel to shore until we were directly upwind of the ramp, then run directly downwind. That worked, but I won’t say that I wasn’t scared of pitchpoling a few times. I don’t think that was possible in these waves, but we definitely had some steep waves come pick us up from behind and I kept waiting for a breaking wave to poop us.
As we got close to shore, we turned upwind once more and took the sail down with lots of cursing and confusion. Engine running and bare poles, we headed to the harbor. It was nerve racking coming in so fast with the waves behind us and getting steeper as they reached the shore. With binoculars we figured out the harbor entrance and got in with little drama. We tied off to the dock and gave each other a big hug.
Here is a video from about an hour after we landed. It had picked up even more to sustained 25mph with gusts into the 30s according to the VHF. I would like to note that the Windfinder website had this location at 15mph, so it was wildly off. While we had been in greater wind in our last trip, we sheltered as the boat just can’t be managed in 30mph winds. I feel we were right on the edge of what is possible in this boat and while it was exciting, I would rather not do it again.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz2BbNkp0So[/youtube]
Safely on the dock we now had to deal with getting the boat out. We cut the bottom off a water jug and scooped the sand off of two tracks in the ramp to get down to bare concrete. The ramp had a nice grate pattern that we cleaned out. We unloaded the boat of anything heavy and to our surprise got it out on the first try.
No question the last day’s sail was challenging, but over all this trip was the first I have had with no major hiccups. Nothing broke, challenges emerged, but we handled them. We had to change our plan, but everything we planned came off without a hitch. We had a great time and were actually glad to get home and get a warm shower.
Get out on the water folks! It is the cure for covid malaise.
Peace,
Kuriti
