Moving on up the ICW - River Dunes, Oriental, Bel Haven anchorage, Tuckahoe Point

After a couple of nights at Morehead City Yacht Basin repairing the auto pilot we headed out for one of our favorite places, and some feel it is the number one spot to stop, River Dunes.    We started up Adams Creek and just before the Neuse River we went aground in 4' of water.  The interesting thing about going aground on the ICW is that the bottom is mostly soft mud.  We simply plowed through it back over to the channel where it was 7'.

Our boat buddies for this day included a boat that carries its dinghy upside down on the davits.  Good idea to keep out water from big waves.

Along the way I decided to wash all the salt off Shawnee while we motored on the very calm waters.  With our water maker there is no need to conserve water.  I still need to power wash the furling gear to really clean out the salt.  A heavy rainstorm could do the same thing.

We did sail a little on the Neuse River.  See the line where the different winds hit the water.

 We arrived at beautiful River Dunes with sauna, steam bath, hot tub, pool, coffee shop and exquisite taste over all the buildings in the community.  However the rates have increased to $2.25/foot.  The owners created a destination spot for family reunions, weddings and summer homes.  Everything here is top quality and beautifully done.  Their restaurant was closed so we went out to dinner with another couple to M +Ms in Oriental using the loaner car.

We really did sail for about 2 hours Wednesday on our way to Belhaven, a tiny town with two good restaurants, Tavern at Jack's Neck and Spoon River. We anchored out in the harbor.
Shawnee at anchor and Tweety at the town dock.  We rowed in rather than move the outboard off the stern rail.  Good exercise.

One of many southern houses that have enormous wide staircases gracing the front of the house.

We used our trusty anchor app. An alarm goes off on the phone if the boat starts to drag on the anchor.  This is a picture on the Ipad.  The colors are the track of the boat moving around the anchor from wind or currents.  The app is called "Anchor."We ate at The Tavern at Jack's Neck. 

Surprisingly we awoke early for a fairly long day on the ICW headed for Tuckahoe Point, Georgia Bay Anchorage.  We traveled through the Pamlico River to the Pungo River to the Alligator River canal.  It is hard to find a protected place that is deep enough to anchor off the ICW channel.  This little bay or cove is a good anchorage for the night.  Two other boats stopped here as well. It's so quiet.  A fabulous sunset.

Friday morning we rose at 6:15 am, no easy feat for Mr. Drew.  Mazu did go on the bow  and then retired to her usual starter spot at my feet.  I usually am at the helm and Drew is raising the anchor or getting the lines ready.  We usually do about 50 miles a day at about 6 miles per hour.

We continued on the Alligator River and sailed up to the Alligator River swing bridge.
Just to prove to you that we sped along at 7.3 k, a good run with the motor off.   The upper left corner shows the speed on Navionics.

The swing bridge opening.

Sailed up the Albemarle Sound to the the North River -  here's a boat buddy.  It's usually pretty lumpy with swells rocking the boat.  Thank goodness for my Transderm patch.

 The bromeliad continues to blossom.

Our destination, the famous Coinjock Marina, famous for their restaurant with prime ribs.  We passed on the crowd and went to Midway on the opposite side.

 The crowded dock with 20 boats tied up stern to bow.

Midway is an old Marina ($1.50/') that no one will buy from the elderly owner.  Mazu had lots of room to run around.  Only 5 boats over here.  These are popular marinas because of the location.  After a full day on the ICW they are the only option.

After a walk to the Veterans Park we had our very nice dinner aboard - surf salmon and turf steak.

Tomorrow- Saturday, we will motor 50 miles to be in Portsmouth, VA, hopefully tying up at the Basin downtown.  I am happy, so happy to be moving.

Watching Netflix "Longmire" series.  Also watched DVD "Life" narrated by Oprah Winfrey.

Bird on me and High fives after 70 hours outside

IMPORTANT:  We changed the name on the Inreach site to include the name of the boat.  Please keep following us on the map.  The address is now:

    https://share.Garmin.com/svShawnee

We loved hearing from so many friends. We will be sending short messages of our progress on that website. You can send messages to us on the blog or email.

We left Harbor Town Marina at 4 pm with 2' to 3' waves outside, ready to take on the 500+ miles up to Morehead City, NC.  Little wavelets at the mouth of Fort Pierce Inlet.

I took the first evening watch and saw the first glorious sunset.  All land is over the horizon.  Water on all sides.

It was getting a little cool and the seas a little bigger so Drew buttoned down the dodger panel and closed the side curtains before he went to the aft cabin to get some sleep.   Mazu was already down there shaking and panting.  I took the first evening watch.

After looking about and checking the radar screen I lay down to get a little snooze as the boat auto piloted on through increasingly more turbulent seas.  Sails were up for stability.  With one eye above the seat I noticed a bird start flying around the boat and landing occasionally on the life line. Migrating birds this far off land will sometimes hitch a ride.  I opened the side curtain to see if it needed to come in and rest.  Sure enough

This is one of the coolest things I've experienced. The bird nestled down into the pile of jib line for a nap.  I offered bread crumbs and water.  It just wanted rest.  Later my son, a true birder, identified it as a warbling vireo migrating from South America. 
 I had put on a Transderm Patch that prevents seasickness, but evidently I didn't put it in exactly the right location behind my ear.  Around 10 pm at the end of my watch Drew came up to take over. Forgetting about the bird nestled down in the pile of line I immediately lurched to the side, hung my head over the ropes where the bird hid, and I barfed into the sea.  I felt terribly seasick.  I showed Drew the video and told him about our hitchhiker.  What happened to my ever reliable patch?  I retired to the aft cabin to rest.
Eventually Drew needed to pull in the jib line and adjust the sail  He said the bird flew out of the ropes into the night.

  Second day:  The next day just got more turbulent. Drew and I agreed, "This is not fun."  Fortunately when Drew suggested I try a new patch to feel better.  I moved the patch I had and put it on the bone behind my ear.  Twenty minutes later I was fine and could get to my feet again - do my watch.

 I even read on my kindle.

Clearly we rode the Gulf Stream most of the way. Here is proof on the instruments of Shawnee flying along at 11k.  That's 5 knots faster than if we were not in the stream.

Drew printed out the Gulf Stream's path before we planned the route for the trip. We put in the coordinates that matched the picture for our way points.  The Gulf Stream can vary by 50 miles or more. Its route and currents vary in intensity at different seasons and under various conditions. The key shows the speed of the Gulf Stream by color.  You can also see the currents that push boats around - the black arrows.  The Stream goes north and if the wind blows south against the Stream it can bring about some choppy large waves or swells.

We had one morning calm enough for Drew to make us a hot meal.  Scrambled eggs and coffee in the cockpit.  Otherwise eating is a grab n go affair.

 The second evening's sunset.  At night the moon is waxing to full.

 Not only is the western sky worth watching; the clouds in the east deserved a photo shot.




We continued to take turns on watch.  I had the afternoon into evening watch.   At 4:00 PM
                suddenly the auto pilot wouldn't hold. 
  I called Drew up to the helm and showed him.  He was shocked.  We've never had a problem with the auto pilot.  That meant we would have to manually steer the course using the compass - the old fashioned way - for the next 22 hours.  Rather than the auto pilot following the way points on the chart plotter we did it manually.  When at the helm we just kept eyes on a number on the compass and tried to stay right on it.  It's harder than it sounds because the waves, wind, and currents can change the boat direction constantly. In this picture we are heading 62 degrees ENE.  All this time we didn't sail just motored.  The sails helped stabilize and give us a faster ride, but the noise of the motor continued the whole time.

The third evening I was on watch again and another hitchhiker flew onto the dodger and bimini - the enclosure.  So cute on the outside of the window.

It is so cool being this close to wild birds and providing them a service.

Saturday morning's sunrise.

 We were getting closer to Morehead City.  Later that morning I turned on some music from my Itunes library on my computer, and we had a dance party.  My eyes stayed glued to the compass and one hand on the wheel.  Mazu even came up from below.  We think she smelled land.

Look closely at the horizon between the sky and sea.  We headed toward a thin line of buildings.  Nice calm seas and a beautiful day.  The biggest indicator of crossing out of the Gulf Stream is the water temperature.  It's a constant 80 degrees in the Stream all the way up to Cape Hatteras beyond our route.  As soon as we seamlessly crossed out of the Stream the water temperature dropped to 71 degrees.

We motored into Morehead City Marina and did not collapse.  I gave Mazu a shower and the boat a shower to remove caked on salt.  We had an excellent drink at 3 PM and dinner at 7 at Floyds 1921.  Dinner conversation centered around possible solutions to the auto pilot.  We would see the next day when Drew dropped into the cockpit bin and unscrewed the wooden box that held the auto pilot.  We slept like logs.

Sunday  We did take a break from the boat and used the marina's loaner car to get a Starbucks coffee and see the Fort Macon State Park. 

We drove back to Shawnee, and I emptied the locker for Drew to go in to see how to fix the problem.  Here is the whole auto pilot assembly after one panel was removed.

 Look closely and you will see the wire is not inserted into the yellow.  It's broken and corroded.  A relatively simple fix.  "OK, Deb, come up and start the auto pilot while I watch it."

This video shows the real problem that will be addressed tomorrow before we head out.  I laughed happy that it is repairable.

As I turned the wheel at the helm the screws holding the board in place slid right out of their holes.  We need bolts to hold it down.

We are ready - Fort Pierce to Moorehead City, NC OUTSIDE

 FLASHBACK to February Sunrise Labs party for its 25th anniversary in Bedford, NH.

We went out with friends a few times before we left Fort Pierce, Harbor Town Marina. This is the last pot luck of the season.

Today, last grocery shopping to get food items.  I keep a menu of items on paper in the galley so we can read, choose, grab n go when we are under way.  String cheese, yogurt, tuna salad, apples, oranges, crackers, iced tea, cold cuts, nuts, ginger, chocolate, power bars, carrots, my daughter said I should make brownies so brownies, and if I "cook" canned soups, Dinty More Stew, and eggs.
Getting ready includes:
PFDs - life jackets - near at hand,
Epirb ready -emergency communication-,
Paper charts, Navionics on the Ipad and a chart plotted route set into the boat navigation system,
Dinghy secured
Motor mounted on the stern rail 
New yellow polyester ( stronger than the stretchy nylon)  46' Jack lines along port and starboard from bow to stern.  We hook on from our life jackets if we have to leave the cockpit or if it gets rough.  Drew did the knots to tie them in securely.
New filters in the water maker
Stow everything from falling off the shelves
Set up lee cloths - hammock to sleep in so it swings with the motion of the boat

 This year we have added a new feature so readers and friends can follow along where we go. 

https://share.garmin.com/DrewSunstein 

This should show you a map of where Shawnee is at any point in time.  It also is another point of safety since it allows us to contact people by phone if need be through the InReach gadget and a Garmin subscription.

Even if it's smooth sailing without a lot of tossing and turning there is wave action every minute that requires hand holding something at ALL times.  One of us is at the helm at all times, 24 hours a day, even with auto pilot that steers the boat along a course we have set into the navigation system.  No hands need be on the wheel.  Even with radar we must look around for other boats, ships, cargo barges, cruise ships especially when we cross shipping lanes leading into harbors.  They can't stop - we have to be out of their way.
    We usually take 4 hour shifts, that's pretty loose, "Are you tired?  If so I can take the helm." 
"No, I'm fine."
or "It's my turn now." 
"That's okay I'm not tired.  I'll stay." 
In other words, no one is at the helm if they're really sleepy.  We keep a sleeping bag up in the cockpit, a neck pillow, I have an audio book for the trip, and music by earphones or speakers.  The three days just roll into each other where I have to rethink, how many hours have we been out here?  The sun comes up on the east side and sets on the west as the moon rises on the east.  It's pretty cool.  So many stars.  The deep blue of the ocean stops on a line where the blue black of the night on one side carries over to an afterglow blue on the other side from the sunrise or sunset/ moonrise or moonset.  We have a constellation app that names everything in the sky, planets and satellites that we pass by as the earth turns.
  
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A few questions from a reader about the engine mounts: "...would love to hear someday how you noticed the problem, how you diagnosed it and most importantly how you got the mounts out to fix them."
  Drew noticed the problem when he was looking around the engine and saw a rusted clamp that was shooting out a very fine spray of salt water causing some rust.  He replaced the clamp and then saw the aft foot that attaches a mount to the boat was broken, cracked through (pictures in earlier blogs).   He removed the foot by unbolting the entire engine mount and taking it to a local welder.  We knew the mounts were almost 10 years old so decided maybe it would be good to replace all four.  Some bolts and nuts were rusted.  He soaked the bolts in  CRC 6 56 for days to loosen them and cleaned up the bolts.  He saw that the port mount said 150 rather than 200.  150 was supposed to be on starboard side and 200 on port side, but the aft ones were reversed, and the forward ones were correct.  Maybe that caused the aft foot to break.  After he found the mounts in Miami (see earlier blogs for more detail on finding mounts) he ordered them.  With a mechanics help Drew lifted the front and rear of the engine (see pictures in earlier blogs) to slide out the old mounts and slide in the new ones and bolt them into the same holes.  After a few days of preparation with wood supports and setting up it took 3 hours to replace all four with a mechanic's help and tools. 
  

OUR TEST SAIL - PURRRFECT

We are astounded at how little vibration the engine is sending out after installing the new engine mounts (shock absorbers).  The whole thing sounds smoother, purring along.

Doesn't seem to have helped Mazu withstand the fear of sailing though.  We turn the key in the engine and she either sits on my feet at the helm or retires to the aft cabin, shakes and pants.  Finally she'll fall asleep.  I don't think we may take her by sailboat the next time.   We still have to make it back up to New England though --leaving this week.  She is due to come into heat but I think it won't be until next month.

Along the way out the Fort Pierce Inlet
 Boat aground

Trimaran zooming along on a perfect sailing day.

Sailing wing n wing jib to right, main to left, wind at our back.

And just to keep the engine in mind, a little add on that Drew did while awaiting the mounts.  He put in a zinc collar on the propeller shaft to prevent the propeller shaft from accidentally sliding back too far.

Weather window projected to give us 3 days to go outside up to Moorehead City, NC late Tuesday or Wednesday.  : )   I am so antsy to get moving.  We are headed back to New England for the wedding of our nephew, Jason, late May. 
Today we had lunch and later drinks with friends from the dock.  Maybe I should be taking group pictures.
Presently reading:  My Year with Eleanor: A Memoir by Noelle Hancock, just finished a new excellent translation of the Odyssey by Emily Wilson - first time I thoroughly understood it - Thanks, Chris.

The engine mount fix step by step

Mounts in the box arrive ($700) plus we had our great mechanic Daryl with his son who helped install these.

From the box of 4...

To the installation...  Drew set up the halyard from the boom down to a hook on the engine entering from the galley.  The pulley came down through the companionway to a metal hook that is on the engine.  

 There are two nice metal loops on the engine so we can attach the chain to lift the front and back of the engine.

The aft cabin had to have some wooden supports set up (borrowed from Whitacar Boatyard) and purchased a 4x4 from Lowes to place over the engine. A chain system that Daryl brought hoisted up the back of the engine.  They could then slide in the engine mounts one at a time and bolt down each one.  Here's a picture of how to lift the back of the engine.

Wooden supports set up in aft cabin. We have been taking out and returning all of the mattresses and bedding every day as Drew has worked in this space.

 

Meanwhile Mazu and I took off in the dinghy for the island so we wouldn't be in the way.  The dinghy now works.  I haven't had it all year so there was no exploring or adventures this year.

We walked all the way around this nice uninhabited sandy beach island.  Here is Tweety anchored off the island.  The sailboat is anchored nearby.

This is one of Mazu's happy places.  Sorry the video of her running and jumping along the shore was too big a file.  Haven't figured out that one.

Around 5 we returned to the boys finishing up the job.  Here's a tool I need for some of the home and garden projects I can't do anymore by myself.  Daryl and his ratchet lifting tool.

And the engine mount is done!

Test sail soon.