Closed the Circle

 We have closed the circle.  We are back in Clubfoot Creek where we started this traveling season in November.

Last update we were anchored off of No Name Harbor in Biscayne Bay.  The first morning we were rocked awake by fishing boats heading out stirring up some huge wakes.  We pulled anchor and moved into the inner harbor.  There was less room but no wakes to bounce us around.  We went ashore and did the walk around to the lighthouse and the beach.  We stopped for a beer at the café but only one since they were charging $9.00 each.  In the morning I made the run to drop off the garbage and stopped to help a boat that was removing their headsail roller for repair.  They had tied up to the seawall and could use more hands.  Later we went back to help them put it all back together.  After that it was time to celebrate so we joined them, Dan and Nawal on Break A Weigh, Rob and Yvonne from As You Wish and Robbie from ? for drinks.  During the day we found that we were too close to the boats on the seawall and as others left we moved over to their spot to re-anchor.  We spent several days here, one which was taken up by a trip to the grocery store.  Rob had told us of a service called "Ride Freebee" that is a free taxi service using electric golf cart type vehicles.  We walked to the store, bought our groceries, had lunch then called them to pick us up.  Back at the harbor we tipped the driver well since she dropped us off as close to our dinghy as she could while ignoring the signed stating not to.  On Friday and Saturday the weekend crowds were reappearing and the harbor was filling up again.  Most disconcerting was the BIG yacht that anchored near us and every time the winds shifted they had to move to be clear of the boats around them.  It was too big of a boat to be in this small harbor.  There were similar boats anchored outside the harbor that were not causing any problems.  Several times they swung very close to us and each time Cori went out to negotiate with the captain.  We was proposing that in exchange for a bottle of rum we would pull our anchor and move.  They evidently didn't think that was a fair exchange so we sat and just gave them dirty looks when they swung close.  Eventually it was time to pull anchor and start the next leg.

Saturday afternoon, we, along with Break A Weigh pulled anchor and started off.  We were headed to Beaufort NC and they were going to Jacksonville FL.  It was just a couple of miles until we got into the gulf stream and we were off,  We hoisted all sails with the extra push from the Stream we were going nine knots.   This continued into the next day when we lost the wind and had to motor but still going nine knots.  This gave us our all time best travel going 200 nautical miles the first day and 196 the next.  During the second night we altered course to the Cape Fear River.  We checked with our weather guy and it didn't look like we could make it to Beaufort before the weather changed for the worse.  That night we got hit with a sudden squall with winds topping over thirty knots and then a torrential downpour.  Fortunately at this point we had already dropped the mainsail so we only had to get the headsail and mizzen under control.  We rolled up part of the headsail to make it smaller and continued on.  By morning the skies had cleared but with little wind we motored.  We made much better time then we had expected and instead of anchoring in the Cape Fear River we were able to continue on to Carolina Beach and were in the ICW's protected waters.  We took a break the next day and went ashore to walk the beach collecting shells.  With what we were hearing about the weather we planned to continue following the ICW to Beaufort.  The next morning we pulled anchor to move up to Wrightsville Beach to take on fuel and water and the next morning we would continue.  After we pulled the anchor we took a good look at the skies and they were black.  We shortly got hit with winds on the 20's gusting into the 30's , rain so heavy we could not see through it and hail up to the size of nickels.  After about a half hour the skies began clearing and the sun was shinning when we stopped for fuel and water.  We moved to the anchorage and made plans to catch the 7:00 am bridge opening.  While sitting in the cockpit we overheard two other boats talking on the radio about their plans to go out the inlet and sail to Beaufort and Cape Lookout.  We contacted our weather guy and asked for his forecast.  It didn't sound bad so we decided to leave at first light and make the trip offshore.  At 6:00 am we pulled anchor and followed several other boats out the inlet.

The forecast was for light winds increasing during the day but staying behind us and the seas growing from a light chop to 4-6 foot by evening.  We motored and motor/sailed until about mid-day and then just sailed under the headsail and mizzen, not wanting to deal with the main when the winds came up.  The winds and seas grew as the day progressed and by the time we were approaching Beaufort Inlet it was in the high 20's and the seas were about six foot and pushing our stern side to side as they broke under us.  When we made the turn to follow the channel we were still going eight knots and passed a catamaran that had stopped sailing and was motoring.  Usually we drop sail and start the motor before going through the inlet but this time we started the motor in case it was needed and we sailed in.  Once pass the inlet we followed the channel until it put the winds on our nose and we rolled up the headsail and motored to and up the channel to the Beaufort anchorage.  With the speeds we were able to go we were in much earlier than we expected.  We dropped anchor and celebrated with rum like proper sailors.  We lived for about twelve years in the area but had never come to Beaufort by boat.  It was always easier by car, the anchorage had filled up with private moorings making anchoring difficult and there was a strong current making going into and out of the marina complicated.  It has changed.  The city has removed all of the private mooring opening it up once again for visiting boats to anchor.  The next morning we went ashore to check out the shops and to meet a fellow cruiser for lunch.  In one of the shops I ran into one of the teachers I knew from working at the schools and got caught up with them.  We met up for lunch with Ann from Bees Knees who we knew from the radio nets but had never met and then spent the afternoon visiting at the micro-brewery.

The next morning it was forecasted to continue blowing and made an early decision to pull anchor and continue up the ICW to Oriental.  Anchor was up at 8:00 am, who says I can't get up early, and we were off.  We caught the current going up the waterway and before we knew it we were back in the Neuse River and set the sails for Oriental.  We were able to get a spot on one of the free docks and were tied up with the help on the crew of Red Tail who was also on the dock.  The only complications were that I went aground while maneuvering in the harbor and because of low water we were aground when we got tied to the dock.  They say there are two kinds of sailors: those who have gone aground and those who lie about it.  I obviously am with the first group.  That evening we went to M&M's for dinner and then a quiet night on the boat.  The next morning we met up with Donna and Jerry from Blue Jacket for breakfast.  They live in the area and are back from their season in the Bahamas.  We visited for a bit with Van and Lauren from Gratitude who we had followed out of Wrightsville Beach to Beaufort.  Ann from Bees Knees caught up with us and we joined her and her friend Don for pizza night at the Silos.  We also had the sailmakers from Inner Banks Sail Loft come down to measure for a new mainsail.  We also wanted to meet with the dealer that we bought the dinghy from to discuss solutions to a problem we are having.  The next day it was cold and rainy so we spent the day on the boat.  By now Red Tail had left and Dragonfly had taken their place.  Greg was throwing out an old rope and asked if we wanted it.  Of course we did!  I spent the afternoon weaving it into a rug and then gave it back to them.  They are from Chicago and are doing the Great Loop.  Thursday we got together with Donna and Jerry, Ann and Dick and Judy for lunch at M&M's.  Dick is the net operator for the Doo Dah net on the SSB that we all check into in the evenings and it was great for everyone to get a face to match the voices we were familiar with.

On Friday we closed the circle.  We backed away from the dock and headed upriver to Clubfoot Creek where we used to live on the boat and where this seasons journey had started in November.

We traveled 2447 nautical miles, or 2816 statute miles, or about the distance from New York City to Los Angeles with about a hundred miles added on.  All at the speed of a jogger.

This year we had decided not to go to the Bahamas due to Covid restrictions and explored the east and west coasts of Florida.  I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would and met a lot of nice people along the way.  Including a pair of Florida Marine Patrol Officers.

Now that we are back we have some projects that need to be taken care of and we will be planning our next adventure, obviously heading somewhere north.  Where is yet to be determined.