Holly Jayne

A fair day, somewhat cloudy but a good temperature. We made our way north often under motor sale. Decided to go to sisters Creek where there was a free public dock however, when we got there, the space that was available for us was filled with Fisher. We decided not to interfere and anchored out in the Anchorage right next-door. It was an enjoyable, uneventful day of sailing. Tomorrow onward to Amelia Island & Fernandina Beach.

We had intention of going about halfway to Saint Augustine when we set out. The start was early because the noseeums were driving us crazy. Anchor was pulled around 8 AM. We thought about taking the outside passage, but winds later in the day were expected to pick up and we did not want to try the Saint Augustine inlet and heavy winds, so the ICW it was. It was actually a gorgeous day. Beautiful sunshine, a small amount of wind that generally stayed off our starboard beam. We were able to motor-sail the majority of the way. It helped us gain incredible momentum, and we used that to go ahead and make the full trip to St. Augustine. 60 miles was the most we’ve ever gone in a day, short of an ocean passage. It was a great day although long. Now we plan to spend several days in St. Augustine. Our iron sale a.k.a. Mr. Yanmar performed flawlessly.

A fair day with sunshine and warmer weather in the 60s. It was a day of motoring through the Alligator and Pungo River canal and a brief bit of sailing on the wide Pungo River. Docked at the free City Dock in Belhaven, NC a quaint, pretty town. Sharing the dock with our new friends on S/V Chungus, David and Holly. Wonderful people!

Set off at 0800 from Coinjock. Original plan was to take the Abermarle Sound to the Safe Harbor Outer Banks. Once on the sound it was rolling waves and winds picking up to gusts of 30kts. Could not find a good angle so decided to deviate back to the ICW and Alligator River. Once on the River things calmed and we did some dead downwind motor sailing the last hour or so. Both sails deployed for a time on the Sound but winds picked up and we had to douse them in a blow. Holly did a great job keeping it off the one back quarter to avoid the accidental jibe while I rolled in the sails. Another learning experience. We tucked in at Alligator Point at the dead bottom of the river. Sun is setting now and it’s gorgeous! As we paid attention to the sunset the Super Moon was rising behind us! I turned and worshipped the rising ala Tom Hanks in Joe vs. the Volcano!

Temp in the 50s with heavy winds 17- 25 kts. Wanted to pull the main out on Currituck Bay but when we tried to point into the wind to ease pressure we were instantly in 5 feet so we abandon efforts. The wind was mostly behind us so the motor wasn’t bad. Tucked into Coinjock Marina to weather the gale force winds and hopefully try the Prime Rib. Sadly the east dock was full so we ended up on the west side with the only restaurant access via dinghy.

It was a cool, damp, rainy day with light winds 5-10kts. We crossed Norfolk harbor and entered the ICW with Norfolk on our left and Portsmouth on the right. Entered the Elizabeth river and proceeded to go under or through a multitude of bridges. Some fixed some draw. We also went through our first lock, The Great Bridge Lock. After a long day of firsts we tied up on old pilings next to the Pungo Ferry Bridge to spend the night.

Depart Deltaville 0800. Winds were 15-25kts at 30* off starboard bow. Out of the channel all sails hoisted and running 7+ which is awesome for us! Later we had to turn directly into the wind so we pulled in the sails. When we reached the inlet of the York river the tide combined with the winds made for heavy chop directly bow on. We fell back off the 30* and deployed the main. We had to alter the original course but it helped us tremendously. Twice we accidentally disengaged the auto pilot with our knees on the manual clutch, causing a couple whirly-gigs in the course! That should be funny on our track! Ended the day with sun and climate’s as we arrived in Hampton, VA at the mouth of the Atlantic.

Left at 0730 with wind gusts over 30 knots. Departing the inlet I Solomon’s was a challenge as sea states were raucous. Making only 3 Kts into heavy waves to get out into the channel. The boat was rolling feverishly. Winds stayed heavy till noon and eventually by days end we had 5kts behind us. Pretty, quiet marina here at Safe Harbor Deltaville. Definitely our most challenging passage and we were feeling safe and protected by our boat, October Wind.

16-20 knots with sporty seas to boot. Wind on the nose the entire time ☹️ beautiful warm fall day with temps near 80. Broke the inhaul line while furling the Mail sail. Will need to find a rigger to fix it for us.