Crew Log for November 19th – 20th, 2022
Trip Summary:
Mile Hammock Bay, Fort Lajeune – Carolina Beach, NC
Trip Distance of 45 NM, Total Distance To-Date of 1,828.1 NM
Departed at 06h30, arrived at 15h15
This was an emotional few days for us. We’ve talked before about the stress associated with constantly planning and trying to accomplish the simplest of tasks while living on a small space, on the water, without modern conveniences, no car and always in an unfamiliar place. When everything goes perfectly, it is manageable.
However, things inevitably go wrong, especially on a boat, and you have to deal with it as best you can. The most difficult times though, are when things happen back home that affect family members or friends. The distance and our isolation from them, magnify the emotions and, make us feel helpless. This weekend was one of those times.
We spent a very quiet, but cold night on anchor in Mile Hammock Bay. The frost on the sail cover was another reminder that it was late fall and we had to keep pushing south. Our route today would take us back out towards the North Carolina Coast past places with names like, Topsail Beach and Surf City and eventually to Wrightsville Beach, our original destination, and Carolina Beach. It was along this stretch of the ICW that we really started to see the extent of development along the waterway, including docks of every size and shape extending out to edge of the channel.
As we made our way down the North Carolina coast, we listened to a funeral for Mike, a good friend of ours. Despite being the same age and attending the same high school, I didn’t really get to know Mike until we returned to Truro after university. At the time, I was with the Federal Department of Agriculture and Mike was with the Province. I administered a program in Mike’s area of expertise and he quickly became an invaluable resource, in addition to being a very close friend. Our kids were similar in age, so our families spent a lot of time together. After I joined the Provincial Government a few years later, Mike continued to be very supportive.
Geography, time, and personal circumstances put some distance between us in recent years, but we were lucky enough to see Mike this past summer at our grandkids t-ball game. We were retired and, given the location of our chance meeting, doing what mattered the most, spending time with our families.
It was emotional for Judy and I to listen to Mike’s funeral online, made more difficult by the fact that we could not be close to friends and family. We were grateful however, that technology allowed us to grieve, albeit virtually. He was a good guy and I will forever be appreciative of his friendship and support. As we listened to Mike’s funeral, the reality of boat life continued to play out.
We had heard on the radio that one of the boats from New Brunswick had run aground and was taking on water. The water was up over the floor boards so they called the Coast Guard and started to manually pump out the water. The TowBoat US boat went flying past us a few minutes later. Getting into a marina along this stretch of the ICW isn’t really an option with a sailboat given the shallow water, so we can only imagine how stressful the situation was. We had contacted one of the buddy boats travelling with them who eventually said the problem had been resolved and they were back underway.
(We found out several weeks later that the problem was caused by water syphoning in through the bilge pump outlet, after they took a wave. It apparently didn’t have a syphon break or check valve. It happened again before they figured out the source of the problem. At the time, the coincidence of grounding and water in the boat was discomforting to say the least.)
We had originally planned to go to Wrightsville Beach. It was reported to have a better anchorage than Carolina Beach and was a more popular stopping spot for Canadian boats heading south. However, as we approached Wrightsville, we were surrounded by massive sport fishing boats and hundreds of other boats creating a constant churn in the water. After the peacefulness of Mile Hammock Bay, we decided to continue to Carolina Beach.
Fortunately for us, sv Magali were also in Carolina Beach. They were planning to head out in the morning to stage for an off shore passage to Charleston. Given that this was quite possibly the last time we’d see them, having Sundowners on Magali was a priority.
Magali is a Jeanneau Espace 1000, a unique design with an enclosed wheelhouse in addition to the traditional wheel in the cockpit. It has a retractable centerboard that extends the keel from 4.00 feet to 7.32 feet. It has an incredible amount of space for a 33 foot boat and has 2 cabins, a head, galley area, in addition to the settees. It was very different from any other sailboat we had been on. Rene has also restored the woodwork and made a number of additional design changes to make Magali a comfortable coastal cruising boat.
We always enjoy our time with Rene and Cathy. I had mentioned earlier in the day that I had planned to go swimming while we were in Carolina Beach, although it definitely wasn’t beach weather, even for Canadians. When we arrived at Magali, Rene with a perfectly straight face and serious tone had said he was working on a bucket list and wanted to share it with us. It included 3 things: to travel to the moon; climb Mount Everest; and “see Alan swim at Carolina Beach”. We would be sad to see Magali go, but really hoped that we would eventually see them again, someplace warmer than Carolina Beach, so Rene could stroke one thing off his “bucket list”.
Judy’s sister Ruth called the next morning. Despite the challenges she is dealing with, her calls always raises the spirits on Elizabeth M. She insisted that we go for a walk on the beach for her, which we were only too happy to do.
It was still cool, so there were very few people on the beach, although we could only imagine what it must be like in the summer time. Carolina Beach extends for over 2 miles along the Atlantic Coast and is lined with condos and has a ferris wheel on the south end of the beach. The water temperature was reminiscent of the eastern shore of Nova Scotia. The only people brave enough to venture in beyond their ankles were a couple of little kids. There were a few fishermen who were fishing in the surf who seemed to be having some luck. Judy stopped to chat with them to and gain some local knowledge.
Later that afternoon, we virtually attended our second funeral of the weekend, for another dear friend and neighbour of ours, Hossain. Hossain was a geneticist and an incredibly bright individual in both the field of genetics and, in life in general. Our paths would cross professionally from time to time, but it was our personal interactions I will miss the most. Despite our very different personal and educational backgrounds, we shared some wonderful conversations on everything from urban gardening to politics. I was considerably less “worldly” and “scholarly” than Hossain, but he always seemed interested in my thoughts on an issue and respected my opinion. Hossain was also an amazing cook, although his definition of “well done” was extreme to say the least. I will miss my friend and neighbor and, will really miss our chats. And of course, his food.
It had been an emotional weekend, although connecting with some of boating friends and family members were welcomed distractions. We were excited to be heading to South Carolina in the morning, although our visit would be very brief.
But more about that, next time.
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