Day Nine

Thursday morning we rose late at 0615, downed our coffee, on the afterdeck (aka in the cockpit) cereal and berries, completed our ablutions and bid Dowry Creek goodbye by 0730. Luckily I was able to back out of the slip with no help (unlike the day before), and we were on way north.

Within an hour we were in the Pungo Canal cruising at a leisurely pace with the wind and light rain on our nose. It was a grey kind of day and felt much more like late Fall than late May.

About 0900, we passed a large sedan cruiser, The Rose, hard aground on the starboard side of the cut. We had met the crew in Oriental a couple of days ago. They were waiting for a tow boat to pull them off. I made a remark to Buck about not paying attention and running aground. It turns out I should have kept my mouth shut. About 10 miles further up the canal just north of the Fairfield bridge I was not sufficiently attentive at the helm and 2 TAC E also ran hard aground on a submerged snag about 50 feet off the starboard shoreline. When I say hard aground, believe me it was. About a foot of bottom paint was showing and the bow was elevated. I tried backing off and it didn't budge. Then I got in the water and tried pushing it off the snag; no luck. Next I got out the spare anchor and rode and hand carried it back about 50 feet, then put the rode on a winch and tried kedging the boat off with no success. I then got a passing sailboat to stop, launch his dinghy, and carry the anchor further out into the canal so that I could get a better angle. (Oh, I forgot. The anchor fouled in my original location and I had to dive down and clear it so that it could be raised by the dinghy) . We then tried kedging it from both the bow anchor windlass and the cockpit winch and it still wouldn't budge. By the way, it was pouring rain as all this went on. After an hour or so of trying to free the hull I recognized that it was beyond my capabilities and picked up the cell phone to call Sea Tow. It was about 1230. Naturally, we were in a cell dead zone. I then tried calling them on VHF with no response. After this I called the Coast Guard on VHF and requested that they relay to Sea Tow. They were able to do so and let us know that it would be at least two hours. Buck and I then waited aboard for 3+ hours for Sea Tow to arrive. This was the first time I have ever had to use either Sea Tow or the Coast Guard and I was very impressed with them both. The Coast Guard gathered initial information on out boat and passengers, determined that we were not in immediate distress, and then continued to check on us via radio at 30 minute intervals. While Buck and I waited for assistance, I whipped up a pot of black bean soup. It was a soup kind of day, and I'd gotten quite a chill working in the water. I really wanted to join Buck in a beer, but I figured I'd better wait until the boat was in better shape before I imbibed.

It was about 1530, when Capt. John Mohr, our local Sea Tow operator, pulled up in his tow boat. He had trailered his tow boat from Hertford, NC to the mouth of the Alligator River (an hour's drive), and then motored 20+ miles to our location. He was able to pull us free in about 15 minutes with no damage to the boat. When I got the paperwork for the tow, I thanked my lucky stars that I had recently renewed my Sea Tow membership. Had I not been a member the charge would have been $1,520.00 as I would have been charged for 6.5 hours of his time and boat plus the tow fee. As a member, it was free. I've just covered quite a few years of a $115 annual membership.

By 1600, we were heading north in fog, rain and increasing wind. I had planned to spend a couple of hours exploring the Upper Alligator River beyond the canal cutoff, but that went by the wayside for this voyage.

Our most notable sighting that afternoon (aside from the Sea Tow Boat) was a mature bald eagle perched in a dead tree by the canal.

We made it to a relatively sheltered anchorage 1/2 a mile down the Alligator River from the canal entrance and before the sharp channel turn to port going north. The anchorage is opposite Deep Point across from Marker "Green 43." It is the only place with shelter from north winds until you get to the Straits which was another 5 miles north. We were soon joined by 3 other boats.

By this time, I figured I had earned a bourbon and branch. I was "whupped" physically and mentally. My boat was in good shape, but it might not have been. We realized that we never saw the Rose again even though a tow boat had been enroute to them. They must have had damage and had to retreat back to a boat yard in Belhaven; that could just as easily have been us.

Given everything that had transpired over the course of the day, we decided that simple was needed for dinner so we quickly whipped up bacon and cheese quesadillas with chipotle sauce and a mixed salad. By 2100, I was in my bunk.