Kedge

Kedge (kej)
- verb (used with object)
1. To warp or pull (a ship) along by hauling on the cable of an anchor carried out from the ship and dropped.

We had our first true ICW day today. We hit bottom on two different occasions and the second time required the quick dispatch of Chronos and the bow anchor. (Going aground is a popular pass time and topic of conversation on the ICW due to various states of maintenance and rapid shoaling of the channel.)
How did we get into such a situation in the first place you ask? We have been using three navigational references on this trip. First, paper charts - for the ICW in a handy spiral bound reference. Second, the same government charts via a computer program called GPSNavX which plots your location on the chart as you go and provides lots of handy waypoint and route info. Third, an iPhone app called Navionics (which sources the screen shots I often add here). Early in the day as we happily motored through what both electronic charts showed as land, we decided this would be a day to depend on the buoys and our eyes.
As we looked ahead for a place to anchor for the night, protected from the SW and W winds which were expected to gust to 30 as a front passed over we noted a nice creek with charted depths of 15 and 16 feet. We noted that it was just before day marker "23".

The thick yellow line on the chart is our track.

So we turned into the phantom creek and felt our way along with the depth sounder. 6 feet, 4, 3 (we are aground at 2 on the depth sounder)... Then 2.1, then blank. So we turned away from the island thinking that perhaps we had left the channel between the wrong grass islands... Nope. Aground. We were able to back and retraced our route to the ICW proper. Okay. Let's anchor in that 6 ft spot we first saw. No. Promptly ran aground and backing wasn't doing the trick. We already knew the tide was outgoing so time was short. Enter the kedge. Anchor in dinghy. Row toward channel. Drop anchor. Pull boat to anchor. Just that easy. Kairos is designed with a wide shallow keel the full length of the boat, deeper aft. This design allows her to pivot on the deeper aft section as her bow finds deeper water and she can then drive off.

Photo of the offending water between marker "23" and land

What a story, we have been baptized by kedge and can now join the ICW cocktail chat. The best part of the day? It was in Florida!

The teenage years (aka angst and stress)

As many of you know we are treating this trip as a delivery. In the boating world there are deliveries- go straight, get there as fast as possible- and there are lifestyle holidays - mosey along waiting for weather windows and poking in shops in little towns. In order to move onto the boat (as a long term lifestyle choice) we had to come up with a plan to support ourselves. Snow birds travel to 2 prime locals (in the states) Florida and Arizona. Arizona has a troublesome lack of oceanfront, so Florida became the target. For where the snowbirds go so go the seasonal employment opportunities. To this end I have a 6 month contract with a start date awaiting me in Florida. So you see the problem. A firm start date takes the joie d'vive out of this little trip South. Each time the wind is on our nose, the bridge tender tyrannical or the log only reading 4 knots we get nervous. Nervous stressed and grumpy.

Separately and together we have completed this trip before - in both capacities- delivery and holiday. As a holiday it is great fun to walk to a small town grocery store, exploring local life along the way. In contrast the delivery might be tiring and tough but the end greets you with a handful of cash and a plane ticket home.

So the plan was to take the ICW through North Carolina, making the 50 miles a day we could accomplish with the little sunlight available (another source of grumpiness) and thus not have to wait for a weather window around Cape Hatteras. But here we are South of Hatteras, and the forecasted weather has not materialized. We are motoring into the wind in big sloppy seas making 2-3 knots with many miles to go and little time to get there.
Should we take Okeechobee? Should we get back into the ICW at the next possible cut - knowing it will take thirteen 50 mile days just to get to the beginning of Okeechobee in Ft Pierce?

It's midnight, and the Coast Guard is busy on 16 with a disabled commercial fish boat and an unidentified vessel taking on water.
Knock on mahogany and thank Neptune.

Addendum.
The seas laid down and the wind clocked around and at 0200 the jib and mizzen went up, at 0630 the main was hoisted. We motor sailed all day with the wind at our back and as sunset approached a pod of dolphin were playing in the bow wake and a flying fish was spotted.

Cape Fear

Outward bound! Next stop - NOAA weather Southern region.

ATF

So here's how it started. We left the Great Dismal Swamp canal visitor's center dock - and the boat didn't immediately engage in forward. Before we left Maine there was a question as to whether the reduction gear turned over a little rough or made a funny sound. But everyone asked denied it being a problem. So. It didn't improve. We proceeded down the ICW in search of diesel stopping in Belhaven (where Irene's full force was felt) and then in Oriental. We found fuel and filled our water tanks in Oriental and anchored above a 43' bridge away from others. In the morning we hauled the anchor heading for the bridge. The call was made to re- anchor. This was Monday morning, a holiday. The dear mechanic made an initial investigation and the decision was made to proceed to Beaufort (Bō-fort) 20 miles further where supplies were more readily available. We anchored amongst sunken boats in the Town Creek and went for a walk in search of ATF. (Automatic transmission fluid not alcohol or tobacco...not as easy to find as one would think.) After changing the oil there was a slight improvement but it slipped at high rpm. We went to bed with the plan to continue on in the morning and see how things went. We awoke to a dark rainy day with forecast for gusts to 40 and thunderstorms. Not set on our plan we postponed departure and made phone calls to the MA Universal dealer and a VA dealer.

With the forecast against us we made the decision to have a new reduction gear shipped overnight and to send the faulty one back for warranty inspection at a later date. We picked up the new gear the next morning after a 3 mile sunny humid walk to the laundromat and grocery store.

Making the noon bridge opening we were underway. How good it felt to leave the sunken boats behind.

The dear mechanic changed out the gear at a quiet anchorage tucked off the ICW that night and now two days and one ATF change later we are headed South!

Tonight's anchorage, thanks to Google satellite

The charts for the waters surrounding the ICW in North Carolina are almost completely lacking soundings. An occasional 1 or 3 or just maybe an 8 thrown in as a teaser. Most of the inlets are a solid blue on the chart and the "Note" states something like "because of frequent changes in shoaling and frequently moved buoys we aren't going to give you any info at all." So I have resorted to picking potential anchorages based on the color of the water as seen on Google Satellite images of the area. This has worked surprisingly well. Hopefully Google will update their images accordingly so the "frequently changing shoals" will at least be up to date online, if not on the government charts.

ICW miles 28 - 82

Another beautiful, sunny, if somewhat colder day in North Carolina greeted us with fog on the Great Dismal swamp canal. We departed as the sun rose (late here to the West) after 0700 (EST) with the plan to make the first opening of the South Mills lock at 0830. By now we feel like lock pros and set up a bow and stern line on the starboard side complete with bowline so the attendant could easily grab the line with his boat hook. 

We departed the canal around 0900 and ventured down the Pasquotank  river following its meandering course.  Taking our ocean going sailboat down a windy river with 9 - 11' of water, algae and lilly pads with unthinkable. After Elizabeth city the river opened up and we were finally able, for the first time since leaving Maine, to set all of the sails.

We had a glorious sail out the river,  across Albemarle sound, and into the Alligator river. 

Albemarle sound and the estuaries of Eastern North Carolina have a rich sailing heritage as trade routes and fishing grounds. 

Finally we dropped anchor in South lake completing our planned 50 miles as the sun set over marshlands. 

Dismal Swamp Canal

ICW: VA to NC mile 0 - 28

First bridge on ICW - Norfolk, VA

First bridge with scheduled opening times, Norfolk, VA

Turn off for alternate, Dismal Swamp Route

Deep Creek Lock, VA

Deep Creek Lock, VA

Deep Creek bridge, South of lock, VA

Dismal Swamp Canal, VA

Dismal Swamp Canal, VA

State line VA / NC

Dismal Swamp State park, mile 28, North Carolina