The Bridges of Harlowe Canal

Bridge 2
(KiwiBird paddling,  photo by SandyBottom)

The 2011 WaterTribe NC Challenge is coming September 30.  Hurricane Irene left her marks on the 100mile course:   fallen tree limbs in the Harlowe waterway,  large floating / semi-floating debris in the rivers and sounds,  scrambled pound nets in Core Sound, and a very healthy crop of hungry mosquitos.  As recently as a week ago there was also a large shrimp boat parked in the center of Harlowe Creek.  And... no doubt the shoals are not exactly where we left them a year ago. 

The 2009 NCC featured clouds, light rain, hard rain and high winds.  The 2010 NCC served us hot sunny weather with light and vanishing winds.  It seems the 2011 NCC may have its own unique challenges.  Think of what to say when the Coast Guard asks why you have a chain saw in your boat.


The Three Bridges Video

Here is a brief  (1 min 27 sec) look at the three Harlowe bridges before Irene.

Most of these photos are from a cruise by DSWB and SOS from Oriental to Beaufort and back on May 21-22, 2011.  I took them with my mobile phone,  which explains the low resolution.  

National Bridge Inventory database

The Harlowe Waterway  versus  the ICW on Adams Creek

On that cruise, for a change of pace, we decided to enjoy sailing north on the Harlowe waterway. Considering how much quieter and more scenic the Harlowe was relative to the the ICW (Adams Creek, ICW Canal, Core Creek), we regretted using the ICW to sail south. No boat wakes and barges on the Harlowe.

Oriental to Beaufort via the ICW on May 21 (red)
Beaufort to Oriental via Harlowe on May 22  (blue)

Oriental and Beaufort

We launched the 'Dawn Patrol' from this well-kept public boat ramp at about 9:30am Saturday May 21 and returned at 3:00pm Sunday May 22. The boat ramp is in a great location for access to Oriental's harbor and the Neuse River. I would recommend it. Special thanks to the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.

Great public boat ramp in Oriental

Out of Oriental we crossed the Neuse, sailed/motored down the ICW south-bound to Newport River, and entered the Beaufort area. We sailed past sailing replicas of the "Nina" and "Pinta" near Beaufort's Smith Airport. The drawbridge operator said he liked our "sharpie".  In Beaufort we stayed docked on the waterfront overnight. 

Arrival at Beaufort Docks

Summer Practicing and Some Are Not

On arrival in Beaufort we met some WaterTribe friends there:  DogsLife and his son Mike were arriving at  "Checkpoint 1".   They completed the entire NCC 100mile course.  Well done!

DogsLife and son Mike practicing for the NC Challenge

At checkpoint 1 of the NC Challenge

North via the Harlowe

Sunday we sailed north on the Newport River and entered the Harlowe waterway  (Harlowe Creek, Harlowe canal, Clubfoot Creek).  The Harlowe is a beautiful  route for boats that can pass under its three fixed bridges.  Relative to using the ICW,  we spent less time inland and more time on the Newport and Neuse Rivers.

On this short cruise the winds were often light or vanishing, the weather hot, and we were on a limited schedule so we did use our 2hp Honda motor --especially on the ICW and under the Harlowe bridges. 

The winds finally kicked in as we crossed the Neuse River.  Flying into Oriental on a fast spinnaker run hitting 10 knots was a happy ending.
 


Great dinner Sunday evening:  Little Italy in Bayboro, NC

Water on the Smoke

Thursday August 25:  One minute we're hoping for rain and a cool breeze;  next minute we're praying not be drowned or blown away. Irene is heating up and about to go coastal. Best to stay out of her way.

Hurricane Irene on August 25, 2011 
(NOAA)

Drawing a bead on Vandemere, NC
... and on Beaufort, Harlowe Canal, Oriental, Belhaven, Elizabeth City, Ocracoke, 
... and on Chesapeake, VA and points north.  
(http://www.stormpulse.com/)

Forecast:  an inner-banks path that roughly follows a good cruising route
(http://www.stormpulse.com/)

Update:   NOAA forecast of areas at risk for storm surge

 

Update:  Forecast includes risk of high water in the Neuse River and Harlowe waterway



Update:  Saturday 27th rising water in parts of Oriental, NC
(Town Dock)

Update:   Irene's radar image Saturday 27th
(Google Crisis Response Project) 

    
Sunday August 28:   Irene soaked the ground fires that had been smoldering in the peat of eastern NC and VA,  but in its path also flooded coastal towns, ruined homes, damaged roads, and knocked out electrical power and communications (TownDock).   In NC coastal towns in Pamlico County were battered by a 9.5 foot storm surge that flooded many homes with several feet of muddy water.  As Steve Earley predicted,  "A hurricane is a rough way to put out a fire."  

Smoke on the Water

A year ago we were aboard the Dawn Patrol sailing some of North Carolina's beautiful coastal waters alongside the yawl Spartina   --as recalled and re-enjoyed this week in Steve Earley's Log of Spartina.   We had a blast on that 8-day tag-team cruise:  great camaraderie,  great sailing on wonderful rivers and sounds and waterways, learning the art of cruising from Spartina,  enjoying relaxed camping on the Dawn Patrol.  It just doesn't get any better than that.

In recent weeks, folks in many of those wonderful coastal sailing areas have had to cope with wildfire smoke.  Dry conditions and subsequent coastal wildfires have occurred relatively early this year. A haze of smoke has even reached us in central NC on a rare day this month when the winds were strong and SE. 


The "Pains Bay" wildfire viewed from Stumpy Point, NC, on the Outer Banks.   
(Associated Press,  http://www2.nbc17.com/)

The air quality forecast for this weekend (shown below) makes me glad that SOS and some of the B&B Yacht Design team are in Mystic, Connecticut, for the 20th annual WoodenBoat Show. They will be exhibiting their boats and guiding folks who signed up to build a small sailboat on site.

Mystic Seaport venue  (Bing Maps)

SandyBottom is sea kayaking this weekend off Shackleford Banks.  She may have to cope with some haze but the forecast getting all her attention has been the one that mentioned high winds and big seas.

SandyBottom, et al. kayaking along Emerald Isle toward Shackleford Banks:  June 25th 11:30am. 
(SPOT)

Update: SB reported  "no haze,  huge waves, white knuckles going out Bogue Inlet".

Update:    SandyBottom, et al.  at Cape Lookout Lighthouse.   June 26  11:45am.
(SPOT) 

Meanwhile back here on the home front, sailing in clean air on Jordan Lake looks promising. 

Many coastal locations are dodging the haze, no doubt,  depending on wind directions and speeds.

Forecaste for June 26
(OuterBanksVoice.com)



Webcam in Oriental, NC.   June 25th at 10:50am.
(http://towndock.net/)



Where the smoke may drift:   Forecast for Saturday June 25, 2011
(NC Dept of Environment and Natural Resources,  Division of Air Quality )



Where the smoke may drift:  Forecast for Sunday June 26, 2011

Where the smoke may drift:  Forecast for Monday June 27, 2011

Update: One week later...

Where the smoke may drift:  Forecast for July 3-5

--DWSB

Radio Waves on Core Sound

Thanks to my most favorite now-grown-up crew members, the Dawn Patrol will surf the waves with a perfect radio. What a great surprise on Fathers day! 

Eton Emergency Radio Wave Receiver for AM / FM / NOAA Weather & Alerts


Small and light-weight, this is fine multi-purpose gear that pulls its own weight with a photo-voltaic solar panel, hand crank recharging, main rechargeable battery, optional secondary batteries (AAA), USB port for recharging cell phones, auxiliary audio input port, headphone port, optional charging with an AC adapter (not included), 4-led white or flashing-red flashlight, digital tuning of AM/FM/Weather, clock, and alarm clock.

Does it have a fold-out can opener, screwdriver, tweezers, knife blade and spoon-fork?  Well no, but it does remind me of a Swiss Army knife.

Hand cranking the dynamo for 90 seconds provides 15 minutes of radio play. Fully charged, by direct sunlight for 10 hours or by the optional AC adapter for 6 hours, the main rechargeable battery provides 10 hours of radio play --according to the user's guide.

While not water proof, this radio will be happy in our dry cabin and is small enough to fit inside any small drybag that offers about 6" x 6" x 2" of storage.

One of the things I like most about cruising and racing aboard Dawn Patrol is the time spent in natural sound scapes, or silence, away from the media. But there have been times when even the drone of robotic weather reports on our VHF handheld radios was a welcome sound: for example, when we were becalmed cruising on a hot day, or while racing when the sleep-deprived helmsman needed to stay awake during his turn at the helm. AM / FM will be much better, and is much appreciated.

Brilliant idea, Crew! Thanks!

(Perhaps the crew was inspired and informed by reading Steve Earley's blog, Log of Spartina (1), (2). Hey thanks, Steve. You're always an inspiration for sailing.)

--DWSB a.k.a. DAD.

Happy Mother's Day

Should you take your mom sailing on Mother's Day weekend?   Yes!  She'll love it.

Mom loves spending time with you even if your hat is crooked

A nice lake is a good choice;  preferably one with fresh new docks.





Add fair winds for relaxed cruising.   Fold in a picnic lunch.

 

And there's your happy Mom.   Enjoy.



Spring Sailing and RunningMouth, too

Spring is here and spring sailing has begun.  It's time to catch up with friends on the water.

Southbound on Jordan Lake

Yesterday SOS posted a trip report from aboard his new charge, the Core Sound 17 Southbound  built by Ken Potts who is now in Australia.  According to SOS, after sailing Saturday there was camping onboard Saturday night,  and a 13-boat race with the Carolina Sailing Club on Sunday.  

Photo by SOS.  Taylor onboard.   A fast boat with a tent for camping.  Cruise it.  Race it.

Carolina Sailing Club,  Sunday regatta

Surprise!  RunningMouth (Jonathan Coble) was there, day-sailing his Sea Pearl 21.  Jon finished the WaterTribe Ultimate Florida Challenge of 2010 in an impressive 27days, 14hrs, and 35mins paddling and sailing his Kruger Sea Wind.   We missed him at this year's EC 2011.   Perhaps we will see him in the WaterTribe 2011 NC Challenge in September.

RunningMouth and crew aboard his Sea Pearl 21

Jordan Lake is a good place to catch up with sailing friends.  Check it out.

EC 2011: photo sharing

Photos from the Everglades Challenge 2011 are being shared.  Videos are being posted on the WaterTribe website and on YouTube.  I'll have time to add to that soon, I hope.  

The start and the finish were popular places for snapshots.  Here for example, Jarhead captured the arrival of battle-warn sea kayakers Sundance and Hammerstroke at the finish in Key Largo. 



Jarhead (Bill Fite) welcomes Sundance (James Connell)  and Hammerstroke (Will Schaet)

Evey challenger looks better after a hot shower, some sleep, and a good meal.  Jarhead kindly sent us the following photos of our own well-rested smiling faces.  (Thanks again, Bill.)  We in turn sent Bill a few photos for his collection.



DWSB, SOS, SandyBottom in Key Largo



Here are a few of those photos sent to Jarhead  ---who happens to be a WaterTribe legend, a tough competitor, an outstanding role model on and off the water,  and a pretty good party person.

Jarhead and Kiwibird at the finish line

Also, we sent Bill this "post card" cellphone snapshot of the finish line at sunset that included his Sea Pearl 21,  Moon Shadow.

Moon Shadow (with tan tent)

We are hoping Jarhead will give us a Class4-Doubles rematch in the WaterTribe's North Carolina Challenge 2011.  Here's a view of the long sleeve t-shirt that goes with participation in the NCC. 



KiwiBird and Jarhead