Moorglade's Voyage - Deep Point to Midway Marina

Deep Point to Midway Marina

Moorglade's Voyage

Ted Wilson

Sat 19 May 2012 01:14

Our position is 36:21.055N 075:56.887W

We left Deep point, an anchorage forced upon us by inclement weather, with the intension of anchoring behind Camden Point or in Broad creek. However the weather again influenced our decision, neither anchorage would have been comfortable, so Travis fixed us up with two berths (slips) at the very popular Coinjock Marina, well know for it's restaurant, only to be called back later to be told that they did not have room for us, so she made a reservation with Midway Marina on the other side of the cut. We knew the weather was not on our side, but it is hard to understand that a passage that is not an ocean passage could be so austere. First the Alligator River is wide and shallow with the ICW channel well marked down the centre. The journey was starting to drag by the time we reached the Alligator River Bridge The deck log reports that the engine was running quite hard to maintain our planned speed against an increasingly strong head wind and that the weather was unpleasant and the sea choppy. After the Alligator River we had to cross the Albemarle Sound, which is a twenty mile wide expanse of water which appears to be an estuary, but many miles to the East are the outer banks of Carolina. Kittyhawk is out there somewhere where the Wright Bros first achieved powered light. The effect of the outer banks is that the water is barely saline, the current is more influenced by the wind than the moon and the ocean swells have no effect. One is therefore inclined to treat a trip across the sound as a piece of ............. However it was hard work. The waves were steep and short, so Moorglade under power, ploughing straight into the wind, hobby horsed over the waves, burying her bow into the third or fourth, sending a torrent of green (actually brown) water cascading down the deck and the log and sog down to a couple of knots. Attempts to change engine revs or angle to the waves to change the periodicity made little difference, we were in for a long slog. John took Another Adventure off to port and set the headsail to increase speed, which it did, but the extra distance travelled proved too much of a penalty and when we came together again Moorglade was ahead. I think the problem for me was that I did not expect it to be that hard, I was not ready for it, and the days of easy motor sailing through Florida in the sunshine had misled me about the ICW. I know about the English Channel and Biscay even the Atlantic but Albemarle Sound! After the sound a few twists and turns round the marks and we were at the Marina. John with his crew of two docked first, while I prepared my fenders and warps, to be helped by the Another Adventure crew when I came alongside. we felt we had earned our beer and meal that evening but it was a case of so near and yet so far because over the cut was a restaurant praised by the guides but on our side of the cut they had cocked up their application for a drinks licence so, no drinks at the bar, or with the meal, that we opted for after happy hour aboard A A. The food was not great either. Oh well tomorrow would be better.