Left Beaufort at dawn's early light yesterday. There was a small craft advisory beginning at 11am, and I wanted to get a few miles down the road before that set in. Ideally, the time to go through Beaufort/Morehead City is low tide. You can then ride the rising tide down Bogue Sound. The tide was strong as I went against it. At times I was making less than 4 mph.
I saw a bunch of dolphins as I passed under the bridge at Beaufort. One surfaced so close to the boat that I could have touched it with my whisker pole. I suppose they were feeding on fish pushed through the narrows by the tide.
Bogue Sound is unremarkable. It's just a wide expanse of water whose shores are lined with nondescript houses and McMansions. I'm down where there are some sandbar/islands. They're nice to look at, but I haven't seen any goats on them, as the guidebook suggested I might.
The small craft advisory turned out to be overblown. Maybe the sound is just so shallow that there isn't enough water outside the dredged channel for waves to build up. I spent the night in a tiny inlet. I was as protected as I could be, but the wind still howled and I got another lousy night's sleep. This morning it is very cold, and felt even more so as I made about five miles with the wind at my back. No dodger to hide behind.
I'm at another inlet waiting a couple hours. I want to go through Bogue inlet at low tide. The guidebook suggests the tides can be quite strong through there and I do have to pass under a bridge.
The cold and sleepless nights are beginning to wear on me. I have no heat on the boat. There is a built-in heat pump, and I have an electric space heater, but I can't use either of those while at anchor. I'm quite jealous of the little heater that Leon and Kim have on their boat. Recently there has been some discussion of this model on the Sailnet forums. I grabbed the picture from one of the postings (L&K, if you have a picture of yours, I'd replace this picture with your picture. I don't have permission to use this picture. And I think the inside of your boat is even nicer than this boat.)
Everyone had nice things to say about the heater. I might have to get one someday when I have more time and money. It's externally vented, so there are no worries about CO and fumes. The model name is Newport, and it is manufactured by Dickenson. It costs about $700.
The NWS is calling for temps in the 60s and 70s, and calm winds this weekend. They better not be lying.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Fatigue
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6 comments:
So how did the rudder repair go?
Hope you get the warmer weather and some sleep soon!
Still working on the repair. It's not so easy to get parts when you're on the water. I should be able to get the bolts I need this weekend in Wrightsville Beach.
I'm looking forward to some temps in the 70s this weekend. I'd love to be able to put on my shorts and tevas again, and do some laundry. All of my clothes have been worn, mostly because I've been wearing them all at once: 2 socks, three layers of pants and leggings, uncountable layers of shirts and sweatshirts, 3 or more hats.
I'm a man who wears any hats.
Do you have the hat you found at the St. Patrick's day parade last year?
Yah, that's my warmest hat. I lost my warm blue stocking cap.
Just got gas at a marina. Waiting for the Surf City Swing Bridge, which only opens on the hour. Also picked up shrimp from a little seafood stand next to the marina. I don't think I could find fresher shrimp.
The Newport Heater works great... mostly. It makes plenty of heat and yes, it is vented outside, but... it does leak smoke sometimes from the glass window and some of the seams. It's also a pain to light. Per Dickinson's suggestion, we dropped flaming bits of newspaper down into the pot where the kerosene or diesel waits. This takes an average of three tries. After many burnings, the paper ashes build up in the bottom and inhibit the flow of fuel into the pot. So, you have to clean it, especially if it burned to hot and carboned up. Be careful... you may get small soot balls all over your cabin. Kim's yellow cushion covers were streaked with black. You also need a tank above the heater to gravity feed the fuel.
Ron has a small Force 10 heater which runs on pressurized kerosene. It seems very efficient and less trouble and the hole in the deck is a third the size of ours. By the way, they make a propane version of the Newport which eliminates all the problems of ours.
At any rate, who cares? It was over 80 degrees yesterday!
Stay warm...
Thanks Gypsy! I replaced the pic with the the picture you sent me of your heater. Grandpa's getting me one for Christmas. It's the propane model, so I don't think I'll have the problems with lighting and carbon build up which you have.
There's been a lot of discussion of the heater and fuel choices on the sailnet forums. I'm still on the same tank of propane that I started off in Baltimore. It's amazing how much fuel is in the tank. I'm sure once I get the heater that I'll blow through tanks much quicker.
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