A good day...

Washington NC.

I've been to Washington DC more times than I can count. We lived in Washington PA for the better part of 2 decades. But we've never been to Washington NC before. And how did we get here? We left the dock in Oriental and boated up here on First Light! Fifty six nautical miles, nine hours and twenty three minutes at an average of six knots. How about them apples?

The weather check this morning told of NE winds ten to fifteen knots. Right at the edge of what I wanted to experiment with, but sometimes you just have to wade out there and see what you see. Besides, it was calm, pretty, and a bit foggy at the dock, how bad could it be? I should know better when it comes to the Neuse. We have gotten our hinder parts handed to us on several occasions when out on that particular river. This morning it was filled with close-coupled 2 foot rollers that were maybe a bit taller. Hard to tell when one is standing about 15 feet above the water. Each set knocked off half of our boat speed making for a weird, uncomfortable, ride. We had a quick discussion about turning around and running down-wave back to Oriental, but decided to press on to the turn up the Bay River. The thought was that the change in heading and more sheltered water would result in a far better ride. A thought that turned out to be a good one. After escaping the Neuse, all was well with First Light and the world. She motored happily along with engines turning1600 RPMs while making a bit more than 7 knots. Nose bleed speeds for an old sailboat pilot.

I would have wanted nothing to do with the Pamlico Sound this morning. That bit of water has thrashed us with the same enthusiasm often shown by the Neuse. But the Pamlico river was in a good mood this morning and offered a very nice ride. Way up the Pamlico River was the destination for today, the delightful Washington NC. Though we haven't been here long, I would already say it is a big improvement over both Washingtons DC and PA. The Dock Master met us at the free dock, helped us tie up, and was full of information about his town. A retired Captain with a Master's rating, he knew the answers to all of our questions before I could ask them. He was even so kind as to compliment my landing in the slight cross wind pushing us off the dock. A walk through town offered up a Main Street lined with shops, including one that offered ice cream. The river walk back to the boat was as nice as any we have seen in our travels. The day ended with a red sun setting over the bridge while I mangled a few songs on one of my Ukes. 

So what did I learn on this first serious trawler trip? Well, a sustained 15 knots with miles of fetch is right at the limit of what is comfortable, at least for now and at least for us. Much to my surprise, given all that I have been told, heading straight into the waves is far more uncomfortable than having them on a port or starboard, fore or aft, corner. Most important (not really) the new microwave will go flying out of its three-sided cupboard and hang at the end of its electrical cord when the boat is bashing into the waves. Oops. The good news is it still works. It will also take a while to get used to what is the normal vibration / noises radiating off of this thing. Three hundred ponies, even if they are running at an easy trot, shake the works a whole lot more than an anemic collection of 30 or so corralled on Kintala. Also (and this is just an impression) a sailboat sort of glides through the water. First Light just bashes it out of the way. It will take a while for my old mechanic's brain to parse what is normal noise and vibration from that which might be foretelling a problem. Before we leave here the microwave and knife block will have to be secured. The upper helm charging port isn't working and, for reasons yet to be determined, we had to call the dock master on the phone as neither our ship's radio or our hand held seemed to be transmitting. Life on a boat, fixing things in pretty places. 

So here we are, back on the water and visiting places we haven't visited before. I'm sure there will be more kinks to work out as our trawler living experiment goes on. But, finally, more that four months later than we had planned, and carrying a few hard earned scars, we are heading north and traveling on a boat. It has been a good day.

Slightly before first light—the view on the way back from the head.

Farewell Oriental

Roo in his happy place at the helm