Trawler Punches on the IntraCoastal Waterway

Since we are on Standard time now we decided to start a little earlier at 6:30 am. It was clear, calm and again cold at 36 degrees. We had really thick fog over the warm ( 60 degree ) water and had to navigate at about half-speed for 1 hour heading toward Beaufort, NC. A large cat sailboat decided to follow me, as I was using the GPS and chartplotter to find my way. The rest of the day was beautiful running past Moorehead City, NC and down to the anchorage at Camp LeJeune, NC. The marines were practicing with big guns and Osprey Aircraft. We have about 20 plus boats here. I spent the afternoon trying to sort out our windlass. It looks like a brush was stuck and I hope its fixed because not being able to take the anchor up and down is a problem. At Beaufort, NC we saw our first pods of Purposes on the trip, hopefully a good omen.
Today's Stats: Location Mile Hammock Bay, NC ICW MM 244.5, running time 7.25 hours, distance 58.47 miles, average speed 8.06 mph

Today started as a brilliant and clear day but WOW it was cold at 36 degrees. I turned on the generator to run the heat and it was fine for about 20 minutes and stopped. It restarted fine, but something is stopping the fuel. Could be a filter or in the tank..... Winds were light today and with sun it warmed up enough into the low 60's to take off the layers. The weather forecast is for warmer and we should be far enough south now to avoid another cold snap ( we hope!!) The run down the Pungo River, across the Pamlico River and Neuse are some of the nicest areas of Nortth Carolina. We did notice some more shoreline development and of course the houses are always larger each year. Much of today I could let the autopilot steer the boat and enjoy the view. Tonight we are in Cedar Creek just across from oriental NC.
Todays Stats: Location Cedar creek, NC ICW MM 187.5, running time 6.5 hours, average speed 8.88 MPH

Last night a good frienda and former co-worker of mine, Jim Royall drove down from Virginia Beach to Coinjock, NC. After touring the boat we had dinner.
The next morning was calm but cold and all the boats in the marina left about 7am to try to make it across Albarmarle Sound before the wind picked-up. We hit the sound with 10-15 knot winds from the N-NW. Albarmarle Sound is always tough because it is the largest sound in the US and the wind build up large waves across the shallow ( about 15 feet depths ). For two hours we basically rolled off the waves until we reached the Alligator River. This area of NC has no development on the shoreline, so other than the challenging boating it is a beautiful area to cruise through.

Tonight we are anchored in Styron Creek at the head of the Pungo River near Bellhaven, NC. Winds finally dropped and we look forward to the warm-up early next week.
Today's Stats: Location ICW MM 127.5 Styron Creek, NC 35 33.981 N 76 26.860 W
running time 9 hours, average speed 8.62 mph

Its always nice to be anchored in Norfolk. The lights of the city around are interesting and there is not that much noises after dark. We left the anchorage about 8 am. Each year the bridges in the Hampton Roads area get more restrictive as traffic builds up. The solution is to build high rise bridges ( 65 feet needed for sailboats ) but nobody wants to find the money and boaters are a minority compared to car owners. The bridges are closed for rush hour and then some only open every half or full hour. The result was I had to operate in "fast trawler" mode, burn fuel to make a few of them. The hull of my boat is really only designed to go about 9-9 1/2 MPH, after that it takes lots of power and fuel for small speed gains. Today started rainy and we ran the boat from inside most of the day. The last 10 miles were in open water and a little choppy. Tonight we are in Coinjock, NC and in from of me is a 100 foot Berger Motoryacht, behind that I look like a skiff!!!!!! I also filled the boat, diesel fuel was $2.62/gal.
Todays Stats: Location ICW MM 49.9 , running time 7.25 hours, average speed 6.88 mph

Today started with a red sunrise over Jackson Creek. We were off just before sunrise. The wind was still blowing down the bay and the waves of 2 to 3 feet were not to the autopilot's liking as they were on the stern so I hand steered most of the trip. Friends of ours with another 38 foot trawler joined us in the anchorage. The run down the bay to Norfolk is pretty much a straight line until you enter the Hampton Roads area. There we are always impressed by the Naval ships, especially the aircraft carriers. We made the anchorage at ICW Mile Marker 0 in early afternoon and only 4 boats were here. By 5 pm we had 23 boats, but only 3 were trawlers or powerboats.
I did have one mishap today, I dropped my fuel tank measuring stick down the fuel filler hose. I was able to get it out...so I know I need a longer one.
Todays stats: Location ICW MM 0, Norfolk, Hospital Point.
Distance covered 49.18 NM average speed 7.79 knots

The watching and waiting is over. Today we closed up the house, but the cars to be and at 1:52 pm departed our home dock. There was still wind about 10-15 knots N-NW as we left. but for most of the trip out the Rappahannock River was on the stern. We ten turned into the Pianktank River and are anchored for the night in Jackson Creek. There are quite a few other boats also anchored nearby and I suspect that many also waited for the weather to clear. Tonight I enjoyed for the first time the onboard TV, which works quite well - the prior owner installed it.
Today's stats: running time 3.8 hours, distance, 21 nautical miles, average speed 7.34 knots

It looks like we will finally start our trip tomorrow, October 26th. The plan is to run about 20 miles to Jackson Creek and then the next day do the 45 mile run to Norfolk. We have everything ready and only the weather stands in the way. The delay does mean we will be unable to make our planned side trip to Washington, NC. At the moment its about 47 degrees and I hope tomorrow will be maybe sunny and a little warmer.

We are now only 24 days from heading south. Last week was the last shakedown over to Crisfield for the MTOA Trawler rendezvous. There I found two items needing correction: our refrigerator does not keep cold in warm weather ( the manufacturer will give me a new one at no charge ) and on the bow we do not have any metal rubrails making it easy to scratch them docking. Both items will be fixed before we leave.
In addition to those items I still need to change the raw water pump impeller, change the oil and antifreeze on the main engine and change the filter on my fuel filtering system.
Our plan is to take a side trip up the Pamlico River in NC to Washington during the first part of the trip.