Beaufort NC to Belhaven

—Blogpost written by Bob

Beaufort NC to Goose Creek

We slipped our dock lines at 8:15 AM on Saturday, May 23, from. Beaufort Docks in Beaufort NC. We rode the incoming tide up through the harbor and into the Newport River, moving at a brisk 7 knots.

The sun was shining and the sky was clear for a change. There was a nice cool breeze. It felt good to be moving again. (When we are at a dock, we tend to grow roots.) We were taking 1-hour shifts at the helm.

I think Lola feels protected when she
sits close to me on the helm seat.

While in Beaufort we learned of the latest Coronavirus hot spot in Baltimore and Washington DC—we are not quite as anxious to get home as a result.  (However, I don’t think we will procrastinate in any way—we’ll see as we get closer.)

We entered the 7-mile long Adams Creek Canal at 9:30 AM and then we motored into Adams Creek. 

We got through Adams Creek and entered the Neuse River at shortly past 11 AM. We spent a fair amount of the day’s time in traveling the Neuse River and the adjoining Bay River—about 3 hours. This stretch was very boring because there was not much to see. The wind was very light all day and mostly from behind us, certainly not our best point of sail which is why we motored all day. At 2:15 PM we entered Goose Creek from Bay River. 

We traveled another hour before we anchored for the night in Goose Creek near MM 152 at 3:15 PM. There were forests and swamps all around us and more than a half dozen homes within a half mile of our anchorage. A nice cool 5-knot breeze was blowing out of the west. This was the second time we anchored in this specific area of Goose Creek.

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Today, we traveled 55 miles in 7 hours and 15 minutes for an average speed of 7.58 miles per hour (or 6.59 knots) which was quite impressive. (We owe the good time to a favorable tidal current at the start of our day and a good sea state for the remainder and NO opening bridges.)

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Again today, while attempting to anchor we dragged the anchor (while motoring in reverse to set it) for about 300 feet before we stopped, raised the anchor, and tried to anchor again. This isn’t the first time this has happened—it is either due to Maggie’s anchoring technique or our new Ultra Flip Anchor Swivel. 

Prior to getting our new Ultra Flip Anchor Swivel, Maggie seldom anchored—it was usually me doing the anchoring. I think she simply dropped a big blob on chain on top of the anchor and didn’t allow it to dig in first. I coached her the second time which worked out fine. However, it is possible that the new swivel prevents the steep angle required for the anchor to effectively dig into the bottom, forcing it’s large flukes to skip on the bottom. (I think I will change swivels while underway tomorrow and see if it makes a difference in the Alligator River tomorrow night.)

Goose Creek to Belhaven

The fog was very thick when we woke up in the morning—the visibility was only about one boat length!  We had a 47-mile journey ahead of us to reach the head of the Alligator River—about half is open water in the both the Pimlico River and the adjoining Pungo River while the other half is a long narrow canal. 

Our breakfast of low-carb pancakes.

We had breakfast onboard while the fog mostly lifted. When we went out into the cockpit to get ready to leave we discovered a plethora of mayflies that descended into our cockpit sometime during the night.

Mayflies swarmed into our cockpit
during the night.  They were
everywhere!

Departing from our anchorage at 7:30 AM, we motored out through the remainder of Goose Creek and diagonally across the Pimlico River.

Traveling up the Pungo River (past Belhaven) and into the Alligator River-Pungo River Canal was accomplished by 11:15 AM--we were making great time.  Shortly after entering the canal we met a tug pushing a barge and while it might not seem a tight fit, but it was.

We met this tug using a huge barge
in the Alligator River-Pungo
River Canal.

At 1 PM, I changed out the anchor swivel while we were underway--it was an easy task. I was anxious to compare our recent performance with the Ultra Flip Anchor Swivel to our old swivel.  (I think that the Ultra Flip Anchor Swivel has a design flaw that prevents the anchor from digging into the bottom as it should.)

About 1:30 PM I went below to prepare a marinade for some chicken thighs I was going to grill once we reached the head of the Alligator River where we intended to anchor for the night.  However, my preparation was interrupted by a clacking sound and our complete loss of propulsion.  We quickly dropped our anchor but were blown to starboard and went lightly aground out of the channel.  Wearing her wetsuit, Maggie dove into the water to inspect the propeller because we first though we tangled in something.  After we didn't find an obvious tangle, we called TowBoatUS.  (Another sailboat in the canal was kind enough to relay for us with our communication with TowBoatUS in Belhaven.)

While we were waiting for the tow boat to arrive (it took a couple hours) Maggie dove again and could easily spin the propeller with her feet.  I could easily spin the shaft at the transmission but it became clear that the two were not mechanically connected.  At that point, we assumed that we had a broken propeller shaft.  We tied the propeller and the strut together with a rope and then tied the rope to a cleat on the starboard coaming so that we would avoid the loss of the propeller shaft out the stern and simultaneously have a lot of incoming water with which to deal.

It was a long tow (about 2-1/2 hours) to River Forest Marina in Belhaven.  The channel into the marina was very shallow--we even went aground briefly while being towed.

This is the way our day ended,
being towed to River Forest
Marina in Belhaven NC
on the Pungo River.

Once tied up to the dock in the marina, we learned that the tidal range was only 6 inches in this area and the tides were mostly caused by the wind (just like at Coinjock).  It appeared to be high tide when we arrived because the water level was just 6 inches below the dock--it was a big step getting on and off the boat!

We discussed our lack of propulsion with the owner of the marina (who seemed quite knowledgeable) and he agreed to pull us out of the water tomorrow (Memorial Day) to get a head start on the repair, assuming that he would have to have a new propeller shaft made by a nearby machinist.  (The owner mentioned that he has a used v-drive transmission from another C and C sailboat if we need one. So, we felt like s/v Rainy Days was in good hands.)

Memorial Day in Belhaven NC

River Forest Marina has a very descriptive name—the setting really was like a (short, but winding) river in a forest (of tall trees).  Even though the wind was quite strong as we were being towed here yesterday, there was absolutely no boat motion last night.  In the morning a light breeze moved the leaves on the taller trees around us but we couldn’t feel it at all. The sensation of being afloat was still with us last night—we expected even that would be gone tonight after s/v Rainy Days is hauled out of the water during the day and placed on jack stands for the expected 2-week duration of the repairs. (I guess this mechanical breakdown and expected repair time provides the delay in our homeward progress that we had been thinking about because of the Coronavirus hot spot back home.)

s/v Rainy Days at River Forest Marina
Boatyard awaiting haulout.

River Forest Boatyard--the quiet little
boatyard among the trees.

I pickled our water maker in the morning. The standing (salt) water in the primary filter had a horribly putrid smell (which I can still smell as I write this) and it was dark black in color. We completely cleaned out the water intake system and loaded a new primary filter cartridge after pickling. (I’m not sure when we will use our water maker next but it will have to be re-pickled in a year if we don’t use it again by then.)

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This morning, we took the bull by the horns and rented an efficiency in Belhaven that is part of a Bed & Breakfast (called Between Water & Main). Our rental (which allows Lola at a small extra cost) starts tomorrow. (There is just no way, we could foresee living in this boatyard for two weeks while the repairs were ongoing—they don’t even have showers!)  We placed a reservation for a weekly rental of a car (through Enterprise in Washington NC, about 30 miles away, starting tomorrow as well, in trying to make the best of our situation.

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The sun finally broke though the overcast sky at noon. The marina owner never showed up in the morning at 9 AM like he said he would but it IS a holiday after all and I can’t complain much.  As I sat outside in our cockpit I watched a pair of sparrows bring nesting materials into the exhaust of a nearby power boat that is on the hard. The power boat doesn’t seem to have moved in quite a while and probably won’t move until long after nesting season is over, so I guess their nest and it’s future inhabitants will be safe. (Nothing improves the mood better than sunshine and blue sky!)

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Shortly after noon, a seemingly knowledgeable guy (turned out to be one of the two owners) showed up at the yard and discussed our haulout and asked if we would be ready in 30 minutes—we said “yes.” Since the boatyard has limited space remaining on land for hauled out boats, his plan was to remove the shaft today and then install a dummy shaft to maintain a water seal and put the boat back into the water. Previously, we preferred this option if we were going to stay aboard for the duration—now, I’m not so keen on this idea because we might not be around (like in the middle of the night) if something doesn’t work as planned but we will see...

However, the good news that came out of this afternoon’s discussion was that their repair could probably be done by the end of this week (if it’s simply a shaft replacement). (There are three or four power boats currently in the marina with broken propeller shafts—one was sinking at the time of the break.)

Four of us manhandled
Rainy Days into the
haulout slip.

Nothing looked bad at this point
but the shaft was loose
longitudinally with 1/2"
of play or more,

s/v Rainy Days sitting in the slings
while the shaft was being
removed.

Immediately upon haulout we could tell that the shaft was broken but the break was inside the hull—in fact it was inside the dripless shaft seal. The break was a clear perpendicular break with the telltale sign of a fatigue failure. (I wonder if the last little bit of material holding the shaft together was that “shifting delay” we occasionally felt lately?)

I have requested an engine alignment as part of the repair and the mechanic feels that one set of engine mounts should be replaced too. It certainly appears that engine misalignment combined with lots of rotation cycles might have caused the shaft break.

The fracture surface of our 
1-1/8" diameter solid
propeller shaft.

 

By the end of the day, the plan had changed slightly to store s/v Rainy Days on the hard—everyone felt that was a safer course of action.

It is a big relief knowing for sure what the problem was (our guess about a broken prop shaft was correct!) and having a plan to fix it. The propeller shaft was original to the boat (37 years old)—it is probably one of the few remaining original mechanical parts.

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Stay tuned for our progress on this repair...

Stay healthy and thanks for following our blog!