Traveling long distances on the Mac
Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 7:00 am
Early in our trip we learned that if you wait to cross big water, and weather moves in you have to sit and wait until calm weather returns. Sitting on anchor in the rain is not bad if you are in a good place. You can do inside maintenance, read or make fancy meals ect. So when you have bad weather in the future or just a lot of big water to cross and it is calm, you just push it.
On 30 Apr we were anchored in a place called spooner creek. This was a small basin surrounded by houses, the basin was only about 400 feet across and every house on it had a boat lift next to the seaward. We and three other boats anchored in a line in the middle of this basin. Felt like being in a fishbowl. We left there at 0700 went by Morehead city up the Newport river, through some ICW canals to the Nuse river, to the bay river, across Pamlico river, to the Pungo river to Belhaven NC. If you look on the map these rives are 5 to 10miles wide and very long. We were on the Neuse and Bay river for about 4 hours as they are connected with a sound. As you know you have to watch the weather, we use Storm for our weather app. We had a little rough water on the Neuse river as there are ocean swells and wind waves. We were going to stop but a new boat friend ahead of us said it would calm when we turned into the bay river as the swells would be from the rear, so we pushed on. When we got to the Pamlico river it was calm so we crossed it and entered the Pungo river which is about 10 miles long. All day the wind had been out of the south west so we were kind of rolling when headed in a northern direction. So when we entered the Belhaven break water we were tired it was 1830. That is 11.5 hours of boating with a lot of it in semi rough water.
The thing about traveling in a Mac is we seem to get invited over to someone else's boat a lot. We had just tied up to the dock and we're heading for a restaurant when the boat across the way asked if we were tired. We told them we had left from Morehead city that morning and they said come on over we are serving spaghetti and we know you guys need a glass of wine. I needed 3. So stepped off our boat onto a 40 foot steel tug for supper. The next night we were invited to a 55 foot Kadey Krogen Epedition for steak. I think the women feel bad for my wife being in that little boat.(She loves our Mac)
The morning after getting into Belhaven, wife went shopping for groceries, I filled our water bag (30 gallon), watered the batteries, (water batteries every 30 days use a syringe). We then washed the stainless, and flushed the outboard. On this new Honda all you do is screw in the hose and run the water, you do NOT crank the motor. Then walked around town ate lunch at the Spoon a very nice restaurant. That night we ate on the Kady Krogen.
Next morning left marina 0630 went further up Pungo river, to Alligator Pungo canal which led to the Alligator River which is 25 miles long and very wide to the Albemarle Sound which is 10 miles across South to North but very wide and rolled us a bit when we were half way across. We then ran up the Pasquotank River to Elizibeh City which is 18 miles. A total of 84 miles in 12 hours. Stormed last night and raining this morning but we are anchored in a little bay right next to some pines on shore. Very quiet and peaceful. We will rest and if the rain quits go into town. Elizabeth City boasts they have more free docks than any other city. But we like our little anchorage.
On 30 Apr we were anchored in a place called spooner creek. This was a small basin surrounded by houses, the basin was only about 400 feet across and every house on it had a boat lift next to the seaward. We and three other boats anchored in a line in the middle of this basin. Felt like being in a fishbowl. We left there at 0700 went by Morehead city up the Newport river, through some ICW canals to the Nuse river, to the bay river, across Pamlico river, to the Pungo river to Belhaven NC. If you look on the map these rives are 5 to 10miles wide and very long. We were on the Neuse and Bay river for about 4 hours as they are connected with a sound. As you know you have to watch the weather, we use Storm for our weather app. We had a little rough water on the Neuse river as there are ocean swells and wind waves. We were going to stop but a new boat friend ahead of us said it would calm when we turned into the bay river as the swells would be from the rear, so we pushed on. When we got to the Pamlico river it was calm so we crossed it and entered the Pungo river which is about 10 miles long. All day the wind had been out of the south west so we were kind of rolling when headed in a northern direction. So when we entered the Belhaven break water we were tired it was 1830. That is 11.5 hours of boating with a lot of it in semi rough water.
The thing about traveling in a Mac is we seem to get invited over to someone else's boat a lot. We had just tied up to the dock and we're heading for a restaurant when the boat across the way asked if we were tired. We told them we had left from Morehead city that morning and they said come on over we are serving spaghetti and we know you guys need a glass of wine. I needed 3. So stepped off our boat onto a 40 foot steel tug for supper. The next night we were invited to a 55 foot Kadey Krogen Epedition for steak. I think the women feel bad for my wife being in that little boat.(She loves our Mac)
The morning after getting into Belhaven, wife went shopping for groceries, I filled our water bag (30 gallon), watered the batteries, (water batteries every 30 days use a syringe). We then washed the stainless, and flushed the outboard. On this new Honda all you do is screw in the hose and run the water, you do NOT crank the motor. Then walked around town ate lunch at the Spoon a very nice restaurant. That night we ate on the Kady Krogen.
Next morning left marina 0630 went further up Pungo river, to Alligator Pungo canal which led to the Alligator River which is 25 miles long and very wide to the Albemarle Sound which is 10 miles across South to North but very wide and rolled us a bit when we were half way across. We then ran up the Pasquotank River to Elizibeh City which is 18 miles. A total of 84 miles in 12 hours. Stormed last night and raining this morning but we are anchored in a little bay right next to some pines on shore. Very quiet and peaceful. We will rest and if the rain quits go into town. Elizabeth City boasts they have more free docks than any other city. But we like our little anchorage.
, we were often adopted by other cruisers. We went down via the dismal to Elizabeth city earlier this month. Unfortunately it looks fairly rainy locally for the next few days.
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