Overall, I accomplished what I set out to do - Sailed down the Bay, then down the ICW to Beaufort NC and out to Cape Lookout. The trip down to Beaufort was rough. No wind or too much wind - and on the nose. Cold and lots of rain. The trip back was much better. I ran aground once - just north of Hampton VA in what is charted as 18' of water. I ran hard in to one submerged log in one of the canals. I started on May 4th and returned on May 31st.
My planning paid off. I felt I had all the tools I needed and the boat performed well. I only over packed by about 10% (stuff I later wished I hadn't taken).
The first week and a half saw bad weather - two days of light wind, then 2 to 3 days of heavy wind - mostly on the nose. And 3 straight days of heavy downpours. After that, it improved - warmer, more sun, less rain, and generally more favorable conditions for sailing. Once I got to Beaufort, the season's first tropical storm developed of the coast of South Carolina. This stopped all northbound (snowbird) boat traffic and made me pretty cautious. I did make i t out to Cape Lookout but only for a day sail and a 4 hour anchorage. Then a week later, a second tropical storm developed off Florida (Daryl?) but was never much of a threat.
The boat performed very well and I was very pleased with it. The only "failure" was that the fuel transfer pump developed a leak after about a week. I This lasted about 2 weeks. After about a week of containing the fuel in empty bottles, I began recycling it back into the tank. In Oriental NC, I ordered a new pump and installed it on my way back home. It was a simple age related leaking rubber diaphragm.
I ended up bringing about twice as much food as I needed. Next time will need to plan for the number of each meal and plan on eating out some. I finished most of what was refrigerated so what wasn't eaten could be saved for use at home or another trip. I felt like I ate pretty well - better than at home (not withstanding Joan's cooking and left overs). I found that the days were long and by most days end, I was usually mentally (and sometimes physically) exhausted. Too tired to read or relax much. My routine was usually to be in bed around 9 to 10pm and up between 5 and 6am. I averaged about 40 miles a day (ranged between 25 and 70). This was a long trip for me and I often wondered how some sailors can go on much longer passages (to Florida, the Bahamas, etc.). Having a companion would make it much easier, I think.
My health was good for the entire trip although my hands got a little sore and I think I wore all the calluses off my feet from going barefoot on the non-skid deck and standing for hours at the wheel.
I met a lot of very nice and interesting people along the way but everyone seemed to realize that these meetings were almost always short lived relationships.
Trip South
Trip North
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