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Thanksgiving Sail.....

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Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Initially Posted - 12/01/2003 : 11:26:13

The following is an article I hope to submit for publication in the Mainsheet...here's a preview for the forum 250 folks....(John G., check your e-mail please....)

Sunrise on the Neuse River

Trailer Madness.....

Sometimes the length we will go to to spend some time on the water can, for the outsider, raise doubts about our ability to have rational thought. Those afflicted with the disorder know what I mean. In the arsenal of tools of rationalization and justification the trailered sailboat is a very powerfull one.
So, when my highly uncontrollable work schedule and school days off briefly fell in line, we twisted Grandmothers arm so she would cook the turkey on the Wednesday before, and that evening at 9 pm Lady Kay, with crew Oscar, Kay, Alexandra (11) and Brandon (5), left Bethlehem, PA, and set a southerly course on Interstate 95. 6 am Thanksgiving Day we pulled into New Bern, NC.
There we found a beatiful ramp into the Neuse River, and two hours later we motored into the Sheraton Marina, just around the corner in the Trent River. I made a quick stroll back to the ramp area to recover the truck and trailer, and parked it in the back lot at the Sheraton. No sooner did I have the cockpit cover over the boom, or it started raining. We spent that afternoon down below getting organized, and reading, napping, and playing games. That evening the wind picked up into the thirties, and turned to the west, straight up the stern......it was quite the ride. But the heat was purring, and we had a lovely dinner on board and turned in early.
The next day, Friday, we explored New Bern, a town with a long and interesting history. The Firemen's Museum was a hit, as well as the gardens at Tryons Palace, not to mention the sampling of local eateries.
There was one weak spot in my plan, the cold front. It was North-South, and border to border. The admiral had noticed it in our pre departure briefing, but my assurances that it would not be too bad persuaded her. It was bad.....overnight the temperature dropped from the seventies to the low forties. (If it wasn't for the electric blanket keeping the aft berth at toaster oven temperatures she might have jumped ship and headed for the hotel...) The wind did calm down a little. On Saturday it was merely 15 to 20 knots, with an occasional gust well into the twenties. Don't know what the weatherman was calling the Realfeel temps, but I can tell you that it felt very chilly. The good news was that there was not a cloud in the sky.
But, we had come here to sail, so sailing we went. A dead run down the Neuse River. Mind you, the river is anywhere from one to three miles wide, and with the wind out of the West, straight down the middle, it gets exciting. With only a 110 jib up we were surfing down two to three foot waves at times exceeding hull speed.....in a mere four hours we were entering the channel at Oriental, the sailing capital of the Mid-Atlantic. The crew had come on deck briefly, but then retreated below and spent the time looking out the window, reading and napping. Luckily the temperature below went down slowly, and never really got below 60.....which could not be said about the cockpit. Still it was an absolutely beatiful sail. We only saw two other boats, but never got close enough to see faces.
In Oriental we pulled into a beautiful brand new facility, the Oriental Harbor Village Marina, plugged in the shorepower, and turned on the heat. After we warmed up we went ashore and had a nice dinner at the M&M cafe.....we slept well that night.
Overnight the temperatures went below freezing, but in the morning we were once again greeted by sparkling blue skies and a gorgeous sunrise. The mercury quickly climbed into the sixties. Unfortunately the wind was still down the river, and now the wrong way. I did not feel like a long beat or motor back, so for a small fee a local gentleman gave me a ride in his pickup truck, with his dog in my lap, back to the car in New Bern. By Three we were all packed up and headed back to Bethlehem, Monday was a school day after all.
For the driving and the time of launching and retrieval it would have been nice to have had a few more days. The weather could also have been a little warmer. Still, we worked with what we had, and made it out there. The boats up here on the hard did not. A good family time was had by all. Well, there was one minor incident. Being rather AR, when readying for launch, or breaking down, I have two pair of shoes. Dockers on the boat, and a pair of biodegradable rubberastic clogs at the bottom of the ladder to trounce through the dirt with. As I was descending for the last time I stepped into the left clog, and then my right foot searched for the other, and did not find it! It was gone! After looking around the area I looked into the neighboring yard and spotted, Spot.....chewing on the inlay sole of my clog. Stop thief! Stop thief! Luckily the course of his dinner that would have been the clog itself had not started yet.....
Now Lady Kay is cleaned up and sitting in the driveway, ready to go. Hopefully in March we'll make it down to Florida again.

Lady Kay is a 250 Water Ballast. She mostly sails the Chesapeake, but will travel further if asked.....

Lady Kay IV, Dragonfly 25 # 54 Former C30#618-C250WB#618-C42#76

Edited by - Oscar on 12/01/2003 15:22:06

Bryan Beamer
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1038 Posts

Response Posted - 12/01/2003 : 12:18:08

Nice story. Sounds like fun. Highs in the mid forty’s to low sixty's is as warm as it gets during the short daylights hours for winter sailing here in Colorado, with nights in the low twenty's to high teens. I know what you mean when you say we worked with what we had..

Edited by - on

Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Response Posted - 12/01/2003 : 14:01:17

I assume the lake does not freeze over?

Oscar
250WB#618 Lady Kay Sunrise on the Neuse River, New Bern, NC.

Edited by - on

Bryan Beamer
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1038 Posts

Response Posted - 12/01/2003 : 14:31:17

In 14 years I have never seen the main part of the lake or the marina freeze. Around the shore and some of the shallow areas will get a light freeze that doesn't last very long. The marina has icebreakers that churn the water so it won't freeze.I really enjoy sailing October thru April better than May thru September.

Here is a chart that shows the areas averages.

Month Avg. High Avg. Low Mean Avg. Precip. Record High Record Low

Jan 45°F 14°F 29°F 0.33 in. 81°F (1997) -28°F (1959)

Feb 51°F 19°F 35°F 0.26 in. 81°F (1981) -26°F (1996)

Mar 57°F 26°F 42°F 0.97 in. 86°F (1989) -10°F (1964)

Apr 65°F 35°F 50°F 1.25 in. 93°F (1992) 2°F (1997)

May 75°F 45°F 60°F 1.49 in. 99°F (1996) 26°F (1997)

Jun 86°F 54°F 70°F 1.33 in. 108°F (1990) 37°F (1988)

Jul 91°F 59°F 75°F 2.04 in. 106°F (1981) 44°F (1995)

Aug 89°F 58°F 74°F 2.27 in. 104°F (1980) 40°F (1968)

Sep 81°F 49°F 65°F 0.84 in. 101°F (1995) 27°F (1999)

Oct 69°F 35°F 52°F 0.64 in. 94°F (1991) 4°F (1997)

Nov 54°F 23°F 38°F 0.58 in. 84°F (1980) -17°F (1991)

Dec 45°F 15°F 30°F 0.39 in. 82°F (1980) -28°F (1961)

Edited by - on

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