[Rhodes22-list] Sailing: On Albemarle Sound

[elle]

Boatersland.com (not Boatersworld) has then for $20.00
less each than West Marine or other vendors.

ellle
--- Mary Lou Troy <mtroy at atlanticbb.net> wrote:

> Joe,
> Thanks for the report. Sounds like you had a great
> time.
> 
> If you are still looking for fenders, these are 
> the best we've found (in the large size)
>
http://www.boatcovers.cc/cgi-bin/catalog.pl?item_id=9
> 
> They really fit the hull of the Rhodes and don't 
> take up as much space as the big round ones.
> 
> Mary Lou
> 1991 R22 Fretless
> Rock Hall, MD
> 
> 
> At 09:13 PM 5/11/2008, you wrote:
> >Hi Gang,
> >Thought you might like to hear about our adventure
> piking up our Rhodes
> >and sailing on Albemarle Sound.
> >
> >We picked up our recycled Rhodes 22 last Thursday.
> Spent Friday loading
> >it up with stuff and then learning about raising
> and lowering the mast.
> >The mast was up when we arrived so I got to lower
> it before we could
> >trailer it to the ramp at the end of Midway Drive.
> Then we got to raise
> >the mast and practice launching. Friday was really
> windy and the sound
> >was pretty choppy and Stan pronounced it too much
> for the first time
> >out. So, out came the boat and I got to lower the
> mast and head back to
> >the plant. That was okay since we needed to do a
> little more shopping
> >before going cruising. Our general plan was to just
> cruise on Albemarle
> >Sound for a few days before trailering back to
> Tennessee.
> >Saturday began pretty nice so we decided to make
> another attempt. At the
> >ramp, the wind was down but the sound was still
> kind of choppy with 1 ­
> >2 foot waves, maybe 3 foot. Why is wave height so
> hard to estimate? Wind
> >was probably 10 ­ 15 knots. Sharon and I motored
> out into the sound
> >about 9:45 Saturday morning and sailed almost all
> the way to Columbia.
> >When we got to the narrow part of the Scuppernong
> River, we motored the
> >rest of the way as the wind was dying and we were
> getting tired and
> >hungry. We met a very nice couple at the Columbia
> town docks who helped
> >us tie up. By the way, if you haven’t sailed
> anywhere like the Albemarle
> >Sound (we hadn’t), be sure to take long enough
> docking lines and big
> >enough fenders. Docking lines of 20 feet for the
> fore and aft cleats are
> >not too long. Fenders 12” in diameter are not too
> big. I think we are
> >going to look into some of those big ball fenders
> that somebody on the
> >list recommended. Our docking lines were long
> enough but we had to
> >borrow a couple of fenders from Stan. We ate supper
> at Mac’s Back Door
> >Oyster Bar. We highly recommend Mac’s if you stop
> off in Columbia. Email
> >macsbackdoor_at_earthlink.net for opening times. We
> stretched our legs
> >on the walking trail through the woods. We also
> found that public
> >toilets were available close to the town docks.
> Rumor is that showers
> >are planned for the future.
> >Sunday we left Columbia bound for the Yeopim River
> and the Albemarle
> >Plantation Marina for a shower. Wind was dead,
> dead, dead. The Sound was
> >almost like glass. So we motored. Sunday afternoon,
> and I could not
> >raise the Marina via VHF (nobody was in the office
> to listen), so we
> >headed for the fuel dock figuring someone would
> show up. The assistant
> >dock master came out and helped us to a transient
> slip and ferried us to
> >the dock masters office to pay for the night. The
> charge at APM is $1.50
> >per foot. Their showers are very nice. No barbecues
> are allowed on the
> >boats however, so we fried our beef ribs in the
> cabin. By the way, if
> >you are coming to Edenton with the intention of
> sailing a few days on
> >the Sound, pick up some Butane for the Burton stove
> before you come. The
> >kind of Butane canister used on the Rhodes does not
> exist in Edenton
> >anywhere. We know. We searched all the existing
> hardware stores in
> >Edenton on Friday before we left. We were lucky to
> get a can from Stan.
> >Monday we decided to head for Salmon Creek which
> had been recommended to
> >us by the couple at Columbia. We left Yeopim River
> and found the Sound
> >to be choppy again and the wind was about 10 knots
> out of the East. We
> >had a really nice dead run down the Sound wing and
> wing for a long way
> >until we ran into a thunder storm after passing
> under the power lines
> >before you get to Edenton. So it was a couple of
> soggy sailors that
> >dropped anchor about 4pm. Salmon Creek offers a
> very nice protected
> >anchorage that is off the beaten path, so to speak.
> We spent a very
> >pleasant night at Salmon Creek, but we found it a
> little difficult to
> >get used to the boat noises at night. At one point,
> I got up because I
> >distinctly heard someone knocking on the door. It
> was just the wind
> >moving something around.
> >Tuesday we knew we wanted to spend the night
> anchored again at Salmon
> >Creek but we needed supplies and a shower. The wind
> was light so we
> >motored the short distance over to Edenton town
> docks. The dock master
> >was a little reluctant to let us use the showers if
> we weren’t spending
> >the night, but he relented after we told him where
> we had been over the
> >last few days. We went for lunch at Chero’s which
> is an easy walk from
> >the docks and is across the street from a gift
> shop. We can highly
> >recommend Chero’s for lunch. Their N.C. shrimp
> basket was wonderful. I
> >picked up some mineral oil for the depth sounder.
> We have a Garmin 498
> >gps with built in maps and a depth sounder that
> mounts inside the hull.
> >The space between the hull and the transducer
> proper has to be filled
> >with mineral oil for the sounder to work properly.
> Most of the
> >controlling depths we encountered were way more
> than the draft of the
> >Rhodes, but I just feel better having a method of
> measurement handy.
> >Wednesday we goofed around for a while sorting
> things out. Then as the
> >wind was very pleasant, we had an early lunch and
> raised anchor to sail
> >for the pleasure of it. It turned out to be one of
> our most memorable
> >days. The sun was out, winds 10 to 15 knots (later
> gusting to 20). The
> >Sound wasn’t so choppy as it had been and we
> decided it was time to try
> >finding Mackey’s Marina across the Sound from
> Edenton. The wind was
> >right on our nose so I rigged the jib sheets inside
> the main shrouds and
> >rolled the jib out as far as it would go without
> hitting the spreaders.
> >We sailed for probably 6 hours for the sheer fun of
> it. Later in the
> >afternoon, it got a little choppy and gusty so I
> reduced the jib some.
> >Even with reduced sail area we were flying along
> sometimes at 5 knots.
> >We finally got close enough to the daymarkers
> showing the entrance to
> >Mackey’s that I doused sail and started up the
> motor. If you enjoy a
> >quiet spot, try Mackey’s. Located on Kendrick Creek
> roughly due south of
> >Edenton, Mackey’s is an ideal spot for daydreamers.
> The proprietors are
> >extra friendly. The showers are really nice with
> plenty of hot water. A
> >new resturant is open on Thursdays, Fridays, and
> Saturdays. We didn’t
> >get to try it as we left early on Thursday. Charge
> for transients is
> >$1.00 per foot. We were glad for our GPS with
> built-in maps as we could
> >zoom in to see where we were going. Chart 12205
> doesn’t show much for
> >detail and going up Kendrick Creek if you’ve never
> been there is an
> >experience. It’s beautiful. But you kind of wonder
> where exactly you are
> >going till you make the last right turn and see a
> bunch of boats.
> >Thursday we left Mackey’s headed back for the ramp
> at the end of Midway
> >Drive. The wind was pretty stiff, at least 15 to 20
> knots and gusty, and
> >the Sound seemed more choppy than we had seen it
> before. We were
> >guessing the waves to be maybe 3 feet at least. We
> motor sailed across.
> >I was still learning how to guide the boat in waves
> of that height and
> >we were a little nervous about getting past the
> breakwater and docking.
> >Once inside the breakwater we used the engine to
> hold us against the
> >wind so we could ease down toward the dock. Close
> to the dock I stepped
> >off the boat and grabbed the bow pulpit. We tied up
> and I walked to the
> >plant to retrieve our truck. One of the guys from
> General Boats came
> >down and helped load the boat and lower the mast.
> So ended our
> >experience of cruising on Albemarle Sound.
> >Stan’s crew packed the boat for traveling after
> taking care of a couple
> >of items. Friday morning we left Edenton bound for
> Tennessee. We stopped
> >about halfway to spend the night at a campground in
> Statesville, N.C.,
> >with the interesting address of 114 Midway Drive.
> Is that weird or what?
> >We made it home and up our steep graveled driveway
> without incident. The
> >boat is a little confused to be in the middle of
> the woods, but we’ve
> >promised it that we’ll put into Douglas Lake just
> as soon as we can.
> >By the way, if you should contemplate a trip like
> this, buy as much of
> >the things you’ll need before you leave the dock.
> The Butane has already
> >been mentioned. But even simple things like grocery
> stores seem awfully
> >far away from anywhere you can dock. The Food Lion
> in Columbia is one
> >mile from the town docks. The grocery stores in
> Edenton are even farther
> >away from their town docks. Ice is usually easily
> available since gas
> >stations are close by or else the marina sells it.
> Just because you find
> >a marina does not mean you will find a resturant
> close by that is open.
> >In other words, you’re on your own.
> >Best,
> >Joe & Sharon Babb
> >Harmony is a year 2000 Rhodes 22, recycled this
> past winter.
> >
> >__________________________________________________
> >Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help?
> www.rhodes22.org/list
> >
> >
> >--
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> 
> __________________________________________________
> Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help?
> www.rhodes22.org/list
> 


We can't change the angle of the wind....but we can adjust our sails.

 1992 Rhodes 22   Recyc '06  "WaterMusic"   (Lady in Red)


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