May 24th- Mile Hammock Bay to Cedar Creek NC

The flotilla set off today for points north. SV Rhiannon was able to order a new alternator and had scheduled a mechanic to install it in Beaufort NC. We pushed on further, with Autumn Bourne, to an anchorage in Cedar Creek. We have some heavy winds approaching and all skippers were trying to figure out where we were going to “hole up” until after the gale.

Shipping around Morehead City NC.

May 25th- Cedar Creek to Broad Creek NC

Cedar Creek might have worked out as a storm anchorage but we decided that Broad Creek would be much better if things get bad. Today was supposed to be the best travel day until Sunday. Another plus- Broad Creek is only 13 1/2 nautical miles away. No problem!

We departed from Cedar Creek, continued down Adams Creek, and headed out on the Neuse River. This is where the plan met reality. Autumn Bourne radioed back to us with the option to continue north on the river or turn back. We opted to continue on. At this point the water was rough but we sail in Buzzards Bay and have experienced worse. It got worse. The closer we got to our destination, the worse it got. The wind increased. We were motoring straight into the wind and choppy seas. The issue was the short, steep, waves. Evergreen would come off the top of a big wave and bury her bow in the next wave. We’d go from 4 knots to 1 knot instantly. Then the wind would catch the boat and turn us abeam. I had to shut down the autopilot and hand steer. I would come off a wave and spin the wheel to take the next wave on the forward quarter, then quickly spin the wheel the other way to stay on course. It had occurred to us to “just turn around”. We’d fly back to our previous anchorage with the wind and waves behind us. Only a few more miles to go! No turning back! We pressed onward.

Rough seas starting out.

Eventually two tired and wet sailboats turned up the much calmer waters of Broad Creek. We searched around the Creek and found a quiet spot near some cleared woods so I could get Ollie to shore. We dropped the hook. This will be our storm anchorage.

Sunset (sort of) at Broad Creek.

May 26th- Broad Creek NC

There is a Gale warning for the area. Sustained winds in the 20s to 30s with gusts to 40. So far it’s pretty calm here on the river. The tall pines on the banks block the worst of it. We have run out over 100′ of anchor rode. We have a second anchor ready to drop if needed. Every once in a while we hear a gust of wind whistling in the rigging but the water here is mostly flat. It looks like we will be sitting here until at least Sunday (28th).

Evergreen anchored on Broad Creek.