There is a saying, "If something happens once it will not happen again; unless it happens twice then it will surely happen a third time."
I wish I'd read that BEFORE anchoring in Charleston...
The first try in Charleston we weren't happy with out spot...another boat (moored) on dual anchors 300' each line made it necessary to relocate. So we pulled the Delta anchor and we had a single strand of chain across it. No worry, grab the boat-hook and release it.
So we've been in Charleston our due time, Randy from Moonrise has joined us - Moonrise is in New Bern, NC and instead of a flight or such he's taking the slow boat to China. We get up bright & early & by 0630 we're pulling anchor. Due to the high winds for a few days before we threw out the 66lb Bruce. So we try and pull the Bruce first, it won't budge...the windlass is mighty unhappy about the work and finally we get the anchor to the surface of the water...which is the picture you see above. There wasn't one line fouling it, there was a chandlery's worth of line (still attached to something on the bottom, I might add...) SO we attach a halyard to it and crank it up so the debris can be cut away.
Now we're ready to pull the Delta. But the Charleston anchorage is not ready to give it up...not without a fight. We get the Delta to the surface and it, too, was fouled - worse than the above, but it was attached by multiple lines to multiple things on the bottom. Again, winch it up, lay down on the bowsprit and cut loose the debris. By now, I was covered in Charleston Harbor seasoning which my clothes STILL stink from.
Three for three. So an hour has passed, it is 0730 and we start heading out the inlet, make a left, and 35 uneventful hours later we anchored in Wrightsville Beach, NC. A pretty seaside town, nice spacious anchorage...except for some melvin who is sailing through the anchorage with little control in 20-25mph winds.
The offshore highlight was @ 0400 watch change, the crescent moon was rising out of the Atlantic, it gave me chills to watch. Brian & Heather took 2000-2400 watch, Randy took until 0400, Heather from 0400-0500 while Brian dozed in the cockpit & together until 0700. Worked out quite well.
We're waiting out weather - a very blustery day with a cold front. We'll head out again tomorrow, not sure inside or out, will make that call then...hopefully outside. Beaufort, NC is 70 miles and New Bern another 20 or so. We'll stay there for a week or two, get the relay switch for the fridge, rebuild a winch that wants to spin both ways, and who knows what else we'll find to get into.
We ducked into Cape Fear inlet to miss Frying Pan shoals and Masonboro inlet is about a mile away, so easy access to bluewater. Hooray! | 