We got into Beaufort on Tuesday the 8th of November. We were pretty tired but excited to see some new friends we made on the way down. Santa Mojo and her crew is another Alberg 30 from Canada. We first saw them in Portsmouth and were really excited because they have the same boat. Soon we were anchoring together and sharing meals. Santa Mojo’s captain is Sabastien with crew Gabrielle and Philippe. They are preparing to go coastal from Beaufort to Charleston and we are trying to decide whether we’ll go out ourselves. The ICW has proved to be more taxing than we anticipated on account of the channels shoaling and choppy sailing in the inland rivers and sounds.
We started from Portsmouth, VA on the 3rd of November. Our destination was Blackwater Creek and on this stretch we went through our first lock. Great Bridge Lock was very easy, I think we only locked down about a foot. Very easy and Sara even threw some Halloween candy at the lock tender!
That night on Blackwater Creek after dinner with the Canadians we woke up at 4:00 am to our anchor alarm. Sure enough we were dragging. I attempted to reset the anchor with no success so we started the engine, lifted the anchor and before we could escape the shore we were blown into the bank bow first! In the chaos we ended up driving ourselves further ashore by trying to motor off. I ended up rowing out a kedge anchor and trying to pull ourselves out to no avail. By this time it was closer to 5:00 am and we decided to let it be until sunrise. When we could finally see we heeled the boat over by putting Sara in the dinghy, attaching the main halyard to the dinghy, and hoisting her up a bit. That wasn’t enough heel so our Sabastien and Philippe came over and hung on my boom. That did the trick! I was on the winch hauling the anchor rode in and as they were on the boom we popped free and I pulled us off the bank! It felt pretty hairy in the middle of the night but it was so satisfying to have pulled ourselves off without calling anyone for assistance. After that adventure we rafted up with Santa Mojo and enjoyed a pancake breakfast with them before heading out for the day. Thank you Santa Mojo and crew!
Now that we’ve been in Beaufort I’ve changed our oil and the fuel filter. I’ve filled up our water tank, refilled our diesel and outboard fuel. We’ve been burning some oil over the last week so I need to figure out where I’ve leaking but for now we’re in good shape!