Fri. 8/27/04

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Letter from Periauger:

Bath to Belhaven Friday, 27 August - Day 13 (a not so lucky number?)

They tell me today is Friday, whatever that means. My crew sailed me out of Bath at about 1030, but only after a photographer from NC Wildlife magazine was given some time to climb aboard and photograph me and my crew sailing in the morning breeze.

Much to my delight, we sailed quite a bit today, but as the wind lessened, commander John finally had to come over and put us on a tow line. Destiny towed me to the mouth of St. Clare's Creek so my humans could eat lunch (it seems like all they do is eat!) when Kiwi joined us.

The wind had picked up during their lunch, and was coming right out of the direction they needed to sail me. Since I am not a "yacht' and do not sail up wind very well, Bill and John decided to tow me so they could get to Belhaven before dark. (Not for my sake, I hope! I would love to sail at night.) Along with her motor, Destiny put up her sails and towed me that way at a good clip of about 8 knots. As we proceeded down the Pamlico River east toward our turn off of Wades Point, the wind built further. As the seas built, I felt something come loose under my mainmast. About the same time, John, Mike, Kent and Bill noticed that my main mast was making a strange motion as I rolled in the waves.

They pulled in my tow line and Bill volunteered to jump onto my bow to check things out.

Then I felt a small sinking sensation. The big peg at the base of my main mast had worked loose and dropped down farther into the peg hole in my keel. Now without that big peg, the bottom of my mast was sliding around on my floor, making larger and larger circles and being held only where it passed up through the thwart (seat to you landlubbers). The motion got so wild that I thought my mast would snap.

About that time, Destiny tried to motor more into the wind, but some sediment in her fuel tank had gotten stirred up by the rolling sea and her fuel filter clogged up, stopping her engine! Fortunately, Destiny is a sail boat and already had her sails up so she pressed on toward our turn up the Pungo. The only trouble was that she could not go straight into the wind so that I would roll less in the growing waves. (The wind had increased well above what the humans had heard was predicted, and it surprised me as well.)

Meanwhile, Bill was working to cut away the lines holding my sails onto the mast. He had just gotten everything cleared away when my mast snapped and fell! Wow that hurt! Bill was OK because he had moved himself out of the path of my falling mast. With much struggling in my pitching hold, he managed to pull my mast out of the water and into my hold.

John had tried to find some calmer waters under the lee of land, but the wind was blowing waves into all the shores in sight. He had radioed for Kiwi, who was already in Belhaven, to stand by, and he had had Joan get the anchor ready in case he had to drop Destiny's sails because of the rain storm that was growing nearer. He also tried to reach SeaTow in Belhaven but they did not answer. John knew that he and Joan could take Destiny (with me in tow) into port under sails only but could not dock her that way. It was not enough of an emergency for him to call the Coast Guard, however.

My buddy Norman Conquest (with Norman Ryan, captain, and Keith Lambert aboard) was too far behind to help and was having her own difficulties with the 5 foot waves. LaBelle, with Captain Kent Carper and crew Ken Ries aboard, was nearer and was notified that she might have to drop her sails and take over towing so John could change the fuel filters on Destiny, but John didn't use that option.

By that time, John and Joan, with the help of Kent Saunders and Mike Butler, had sailed Destiny around the turn and into calmer waters. There was still enough wind that at first Destiny was pulling me along at 7 to 8 knots with sails alone. My friend Destiny has a powerful set of sails!

As the wind died on the Pungo River, John got Destiny's engine going just enough to keep us moving at about 5 knots. We made it into Belhaven harbor at about 1815. Noel came out in his dinghy to tow me in. John dropped his sails and limped in by restarting his engine whenever it stalled from being starved of fuel.

We were all quite glad to be safely in port! If the humans' favorite drink - a cold beer - would have helped me relax, I'd have had a big one!

Tomorrow my commander will have a busy day with lots of decisions and phone calls, plus changing Destiny's fuel filters. I hope he gets a good night's sleep. He and all of the crew (and especially my hero Bill) certainly did an excellent job in this harrowing day on the water.

Check out the pictures my human friends took (I'll never understand how that works..)

good night, good night

Periauger


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