Stuck sorta off

yachtbrokerguy said:

I was in that neighborhood in September, spent the night in Coinjock headed south. Forecast was not good but I was in a 52' Maritimo known as a good Australian offshore boat. Called the Alligator swing bridge to make sure it would open, because when winds are over 30 knots they will not open, it was OK at 7 AM, called again as I got to Albemarle sound, bridge would open, but the bridge tender said the wind was picking up.
Ran across the sound at 20 knots with a following sea, boat handled nicely. When I called on the VHF to the bridge, he said wind was now 33 knots with higher gusts and would not open. So a quick turn to the west and ran into Alligator River Marina which is next to the road that leads to the bridge. Waited about two and a half hours and the wind died down, the bridge tender called me and said come on through.
I have not done too much traveling in a boat with an enclosed flybridge, it was very comfortable for this trip with lots of rain, especially the record floods in South Carolina.

Click to expand...

I love hearing the response from the Alligator River bridge tenders. When the weather is questionable I would call ahead. Their usual response was, "keep 'er comin' cap'n". They have always been helpful.

Greetings,
One morning this past March, headed south, after having stayed overnight at Alligator River Marina, we sidled out the channel, hailed the bridge for an opening and were met with the response. "Can't, she's froze up". Waited 2+ hours until the sun warmed the mechanism sufficiently for a passage. Fun times.

The National Park docks are rudimentary, but useful. We always anchored in the harbor there, very protected and great holding. There is a good dinghy dock to the right of the ferries; easy stroll a few short blocks into town. Here's a handy guide to what's open, all good. The fisherman's coop fish store, Ocracoke Seafood, should also be open and great local fish. The Variety Store is actually a fairly complete supermarket, plus other stuff. Zilly's gourmet shop and wine / craft beer bar is lovely.

Who's Open? | OcracokeCurrent

You can't go wrong with any of the still open restaurants... the Dajio pizza is terrific, nice bar there too. We Liked Gaffer's on the way out of town, kind of a "locals" sports-bar place, but good food.

All the major carriers have 4G cellular there now, ATT and Verizon being best. You used to be able to smooch wi-fi from a few of the inns around the harbor, but once good cell service showed up, I no longer hunted for it. Google maps satellite view has a good pic showing where the shallow-ish water is as a result of the ferries; all the rest of the dark water is good ground. We prefer tucking in on the south, or south east end.

The only way I would pay the much higher fee at Anchorage is I was planning on using their pool or needed shoreside heads and showers. Other than that it's not worth the higher price.

This time of year I would either anchor out in Silver Lake or dock at the Federal Marina.

timjet said:

OK, we're going to Ocracoke via Pamlico sound...
Oriental and New Bern next then Beaufort and Moorehead City.

Click to expand...

WooT!!! Enjoy your stay. We are on-the-hard at Town Creek Marina in Beaufort. I am headed to the yard tomorrow to get the fuel tanks cleaned and to check on progress. Not sure when the work will be done, but maybe our paths will cross before you leave NC because we will head back to New Bern after it's done. I am thinking a couple of more weeks.

Let us know how active Ocracoke is this late in the season (yes, George... I know you said already... just giving Tim a reason to write about it).

Keep us posted.

Also if you haven't been there before or it's been awhile it never hurts to time your arrival with either the Swan Quarter or Cedar Island ferry.

This way you can follow them in the channel into Silver Lake.

There are places at low tide you have about a foot of water on either side of channel.

Let us know how active Ocracoke is this late in the season (yes, George... I know you said already... just giving Tim a reason to write about it).

Click to expand...

That's OK Tom, Tim is the better blogger and I am an Ocracoke fanboy. Ann wants me to remind him of Books To Be Red, the wonderful bookstore nestled in among the oaks, as well as Village Craftsmen, not far from there.. great places to do one's holiday shopping and for oneself.

And if you need more recommendations on pubs or restaurants in Oriental, New Bern, Morehead or Beaufort, let us know!!!! Lots of NC boaters here!

Thanks George and everyone for the info. We're leaving Manteo today for Ocracoke, 72 miles and I figure about 6 hrs. The approach to Ocracoke is kind of confusing until you understand the initial approach from the Pamlico is part of the channel that leads to the Ocracoke inlet to the Atlantic. Our plan is to stay until Friday, wx should be good for the 50 mile run across the Pamlico to Oriental. Wx should be good the rest of the week.
We'll asses the situation upon reaching Ocracoke about whether to anchor or tie up at the Nat Park Svc docks. I prefer the docks. We got the senior park pass at the Wright Bros memorial yesterday.

Our plan is to go to New Bern after Oriental then Beaufort N.C. Debbie is really looking forward to Beaufort. We stayed at the Beaufort City Docks last year northbound, and I'm a little concerned about slip availability. Very tentative schedule would put us in Beaufort next Tuesday Dec 1, depending on weather of course. Should I be concerned about getting a slip and make reservations now??

timjet said:

Should I be concerned about getting a slip and make reservations now??

Click to expand...

I wouldn't be concerned about slips in Beaufort this time of year. But you can call them on the phone and make sure.

If you want a slip in Oriental you may want to call the Oriental Inn and Marina to make a reservation there....it's kinda small. We've been watching the migration on the towndock cam and sometimes the marina looks full.

The New Bern Grand should have lots of slips, and there's always the Galley Store Marina too. Both great options for a very walkable little town.

Have fun in Ocracoke!!

72 miles? My route from Manteo to Ocracoke is 57 nm. It's a beautiful day out there today. If you like pretty anchorages, and it sounds like you do, you should try to work South River into your plans. Any number of places to drop the hook depending on conditions. No harm in calling the marinas. We like the docks,crew, fuel and infrastructure at Morehead City Yacht Basin, which has a courtesy van, better than those at Beaufort. Another extremely friendly marina in MHC is Portside, the only flaw there is the docks are not in the same class as MCYB. Plus you are among a bunch of very nice permanent resident boats. Here's the transient dock the other day:



In New Bern, we prefer the Galley Store located in the pretty Historic District, with a great pump out very nice docks, wonderful store, high quality power and a much nicer view. No bridge to deal with either.

timjet said:

Picture: Yahoo, on the way to Manteo

Click to expand...

By that wake in post # 20 --- looks like you're doing bout 25 knots. That taken at WOT or near to??

TimJet- Sounds like you are in no hurry to get south. You are hitting nearly all the spots around the sounds!!

Have fun!!

caltexflanc said:

72 miles? My route from Manteo to Ocracoke is 57 nm. It's a beautiful day out there today. If you like pretty anchorages, and it sounds like you do, you should try to work South River into your plans. Any number of places to drop the hook depending on conditions. No harm in calling the marinas. We like the docks,crew, fuel and infrastructure at Morehead City Yacht Basin, which has a courtesy van, better than those at Beaufort.

Click to expand...

. . . . . . .and a lot less tidal current to deal with.

Moonstruck said:

. . . . . . .and a lot less tidal current to deal with.

Click to expand...

Still there though, enough to affect many a landing. Follow the outstanding dock crews' instructions and you will be fine.

caltexflanc said:

Still there though, enough to affect many a landing. Follow the outstanding dock crews' instructions and you will be fine.

Click to expand...

MCYB was my home marina for 4 years.

Moonstruck said:

MCYB was my home marina for 4 years.

Click to expand...

Ours too.

I'll second or third or fourth some of the above. You should have no issues with docks. We were very pleased our last trip to New Bern docking at Galley Stores. We've stopped briefly at the Grand before but found Galley Stores superior. As to Beaufort and Morehead City, if I was spending two or more days, I'd stay in both. Probably one night Beaufort and then in Morehead City Yacht Basin. They have their similarities but are very different too. Morehead City Yacht Basin is very nice. I think you're too far North to run into any problems finding dock space now. You're far behind the large group of boats heading south.

Many South bound boats are gathering at the Vero Beach City Marina for the annual potluck Thanksgiving dinner.

caltexflanc said:

72 miles? My route from Manteo to Ocracoke is 57 nm. It's a beautiful day out there today.

In New Bern, we prefer the Galley Store located in the pretty Historic District, with a great pump out very nice docks, wonderful store, high quality power and a much nicer view. No bridge to deal with either.

Click to expand...

Absolutely beautiful day yesterday. Forecast was for 1-2 ft but it was calm. It's starting to get a little cool here. We ran with the bridge closed up most of the day.

We've converted over to statue miles since we're mostly on the ICW now. Run yesterday was 67.5 sm, pretty close to 57 km. I was initially planning on running north and west of Roanoke Island which adds 6-8 miles and avoids the long channel run along the east side of Roanoke Is, but the dockmaster at Manteo conviced me the channel was wide and clear. We ran slow - 8.5 mph for the 2 hours it took to clear the channel and get to the open Pamlico. Our boat with it's exposed props and rudder, I take no chances in running aground hence my slow run through the long channel. If I were to do this again I would take the longer route and open her up and let the autopilot get us there.
I don't know about you guys but on long channel runs I sometimes "forget" which side of a day marker I should be on. Maybe I'm just day dreaming or thinking of other things but I constantly have to remind myself to pay attention. Yesterday I forgot and got into 5.5 ft of water before I caught my mistake.

In Oriental we'll try to get one of the free docks, there's 2 now. If we're unable we'll probably anchor out.

Art said:

By that wake in post # 20 --- looks like you're doing bout 25 knots. That taken at WOT or near to??

Click to expand...

Our boat a Carver 355 has a 39' hull and the nose starts to climb at 7.5 kts so that's our max slow speed. It's fully on plane at about 12 kts. We cruise at 2400 rpm which is about 16 kts. I never cruise above 2400 rpm. WOT is 2900 rpm if propped properly. But yes I agree it looks like we're smoken.

Ski in NC said:

TimJet- Sounds like you are in no hurry to get south. You are hitting nearly all the spots around the sounds!!

Have fun!!

Click to expand...

We are in no hurry. I retired in September so there's no reason to be in a hurry. I would have liked to have started a littler sooner but it was not to be. We got to the Park Service docks about 1600 yesterday and the attendant said most of the places here in Orcacoke are closed but I shouldn't have any trouble finding a few restaurants open. That's OK we're enjoying this cruise. It's doubtful we'll come this way again so with Debbies concurence we'll see everything we can.
We're planning on staying until Friday perhaps Thanksgiving dinner at Topless Oyster Restaurant. I think they dropped the Topless maybe for good reason.
By the way the Park Service docks here in Ocracoke are a really good deal, not scenic by any means but good docks. The electric is very iffy. 2 of the 4 electric towers on our dock did not work. We had to reposition the boat to find one that worked. The attendant said they all work and any problems are with the boat. Wrong.

Moonstruck said:

Many South bound boats are gathering at the Vero Beach City Marina for the annual potluck Thanksgiving dinner.

Click to expand...

One of my favorite marina's north of Palm Beach. We'll be there probably in January.

Picture: On the Pamlico

Who's Open? | OcracokeCurrent

Tim, check this link I previously posted, it lists just about everything that is open; anything listed under "December" is obviously open now. Ocracoke is a pleasant walking town with many of the businesses hidden among the back streets.

The channel south from Manteo and out Old House is actually much more stable and deep and more accurately marked than the one back up north. It is by far the most used by commercial and recreational traffic in and out of the large commercial marine harbor and boat building center at Wanchese and big sportfishers and head boats out of there, Pirate's Cove, and Oregon Inlet Fishing center.

Enjoy your stay in Ocracoke!

caltexflanc said:

Who's Open? | OcracokeCurrent

Tim, check this link I previously posted, it lists just about everything that is open; anything listed under "December" is obviously open now. Ocracoke is a pleasant walking town with many of the businesses hidden among the back streets.

The channel south from Manteo and out Old House is actually much more stable and deep and more accurately marked than the one back up north. It is by far the most used by commercial and recreational traffic in and out of the large commercial marine harbor and boat building center at Wanchese and big sportfishers and head boats out of there, Pirate's Cove, and Oregon Inlet Fishing center.

Enjoy your stay in Ocracoke!

Click to expand...

There's something special about checking out the restaurants open this time of the year. They're operated by full time, year round and generally long time residents. They're also where locals gather. Most seasonal tourist areas have two worlds, the seasonal tourist one and the local resident one. When we first started going to Myrtle Beach where we have friends/family it even had the distinctions but now the offseason is much stronger. Still there's a local world and a tourist world although most of the locals involved serving the tourists.

Thanks George, looks like Thanksgiving dinner at the Ocracoke Oyster House.

Tim,

You can check the harbor cam in Oriental before arrival to see if the free docks are available at TownDock.net | Oriental NC News, Weather, Photos . There is also an anchorage cam!

Have fun! Enjoy your time in NC! Don't forget to try Floyd's if you go to the MHCYB! (and tell Mike we said hi!)

Funny, I much prefer the open water run, Manteo, Hatteras and Okracoke.

Guess I have had my fill of driving through the Punto Canal. One thing to stay our of the weather, but holy cow, autopilot and watching dolphins and reading beats the inside route once you have had your fill of Belhaven too.

I guess it wouldn't be so bad once I get south in better weather and can make some ocean runs rather than 2000 miles of ditch every year.

And usually I am the first to say I would rather see stuff than waves.....

We had a great time Ocracoke. We had a very good Thanksgiving dinner at the Ocracoke Oyster Restaurant. In fact it was surprising good. Got back to the boat just in time to take a nap.

You guys that live around here ought to try this place out during Thanksgiving. Except for the CG boat I mentioned in another thread we are the only boat here. Cheap and the docks are in good shape. Easy walk to everything.

I check with Beaufort NC and the dockmaster said no problem in getting a slip.
He also said most stores are open.

We’re headed to Oriental this morning. I have some concerns. Reading on Active Captain the 2 free town docks don’t allow a generator to be run. Anyone know anything about this, like is this enforced? If so we’ll have to anchor out, refrig needs power. Never had a problem or saw a sign restricting genny use last year.

Anchoring out: It doesn’t look like there is enough swing room in the channel leading to the town, and I don’t want to deploy 2 anchors. So I’m looking at Greens Ck or Smith Ck. Suggestions?

I have seen the signs restrictions generator use....and you fill out a form that acknowledges you understand the rules and the fines.

Enforced? Well I have never seen anyone even stop by the docks let alone say anything.

Like most ruless, why are they written and who cares that they are enforced.

If your genset is quiet and doesn't smoke or smell much, this time of year you probably wouldn't get hassled like in the summer where someone is running air all day.

If you need it all day, probably best to anchor out. The channel going into town used to have 3 or 4 boats anchored there, not sure about swing as I haven't anchored.

Tim,

We have anchored on the bridge side of the channel. With a light north wind, you don't need to be right inside the breakwater. We're also fans of the little marina there if you want to plug in. Oriental is a great town to bike around too. Go to M&Ms for great shrimp and grits!

There is plenty of room between the channel and the big marina on the left as you enter. You will understand when you get there. The cameras are deceiving.

On the other hand, all things considered, Oriental's little marina is cheap and it's totally worth it to just tie up there and enjoy the town without running the generator.

We'll look for you on the Town Dock webcam.

Oh and check out the local marine consignment store.... never know what they might have that you don't know you need. and the Provision Company....and Nautical Wheelers is a must visit for shopping!! They have clothes, shoes, a nice wine room! Love that little store.