[Rhodes22-list] Sailing: On Albemarle Sound

[Joe Babb]

Hi Gang,
Thought you might like to hear about our adventure piking up our Rhodes 
and sailing on Albemarle Sound.

We picked up our recycled Rhodes 22 last Thursday. Spent Friday loading 
it up with stuff and then learning about raising and lowering the mast. 
The mast was up when we arrived so I got to lower it before we could 
trailer it to the ramp at the end of Midway Drive. Then we got to raise 
the mast and practice launching. Friday was really windy and the sound 
was pretty choppy and Stan pronounced it too much for the first time 
out. So, out came the boat and I got to lower the mast and head back to 
the plant. That was okay since we needed to do a little more shopping 
before going cruising. Our general plan was to just cruise on Albemarle 
Sound for a few days before trailering back to Tennessee.
Saturday began pretty nice so we decided to make another attempt. At the 
ramp, the wind was down but the sound was still kind of choppy with 1 – 
2 foot waves, maybe 3 foot. Why is wave height so hard to estimate? Wind 
was probably 10 – 15 knots. Sharon and I motored out into the sound 
about 9:45 Saturday morning and sailed almost all the way to Columbia. 
When we got to the narrow part of the Scuppernong River, we motored the 
rest of the way as the wind was dying and we were getting tired and 
hungry. We met a very nice couple at the Columbia town docks who helped 
us tie up. By the way, if you haven’t sailed anywhere like the Albemarle 
Sound (we hadn’t), be sure to take long enough docking lines and big 
enough fenders. Docking lines of 20 feet for the fore and aft cleats are 
not too long. Fenders 12” in diameter are not too big. I think we are 
going to look into some of those big ball fenders that somebody on the 
list recommended. Our docking lines were long enough but we had to 
borrow a couple of fenders from Stan. We ate supper at Mac’s Back Door 
Oyster Bar. We highly recommend Mac’s if you stop off in Columbia. Email 
macsbackdoor_at_earthlink.net for opening times. We stretched our legs 
on the walking trail through the woods. We also found that public 
toilets were available close to the town docks. Rumor is that showers 
are planned for the future.
Sunday we left Columbia bound for the Yeopim River and the Albemarle 
Plantation Marina for a shower. Wind was dead, dead, dead. The Sound was 
almost like glass. So we motored. Sunday afternoon, and I could not 
raise the Marina via VHF (nobody was in the office to listen), so we 
headed for the fuel dock figuring someone would show up. The assistant 
dock master came out and helped us to a transient slip and ferried us to 
the dock masters office to pay for the night. The charge at APM is $1.50 
per foot. Their showers are very nice. No barbecues are allowed on the 
boats however, so we fried our beef ribs in the cabin. By the way, if 
you are coming to Edenton with the intention of sailing a few days on 
the Sound, pick up some Butane for the Burton stove before you come. The 
kind of Butane canister used on the Rhodes does not exist in Edenton 
anywhere. We know. We searched all the existing hardware stores in 
Edenton on Friday before we left. We were lucky to get a can from Stan.
Monday we decided to head for Salmon Creek which had been recommended to 
us by the couple at Columbia. We left Yeopim River and found the Sound 
to be choppy again and the wind was about 10 knots out of the East. We 
had a really nice dead run down the Sound wing and wing for a long way 
until we ran into a thunder storm after passing under the power lines 
before you get to Edenton. So it was a couple of soggy sailors that 
dropped anchor about 4pm. Salmon Creek offers a very nice protected 
anchorage that is off the beaten path, so to speak. We spent a very 
pleasant night at Salmon Creek, but we found it a little difficult to 
get used to the boat noises at night. At one point, I got up because I 
distinctly heard someone knocking on the door. It was just the wind 
moving something around.
Tuesday we knew we wanted to spend the night anchored again at Salmon 
Creek but we needed supplies and a shower. The wind was light so we 
motored the short distance over to Edenton town docks. The dock master 
was a little reluctant to let us use the showers if we weren’t spending 
the night, but he relented after we told him where we had been over the 
last few days. We went for lunch at Chero’s which is an easy walk from 
the docks and is across the street from a gift shop. We can highly 
recommend Chero’s for lunch. Their N.C. shrimp basket was wonderful. I 
picked up some mineral oil for the depth sounder. We have a Garmin 498 
gps with built in maps and a depth sounder that mounts inside the hull. 
The space between the hull and the transducer proper has to be filled 
with mineral oil for the sounder to work properly. Most of the 
controlling depths we encountered were way more than the draft of the 
Rhodes, but I just feel better having a method of measurement handy.
Wednesday we goofed around for a while sorting things out. Then as the 
wind was very pleasant, we had an early lunch and raised anchor to sail 
for the pleasure of it. It turned out to be one of our most memorable 
days. The sun was out, winds 10 to 15 knots (later gusting to 20). The 
Sound wasn’t so choppy as it had been and we decided it was time to try 
finding Mackey’s Marina across the Sound from Edenton. The wind was 
right on our nose so I rigged the jib sheets inside the main shrouds and 
rolled the jib out as far as it would go without hitting the spreaders. 
We sailed for probably 6 hours for the sheer fun of it. Later in the 
afternoon, it got a little choppy and gusty so I reduced the jib some. 
Even with reduced sail area we were flying along sometimes at 5 knots. 
We finally got close enough to the daymarkers showing the entrance to 
Mackey’s that I doused sail and started up the motor. If you enjoy a 
quiet spot, try Mackey’s. Located on Kendrick Creek roughly due south of 
Edenton, Mackey’s is an ideal spot for daydreamers. The proprietors are 
extra friendly. The showers are really nice with plenty of hot water. A 
new resturant is open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. We didn’t 
get to try it as we left early on Thursday. Charge for transients is 
$1.00 per foot. We were glad for our GPS with built-in maps as we could 
zoom in to see where we were going. Chart 12205 doesn’t show much for 
detail and going up Kendrick Creek if you’ve never been there is an 
experience. It’s beautiful. But you kind of wonder where exactly you are 
going till you make the last right turn and see a bunch of boats.
Thursday we left Mackey’s headed back for the ramp at the end of Midway 
Drive. The wind was pretty stiff, at least 15 to 20 knots and gusty, and 
the Sound seemed more choppy than we had seen it before. We were 
guessing the waves to be maybe 3 feet at least. We motor sailed across. 
I was still learning how to guide the boat in waves of that height and 
we were a little nervous about getting past the breakwater and docking. 
Once inside the breakwater we used the engine to hold us against the 
wind so we could ease down toward the dock. Close to the dock I stepped 
off the boat and grabbed the bow pulpit. We tied up and I walked to the 
plant to retrieve our truck. One of the guys from General Boats came 
down and helped load the boat and lower the mast. So ended our 
experience of cruising on Albemarle Sound.
Stan’s crew packed the boat for traveling after taking care of a couple 
of items. Friday morning we left Edenton bound for Tennessee. We stopped 
about halfway to spend the night at a campground in Statesville, N.C., 
with the interesting address of 114 Midway Drive. Is that weird or what?
We made it home and up our steep graveled driveway without incident. The 
boat is a little confused to be in the middle of the woods, but we’ve 
promised it that we’ll put into Douglas Lake just as soon as we can.
By the way, if you should contemplate a trip like this, buy as much of 
the things you’ll need before you leave the dock. The Butane has already 
been mentioned. But even simple things like grocery stores seem awfully 
far away from anywhere you can dock. The Food Lion in Columbia is one 
mile from the town docks. The grocery stores in Edenton are even farther 
away from their town docks. Ice is usually easily available since gas 
stations are close by or else the marina sells it. Just because you find 
a marina does not mean you will find a resturant close by that is open. 
In other words, you’re on your own.
Best,
Joe & Sharon Babb
Harmony is a year 2000 Rhodes 22, recycled this past winter.