[Rhodes22-list] Sailing: On Albemarle Sound

[Mary Lou Troy]

Joe,
Thanks for the report. Sounds like you had a great time.

If you are still looking for fenders, these are 
the best we've found (in the large size)
http://www.boatcovers.cc/cgi-bin/catalog.pl?item_id=9

They really fit the hull of the Rhodes and don't 
take up as much space as the big round ones.

Mary Lou
1991 R22 Fretless
Rock Hall, MD


At 09:13 PM 5/11/2008, you wrote:
>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.
>
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>
>
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