tide tables

Quiet day at the office so I did a little tide research for the Spring trip. One of the legs we are looking at is from Cape Lookout Bight to Beaufort Inlet on Onslow Bay (which is part of the Atlantic Ocean south of Shackleford Banks and inside of the cape). It is, depending on wind and wave direction, protected water but at the same time it is the ocean and I would be thrilled to sail on the ocean.

The tides would be important both exiting Cape Lookout Bight and certainly entering Beaufort Inlet. And the tide tables show that the water would be moving in our favor. With a high tide at 5:08 a.m. at the Bight we would leave there on an outgoing tide. We would have a few hours to enjoy the ocean (trolling, anyone?) before heading in to Beaufort Inlet after the 11:57 low tide, coming in on the slack tide or a while later sailing in with the incoming tide.

That all depends on winds and waves of course. If the ocean is too rough we can get from the bight to Beaufort on protected water inside of Shackleford Banks. That's Bruce with Spartina above in '07 on our first sail down there just inside of the Inlet. I think that is the eastern end of Bogue Bank out past the boat. We had just come down from Oriental using the Adams Canal and then explored a bit before tying up in Beaufort for the night.

And looking at the charts reminded me of all the places we visited down there. I haven't seen most of those places in almost three years and look forward to getting back there. Above is the Swash, a nice protected area on Core Sound south of Drum Inlet. We should pass by there, but probably won't anchor there on this upcoming trip. Core Sound is a beautiful place with very little development along shore, just a couple little fishing villages.

And Bruce shot this photo of me going down Taylor Creek near Beaufort before dawn. That was my second cruise on Spartina and Bruce's first. You can tell I had a lot to learn, wearing jeans and a cotton tee-shirt. (As the ad for high tech clothing says "Cotton is the enemy.") Bruce set me on the right track that trip with good advice on clothing. Now I stay much drier and much more comfortable. And this was also the last trip we made before discovering the secret for true happiness in life.........Bivy Sacs.

steve