Sail off anchor on a pleasantly calm morning, light northwest wind over the marsh. Head southeast to the Pungo River using the crab pot floats to skirt the shallows.
Round the point and lighter winds, motorsailing. Turn west at Satterthwaite Point, light wind on the nose. Main and jib down, under power.
6:40 can see sailboat masts mixed in with the trees. 7:10 in the entrance channel. 7:15 docked. It's a beautiful little marina at the mouth of Upper Dowry Creek. Under new ownership as of a few years ago. It has fixed wooden docks, I would have preferred floating docks, but they are in excellent shape with plenty of cleats and pilings, and not too many bolts sticking out of the wood to gouge SPARTINA. I won't be here too long.
A lot of folks come by to say hello, it's a friendly crowd. As I pay for my slip the owner mentions that all the big boats coming in are paying for three days, they are hiding from the weather too. He also mentions that a mile up Dowry Creek is excellent holding ground, a great place to wait out the wind. In fact they use the creek as a hurricane hole for the bigger boats.
It is a beautiful day, a few dolphin play in the shallows near the docks. I take care of chores, charging batteries, resupplying water and cleaning SPARTINA. And then I sit up on a shaded porch and check in with family and friends. And I check the weather. A microwave hamburger and burrito make for a nice lunch.
At 3:00 I cast off from the dock and motor up the creek. It is a very pretty creek and I drop anchor at 3:20 where the creek splits to the northwest and northeast. The wind is out of the south so SPARTINA's bow points down towards the marina. I expect that will change soon.
A cool outflow and thunder arrive 4:20. Peanut butter and banana oatmeal for dinner, a surprisingly excellent meal. I make a note to order more for the next cruise.
Strong winds out of the north and heavy rains arrive late evening. The rains last late into the night.
6.0 nautical miles for the day.
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