Sail off anchor 6:00. Calm night with a strong southwest wind but we were well-protected and it was a comfortable sleep.
A small group of terns hover along the edge of the marsh. Sailing northeast inside of Pingleton Shoal, 2.2 downwind tracking the shoreline. 6:20 jibe east, making 4.0 and then more wind doing a steady 5.0 kts with wind over the starboard quarter.
7:30 near Long Shoal Point, sailing at 5.3 with a low overcast. 7:50 crossing the mouth of the Long Shoal River.
8:45 Wild Boar Point, just under 4.0 knots with smaller waves on the stern. 9:10 round up to tuck in a double reef off Stumpy Point Bay. Wind building and make 5.7 kts in a gust. Less wind in the lee of Drain Point, then gusts building again. Round up to drop the main, making 4.2 at 9:50 under mizzen and jib.
11:00 jibe out around the Roanoke Marshes then enter Croatan Sound behind Roanoke Island. Just before noon raise the double reefed main and make 5.2 kts. Less wind as we head north on the sound. Full sail at 1:10. See a thunderhead forming to the northeast. Check my weather app to see a line of thunderstorms moving west to east. Starting to feel gusts, drop the main and motor sail to shelter at Peter Mashoes Creek. Not the best of protection but in fact the only protection I can reach with the coming storms. Anchor down in the creek at 2:10. Get the boom tent up as quickly as possible.
The first thunderstorms slides by to the north. I get heavy rains and a little wind. I make dinner and set up the sleeping gear.
The first storm leaves me with a rainbow.
I read and relax. Taking a look out the back of the tent I see a shelf cloud sliding down Albemarle Sound.
As the sun is going down I feel the outflow from the storm. There is not much I can do. I slip into my sleeping bag inside the bivy.
The storm hits. High wind, thunder and lightning. Very violent with steady lightning. It seems to go on and one. Check my phone at 8:00 and see I am a blue dot in the thick of the storm. I read the storm warning and they say the storm will affect the area until about 10:00. I think that is a long long time but then realize the "area" they are talking about is from the Virginia state line to Hatteras south of me. After about 20 minutes just wind and rain. I drift off to sleep.
33.9 nautical miles for the day
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