A choppy night. The wind swung to the north and strengthened. SPARTINA was exposed to wind and chop coming down about the mile-long fetch of Cape Lookout Bight. A bumpy night, got some sleep somehow.
Sleep in, wake to a cool north wind. Hot chocolate and freeze-dried scrambled eggs for breakfast.
9:35 sails up with a single reef in the main. 1.8 downwind following the channel that heads south then curves around the shoals. 9:50 round up to shake out the reef. 10:00 jibe to Barden Inlet, making 4.0 past the scaffold-covered Cape Lookout Lighthouse. Red marker "8" shows we are sailing into a strong outgoing tide.
10:20 making 3.2 against the ebb at the east end of Shackleford Banks. 10:35 3.0 with shoals to port.
11:15 struggling against the tide with lighter wind. Tacking the width of the channel but losing ground to the current. A few tacks and I find I'm back where I started. Motor sailing.
11:25 Morgan Island to port. 12:15 reach Harkers Island, turn west into building, gusty winds on the nose.
No room to tack. Surrender to the wind, main and jib down. Under power.
Follow the curve of the channel south to the backside of Shackleford Banks. 1:15 anchor down off the white sandy beach of the banks.
In the evening darkness can see some of the wild horses of Shackleford Banks walking along the shore.
11:33 NM
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