Distance: 37 nm/Time: 8 hrs
A cold front approaching the East Coast made this Thanksgiving a day with 25+ knots of wind in my face. Luckily, it wasn’t super cold, but the wind did require me to bundle up. In addition, it was so strong and gusty that the autopilot couldn’t keep up, meaning that I was hand steering all day. It also slowed the boat down a bit, as did some contrary currents.
It almost turned into a very unpleasant day indeed. After five hours and 30 miles of cruising, I finally got the Figure 8 Bridge in site a mile or so away. But, upon contacting the bridge tender for an opening, was told that the bridge was closed because of strong winds. And then I remembered: Weeks ago when I was planning the route south, while marking on my charts all the drawbridges, I had read comments that this swing bridge was limited to winds no greater than 30 mph. At the time it didn’t seem relevant since the odds of the winds being that high if/when someday I might pass by were slim to none. Yet, here it was! Damn!
The problem was that the nearest adequate anchorage behind me was……wait for it….Mile Hammock! That’s right, I’d have to turn around and go all the way back, five hours the wrong way! Because I thought I had only a six-hour trip today, I hadn’t gotten up early, which now meant that I’d not be able to to turn around and make Mile Hammock before dark. My intended anchorage (Wrightsville Beach -3) was only seven miles–and hour and a half–on the other side of the bridge! So close!
However, I also knew that the forecast called for the winds to slowly decrease as the afternoon progressed, and so called the bridge tender to ask what he as actually showing for winds up on the bridge. If he was showing 45 mph, I knew it would be hours before it dropped to 30 mph, and the longer I waited, the more of the ICW I’d have to navigate in the dark while trying to make it back to Mile Hammock. To my relief, bridge tender replied that he was showing right at about 30 mph. I mentioned the forecast to try to feel him out about whether there might be an opening soon, but he replied that his forecast showed that the wind wasn’t supposed to die down until the evening. Bummer.
Perhaps because it was Thanksgiving (but maybe because there was a tug and barge coming the other way that also needed an opening), he came on the radio said there was now a lull in the wind (which I also noticed) and told me to continue toward the bridge and if the lull lasted until the tug and I got there, he’d try to get it open for us. (Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!) It turned out that the lull didn’t last, and it was blowing 30 mph again when we both pulled up to the bridge, but he was sort of committed by then (especially for the tug who could not really turn around), so he said he would try to open the bridge anyway. I could tell that he didn’t really want to, but was stretching his neck out for us.
And man, did that bridge struggle to open! I had assumed the 30 mph limit was just a safety thing, but it seemed to actually be a power thing. The bridge motor was having to fight the wind to turn and was doing so very slowly. He said that he was giving it all the power it had, it finally opened, and the tug and I scooted through as quickly as possible (the hell with minimal wake!) After we passed he closed the bridge and then announced on the frequency that the bridge was now closed for the rest of the day. Whew! We both shared our gratitude with him. I really believe it was a Thanksgiving thing. I certainly was thankful that I now just had an hour or so to go instead of five and would be getting into my new anchorage with plenty of daylight left.
The “Wrightsville Beach -3” anchorage would be my deepest yet, at about 25 feet when I dropped the hook. The wind was still blowing right down the channel going into Wrightsville Beach where the anchorage was, and since I was spending the night I wanted at least a 7:1 scope, which means that instead of the normal 70 or so feet of chain I had been using at most anchorages, I ended up having to let out 175!
It was going to be a cold night, and an even colder morning as the cold front passed, bringing arctic air with it. The forecast was for the low 40’s in the morning, but luckily at least the winds would be out of the north by then, i.e., not in my face, as I aimed for Tina’s Pocket anchorage tomorrow.