Sunday 11/16/08 Beaufort, NC

We woke up a little later than we wanted to, so we got a late start. Everything was going along smoothly until we reached the Albemarle Sound. The winds became 25 - 30 knots with gusts up to 35. We were taking 4 to 5 ft waves to our starboard bow, rocking us beyond our comfort level (or at least one of us). At times the spray would go up and over the flybridge. At one point the forward hatch flew open and locked in position just as a huge wave of spray came over the bow. Chip went down to investigate and close the hatch while I stood at the helm, trying not to slide across the flybridge. When he returned he informed me that just about everything in the forward stateroom (aka the Pumphrey Berth) was now drenched with salt water....and he informed me that I would not be very happy with what the boat looked like otherwise.

I can only describe it as the aftermath of a tornado, leaving nothing in its original position or place. Just when you think you had battened down all your hatches! I guess the worst dissaster was when a 24 oz bottle of soy sauce (the real stuff....thick like syrup) bounced off the pantry shelf and shattered in, on and all around the toilet (that I neglected to close), so we had syrupy soy sauce and glass shards in the toilet, all over the floor, walls and down the hallway all over the walls. Fun Fun Fun.

After 15 miles of this we were finally further inside where we were protected from the wind for the next few miles to the Neuse River. Once there the winds died down to a manageable 15 to 20 knots with only 2 - 3 ft waves, a much more pleasant ride. We pulled into Beaufort Town Docks around 4pm. After getting the boat tied up and washed down, we spent the next couple hours putting the boat back in order....took most of that time to get all the soy sauce and glass cleaned up!