Wednesday 10/25/2017 - Beaufort to Wrightsville Beach

So, at 3:30am, we pulled up the anchor and headed out.  We had lots of current behind us so it was a fast motor from Morehead City to the Inlet.  Everything was good until we got to the inlet (in pitch dark).  It took us about 45 minutes to get out of the inlet and for the first 10 minutes the conditions kept getting worse and worse.  We began encountering very large waves.  The boat seemed more like a cork than a sailing vessel.  Of course, we had no sails up.  I admit it was pretty frightening!  We were both thinking "can it get worse?".  With a possible answer of "yes", it made it hard to imagine going on.  The other option was to turn around and head back into a 1.5 knot ebbing current.  So, we kept going.  After about 20 minute, there were periods of less pounding and better progress and after 30 minutes we were past the roughest parts. 

We turned to head SW at about 4:30am.  We motored until about 7:30 but raised the (reefed) mainsail at about 5am.  The sail gave another half knot of speed and added to our stability a little.  The wind was about 10 to 15 from the west so we were headed into the wind and fairly large waves.  The large (3') ocean swells were coming in from the East and opposing the wind waves which made for some fairly choppy conditions.   It was a welcome sight when it began to get light at about 6:30am. 

It was cloudy and sprinkled a little in the early morning but by 10am, the sun was out with an almost cloudless sky.  We sailed on a close (starboard) reach with both the main and jib reefed.  From 10am till about 2pm, the wind died and at about 2pm, we took the sails down and motored until about 4pm.  At 4, it picked back up from the West so we raised the main and motor sailed to the entrance of the Masonboro inlet.  After the trouble we had leaving Beaufort, I radioed Boat US in Wrighsville Beach for advice on entering the Masonboro Inlet.  They said the conditions would make it very easy.  And it was.  Entering was VERY easy.  We motored in and turned to the north to anchor about 1/4 mile south of the bridge, just east of the entrance to Motts Channel.  We got in about 6pm and had just enough sun left to take a couple quick (but chilli) showers. 

I felt a pretty big sense of accomplishment since "going outside" was one of my major goals for the trip.  It was a long day with a really nice ending, safe inside the Wrightsville Beach anchorage.