ATLANTIC SPOTTED DOLPHIN

JULY 28, 2012

INCOMING TUG PASSING IN THE DARK

Saturday, 4AM we pulled the anchor in Charleston, South Carolina & headed out past Fort Sumter & into the channel that would take us into the Atlantic Ocean.  Just as we turned into the channel we encountered a HUGE tug pulling a HUGE barge that was coming in from the Atlantic, quite something to run into in the dark.  The stars were out, there was a fresh breeze & we are looking forward to being off shore. 

 

ATLANTIC SUNRISE JULY 28, 2012

About 2 hours later as we turned north from the channel, the sun began to rise over the water.  Something about a star studded sky dimming into a rose colored sunrise that is a very special & unforgettable experience.  The water turned a wonderful clear dark blue & the outside temperature stayed in the 70's all day.

We are heading toward Beaufort, North Carolina.  The charts say it is  210 miles from inlet to inlet.    During the day we took turns on watch & taking naps to prepare for the all night passage.  The winds were 10 to 20 knots & the sky was a beautiful blue with white puffy clouds.

We saw flocks of flying fish skimming across the water, then diving into the next swell that came up in front of them.  The small ones looked just like humming birds flitting along.  At 4:50PM  we were joined by a group of Bottle Nose dolphin that played off our bow as long as we were willing to talk & whistle at them.  Great fun for us.  They seemed to be having a great time racing up the side of the boat & turning in to ride the bow wave, then shoot out in front.  As they reached the bow many would turn on their side & look right up at us.  Watching us, watching them.

SUNSET JULY 28, 2012

As the sun went down the wind lessened & the stars came out.  On the horizon & on our AIS Rod saw a huge tug pulling what appeared to be a huge container ship.  He was traveling 9 knots & we were going about 6.  We could not stay in front of him.  Rod contacted the captain & it was decided we would slow down & come in behind.  The whole thing cost us about an hour, but it was nice to know he was pulling far out ahead.  Compared to him we were very small..

About 4AM while I was sleeping Rod was watching 3 thunderstorms that were visible on the radar.  We slowed down to let them pass by us as, I came on watch & Rod took a nap.  In about a hour the three had turned into 5 much larger storms & Rod got up to check it out.  We changed course & headed between 2 of them.  By doing this the others skirted us & dropped just part of their rain on us.


A BEAUTIFUL DAY

 

NAP TIME

By morning we were happy to see the sun rise & a new day begin.  Sunday was a much warmer day & much less wind.  After sunrise we spent the first part of the day catching up on sleep.  By afternoon we were feeling almost human & looking forward to Beaufort.

 


RACING IT'S PERFECT

ATLANTIC SPOTTED DOLPHIN

We were about 10 miles outside the Beaufort channel & were again joined by dolphins.  This time there  many more & they were Atlantic Spotted Dolphin.  They were even more friendly than the Bottle Nose.   Most were between 7 & 8 ft. long.  When born they are 3ft long & start to acquire their spots as they grow older.  They were clearly showing off.  Chasing  each other around & around the boat, riding the bow wave, swimming way out in front & surfing the swells back.  2 or 3 at a time would race across the front & jump into the air, diving back into the blue water.  This was the first time I had seen Atlantic Spotted Dolphin.  They stayed with us until we finally left them at the bow alone & they finally went off in search of someone else to play with.







THEY ALWAYS WIN THE RACE

At 6:30 we hit the outer marker to the channel.  By 8:30 we had chosen an anchorage just inside the channel past the Coast Guard Station.  We are alone in the anchorage & just around the corner from Beaufort.  43 hours after leaving Charleston, SC we are at anchor in North Carolina for the first time.  Time to crank up the generators, pour a glass of wine & relax.  We have finished that trip & are quite pleased with how it went.  We are looking forward to our next adventure.  Life is good.