We tried to move through between Squall lines. The lightning was popping everywhere and I was doing some one on one with the Lord. We made it out of storms around the Pamlico river and was peaceful as we moved down Goose creek past Hobucken. We hit another squall just before turning down the Bay river and anchored for a while due to intense lightning. A little scary when you have a 35 foot aluminum mast just 10 feet from you.. When it passed we started down the Bay river but there was a major storm on the Neuse river, however it was moving Southeast at 25 mph (away from us). We anchored for about 45 mins until the storm moved on then pulled anchor and headed out. It was rough with maybe 2-3 foot seas but I thought it would calm as the storm moved away and we got closer to the south side of the Neuse. We still had the Bimini up at this point... Bad idea...The winds started to pickup and the seas began to get rougher. We made our turn at the mouth of the Neuse and suddenly we are looking at white froth and 5-6 foot seas on a 3 sec interval with a howling wind. We had waves breaking over the bow of Wind Wager and I was having a tough time maintaining course. I tried to remove the Bimini and through it overboard but the backstay was between two of the bars. I told Kimberly to get the life jackets on (should have had them on) as the waves would turn Wind Wager sideways and tilt us about 45 degrees. After a half hour battle I decided we have to turn around and head back to Bay river. It's a good thing because another storm had developed over the Neuse with lots of Reds on the radar. This was the reason for the wind increase as the storm grew fast the outflow was hitting us. I motor Wind Wager with one rudder in the water and a little centerboard down for stability. As we made the turn I heard a pop and then the propeller was grinding something. My rudder bracket broke and the rudder was being chewed up by the prop. Great... I pulled the rudder up and tied it off. I put the other rudder down and made the journey back to Bay river. Now I have the 6 foot seas pushing us and a Bimini top dragging in the water behind us. This was the longest 4 miles of my life as we surfed back to Bay River. As we made the turn into the Bay river we were still getting a 3-4 foot swell on the port side and as we entered the river... Pop... the other rudder bracket broke. Kimberly was scared as was I but we were still motoring. Finally we made it to calm waters and I removed the Bimini (still have it). It was probably a good thing it didn't release because it became a drogue and helped us as we took this 26 foot surfboard back to Bay river. Obviously I was not able to get any pictures as my hands were full. Wind Wager is now tied up at R.E. Mayo seafood on Goose Creek in Hobucken. I have to do some trailer work and plan to go get her Friday.
This trip is over but I have learned some important lessons. Cruising life can not be on a fixed time table. You must pick your windows of opportunity. I have also found that most people are very nice. I don't think we found a bad attitude in any of the places we visited. The Lord answers prayers but will smack you with a 2 by 4 if you don't pay attention. There are many other things I could talk about but will spare you. This Time :)
Take Care
Tom
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