Hi all. This is Beau (aka LeftBoat) and Ed (aka RightBoat) here. We thought we would provide a short trip report from our 2019 Shackleford Challenge. We hope everyone else does the same as we would love to hear of your fun, challenges, and adventures.
Launch: Everyone is well aware of the CHALLENGE we all faced just getting trailered boats in the water with clear path to deep water. Dredge…Nuff said.
Once all boats were launched from our alternate ramp in Great Pond, we were cleared to depart at ~10:20am. Off we go.
Once out in Cedar Island Bay, we could see Tony and Shawn headed out of the bay around the point. We set out in pursuit. We followed them through the first fishing net as we were unaware this was possible. Turns out there are passages left in the net systems. In all 3, we went through this passage was just beyond the “cluster” of poles and nets. We now know to identify them by the steep angle the guys lines enter the water from both the outward bunch of poles in the cluster and the 1st pole (or set of poles) for the line net. We went right through. Thanks Tony and Shawn for this enlightenment.
We turned East at Marshallberg between 4:00 and 5:00 to head through The Straits on our way to Beaufort. We had to take our masts down to get under the Harkers Island Draw Bridge. Friday, there was less than 12’ of clearance under the bridge. Once sailing again, we headed down the North River Channel with the intension of bending up to the North to catch Taylor Creek over to Beaufort.
As we were setting our course to Taylor Creek around shallow water, we noticed we could see the West end of Shackleford Banks with nothing but open water between us and it. Then, we remembered Nathan explaining the course to be either circle/clear the 2 buoys OR circle Shackleford. As the light bulbs were coming on, we decided “To Hell with Beaufort. Head to the Point”. It was practically a straight shot and we sailed to whole way.
We rounded the west end of Shackleford Banks at ~7:00pm. The water through the inlet and immediately beyond the inlet in the ocean was rough but manageable. “We got wet.” We sailed across the south side of Shackleford and entered Lookout Bight around 8:45. We headed straight for the Lighthouse, avoided some shallow areas and picked up the deep water again after clearing the east end of Shackleford.
As we turned NE to head inland, a few things became clear; the outbound current due to the dropping tide was very strong AND some idiot forgot to put batteries in the spotlight and test it. OK, I was that idiot. While we were “discussing” our next move, i.e. lack of lighting and currents, some other idiot started yelling at us from the beach on the east end of Shackleford and flashing his light. We’re thinking “We have enough problems without having to recue some idiot from the beach.” Eventually, the beached idiot was able to yell loud enough for RightBoat and I to conclude “That has to be Tony”. We beached at Tony’ feet around 9:15pm. Tony and Shawn had stopped for the night and overheard RightBoat and I “discussing” our issues from inside their tents. To be fair, we were downwind.
After a little catching up and determining everyone was OK, Tony asked, “Got any beer in that cooler?” We’re sorry Tony. We’ll do better next time. Dejected, Tony and Shawn headed back to their tents leaving RightBoat and I to strategize. Revisiting Tide tables, we saw Cape Lookout Bight was reporting low tide to be at 11:00, only an hour and half. And… RightBoat found a flashlight we concluded was adequate for nighttime navigation.
New plan: sleep for 2 hours to give the current time to reverse or at least be neutral, then, we go. Per the new plan, we pushed off around midnight and started inland. While we still had a little wind help, the outbound current was still pretty strong. We pedaled on. RightBoat navigated and I piloted while searching the darkness for markers, buoys, and other shit we didn’t want to run in to. We cleared Harker and Browns island around 2:00am with only 1 run-in with shallow water.
Now…What to do? We elected to “Sail ON” and took turns napping and piloting the barge. The pace was slow but free as the S-SW wind was dying. We reached Atlantic by 8am and decided to “resupply” at Don’s Coresound Grill at Morris Marina. Egg sandwich for me and 3 eggs over-easy for RightBoat. We were back underway by 9.
We reached Cedar Island Bay by 11 and decided to try the shortcut… We should have checked the tide table. From a distance, the cut appeared to be marked. Once we hit the shallow cut, it was then clear the “markers” were birds. DAMN! We paddled (not pedaled), pushed, pulled and drug the barge through the shortcut. We are estimating we only had to drag a total of 75’. But DAMN. Luckily, the rollers we used to launch in the Everglades Challenge were still onboard. Near the north end of the cut, we were able to put a rudder in the water deep enough to steer. We deployed a sail and used the light wind to push us out into Pamlico Sound. Just as we were approaching the beach cut, the curators for the wild ponies herded them down the beach and across our path. That was an awesome sight.
We hit the boat ramp dock at 1:15p to the sight of Tony (yes, the idiot from the Shackleford beach) dancing, clapping, and celebrating. We were thinking “How did that idiot beat us back?” We soon learned…Uber. I’ll let Tony tell his story of trials and tribulations.
That’s it. Nothing left to do now but shower and nap, then beer and Knaked Knees at Sharky’s.
LeftBoat and RightBoat
Double Vision
Here is the Finale tale (pun intended). We started off later than expected from Wolf's Den aka katherine's without much issue except scraping Finale's keel on the top of a crab pot in the channel (this will be important later). Once out on core sound proper we came up on the pound nets and did not yet discover the gaps so we sailed out and around the end. A nice 3.5-4.0 knot run until New Drum / Ophelia inlet where we ran aground but shifting ballast got is off in a couple of minutes. Realizing the depths on the chart are "really more like guidelines " we spent most of our time staring at the depth gauge and adjusting the center board.
Stephen and I had already agreed we were not sailing at night so as the sun was setting we skudded into Jarretts Bay and a nice quiet cove on Tusk Creek.
Camping tip: No-see-ums go right through standard size window screening .
Next morning up by 5 back in the sound by 6:30 and soon see the Dragon pass by the on the return route with a very intent captain which was not surprizing as from our view he was crossing well into the shallows according to my chart (guidelines). Soon after that the wind all but disappeared. Our standard was if we drop below one knot we break out the sweeps. We rowed the rest of the way to Harkers lsland. After baking in the sun for a while with still no wind. Understanding the implications, we initiated Contingency plan "cast iron breeze" and entered cape lookout bight where we anchored for a swim with the dolphins. Outgoing current cut that short as we soon were 50ft away from the boat heading south. Being refreshed we started back to Cedar Island.
The wind had picked up and we were running before the wind at 5 knots. We saw one of the sail boards tacking back and forth across the entire sound but we didn't have enough water below us to tack. The following sea was increasing so a lot of tiller work needed keeping her on course. The wind increased and we had to take a reef which was the first time for me in this boat and the jiffy reef worked well. Threaded through the shallows near new drum inlet and the wind kept increasing. We were running 5.0-5.3knots with the reef in. As we approached atlantic we were hitting hull speed at 6 knots and we had two foot chop on our stern. This was around 5pm Sat. As we felt the winds would continue to increase we were going to pull into the Lola ramp we had heard about. We got the sail down and promptly ran aground at the mouth of the Lola cove. Finally got off of that bar and headed for the wolf den as the next closest take out. We took a chance and found the opening in the pound nets near shore. As we were heading up the channel I saw what i thoughts was that crab trap bouy and steered to avoid it. Unfortunately we were heading right into the setting sun and the trap bouy was actually painted red to warn about the sand bar in the channel. Guess how I know. I hopped out and was able to push the bow off the bar and back into the channel . At last we were at the entrance to wolf's den and mid channel but bouncing off the bottom so went back to the last channel marker and waded out to find the deepest part. A shrimp boat came by us and plowed into the cove on the port side. I hopped back into Finale and followed in the ditch the trawler just made. Family waiting at ramp to help with take out around 7:30pm. Safe home and happy with Finale' s performance and the experience of the Shackleford Challenge. At least the aprox. 75 miles we completed.
Don
First off, I have enjoyed reading all of your summaries of your race experience. From Nathan’s “Return of the Dragon”, to left/right boat, to the awesome video produced by Tony. All equally great, yet unique experiences.
Sailing the Shackleford Race was simply a great experience.
I began a slow sail, close only to the Dragon and the Finale. Nathan made it clear he would not be sticking around us ‘slower’ boats, as he quickly sailed off farther and farther away.
The beginning of the race revealed what would be an ongoing headache, with sand bars appearing unexpectedly. As somebody else mentioned, the map with depth charts was not accurate. But, part of the challenge! Thankful the Mutineer has an easy to adjust centerboard and rudder.
Shortly after, I encountered the fishing traps. Or should I say boat traps, lol. I was glad to see I wasn’t the only one that went right over them. I searched for a gap, but, since time was of the essence, came to the conclusion that I would try going over the “middle” areas. Again, thankful the Mutineer has an easy to adjust centerboard and rudder, as I went right over it with the only negative being a slight decrease in speed.
Sailing with good winds, chopping over the sea, was splendid. As I try to come up with words to describe it, I come to the conclusion that I don’t need to. You all know how I feel! Also, pictures attached to show the good time.
Eventually saw some dolphins! I saw a fin at first and this was my immediate thought, “Don’t tell me there are sharks out here.”. Thankfully, I immediately saw this was not a shark as I saw the dolphins begin to skip in the water. What a treat.
Close to sunset, my plan was to bring the boat to a nice little spot I found on the map. I thought I saw Nathan up ahead and thought to myself I would continue sailing and actually stop where he stopped. This thought led to me following a light which I thought was the top of Nathan’s mast. Come to realize…at around 12 AM, this was actually the lighthouse!
I had been sailing, thinking I was following Nathan, with a flashlight on my sail. This was actually pretty fun. Only a few other boats out and about. I followed the chart on the phone very accurately, to avoid the sand bars.
I decided I would keep going (after realizing Nathan was elsewhere, probably enjoying some sleep). I didn’t want to try to “beach” the boat without daylight; so, onwards it was.
WR4 I believe was the next goal (the one with the bright light). As I was rounding it (this was maybe around 1 AM), I realized in order to catch up to the rest of my fellow sailors it would require drastic action – to sail around the Shackleford to save time. So, I enjoyed sailing the Atlantic. Great winds, nice waves.
As I got to the rounding point, I saw many green and red lit posts. Being unfamiliar to all marine signs, I thought these were signs where I could cross, letting me know which side to cross at. I suddenly realized these were fishing nets, and not like the other ones. A quick tack kept me from going head first into these awaiting nets.
I continued my sail until my eyes were too heavy. Not wanting to take the boat on land, I found an open area. Anchor dropped, and sail brought down, I proceeded to lay down on the 15’ Mutineer for 2-3 hours. Set an alarm on my phone and good to go.
Woke up before daylight (a nice breakfast meal would have been great, as left/right boat had the pleasure of having). After sailing for a bit, I realized I had passed Nathan through the night; however, the news became discouraging as I saw him getting closer, and closer, until he passed me.
Saw the dolphins again on the way back!
Fast-forwarding to the end of the race, high winds were making the sail enjoyable. The winds were taking the Mutineer to its sailing limit with full sail. I decided not to reef, as I was doing well.
My one disappointment – I was not able to actually bring the boat to the dock. I couldn’t sail in the pathway! I had brought the front sail in, as the winds were actually pushing the boat to where the edge was in the water when I had both sails up. I couldn’t manage to navigate the boat into the pathway with only the main sail, as the wind kept pushing me off course.
I decided I would try to reef the main sail, and then once again extend the front sail for more maneuverability. At this point, I saw a jet ski coming towards me. I had texted Nathan letting him know of my troubles, and he was able to find a jet ski to help bring me in.
What a truly awesome opportunity.
It was a pleasure to meet you all! Look forward to seeing you in the future.
Happy sailing.
Cory
Captain of the Mutineer
Hello All,
With things settled down, here is my recap of my run of the Shackleford 2019, or as my boat was calling it, - Return of The Dragon.
As you likely all know my trimaran named Dragon saw its 2018 Shackleford attempt stuck short due to severe grounding (and subsequent 2+ hours dragging) across a shallow portion near the start I referred to as Catspaw. The attempt to free it fractured the hull and snapped the rudder and Dragon partially sunk after reaching deeper waters. For 2019 I rebuilt the Dragon, strengthened its hulls and completely upgraded the rudder.
Day of the race saw our regular start blocked by a dredger. We alternatively launched at Kathrine's private boat ramp and we were off!. Light winds ferried us (Don, Cory, Ed and Beau) out of the Wolfs Den and into the sound. Not more than 30 minutes out I started dragging centerboard... And I was like, ah yes, remember....
It was absolutely great to be moving on the water and not stuck to the ground. Prior to the race I committed myself to a new set of charts and agreed that I would stay in the deep parts of it. This worked excellent. No damage, no cracks.
As I moved down the course I made better time than I expected and when I arrived at Harkers Island I had to make a choice. Camp, or move on. I just couldn't stop, but I knew that meant I would be heading to the Atlantic. I arrived at Beaufort around 8:40pm sunset was in place, I didn't dare head back the way I came because of shallows, so I shot the Dragon out to Ocean where I knew I wouldn't have to worry about depth.
It was a bit exciting right where the inlet current and shallows of the area meet, but once through it was a straight shot to Cape Lookout. Darkness had fallen, but I could clearly make out the Lighthouse and followed it to the Cape.
I arrived at the Cape around midnight and tried to continue through the night, but the sandbars in the Lookout area proved to much. The nav charts were not much help due to shifting sand conditions and a low tide and after running aground a couple times I decided caution was in order and I tossed the anchor. It was a beautiful night with more stars than I have ever seen in one sky. That view alone was worth the trip.
I grabbed some late night food from my holds. Laid down on the trampoline of the boat and pulled a blanket over me for the night under the stars.
3 hours of sleep later I woke to the moon and the shifting tides.
With the tide now climbing and rushing inland I knew it was time to depart. Sun could be see brightening the sky even though sunrise was still long away. But it was bright enough to see the small islands of sands. The attempt to raise anchor was labored by the fact that it had fouled in the night. The shift in the tides had spun me around and I had caught on the centerboard. But some time and work had me freed and running north about 4:40-4:50am
As I was just arriving the narrowest part of my sandbar dodging, I heard a call from ashore. Some campers were saying hello to me in the early morning. I chimed back but didn't even look at them, too engrossed in keeping my vessel off the ground. Only after I was yards past them did I realize it was Tony and Sean!
Such a great sight to see them mid race. I had not seen another sail since the first 3 hours o the race with Cory and Don and Stephen behind me and Tony, Sean, Ed and Beau ahead of me. Not only was their friendly view a welcome sight, they also provided me with generous intel leading me to know that I had worked slightly up the field.
I then headed out in an attempt to lengthen my distance on them before they packed up and embarked on attempting to quickly over take me.
To my surprise I never saw Tony or Sean again on the water. I repeatedly looked over my shoulder for hours, and often would suspect I saw their sails in the distance, but no, it was always some other artifact miles away.
The next boat I came across was Don and Stephen. They were heading south to Harkers Island, their boat looking stately in the morning sun.
This made me question where was Cory? To my surprise I came across him shortly thereafter and I was overtaking him. I wondered if he had turned back halfway since he had previously been sailing with Don and Stephen, but no! He had already rounded Shackleford and passed me in the night. Thus it was a fight for position over the next several hours. But Dragon was the victor of that battle and put the Mutineer behind.
Mid day, the wind died. My boat drifting forward a knot at a time. Ran aground some sandbars, very slowly. Held back by some currents near core sound / Ophelia inlet. But I was graced to see a pod of dolphins.
The winds finally returned and I looked forward unceasingly to try a catch a glimpse of Ed and Beau in Double Trouble. Thought I saw them once, but it was likely just a ghost like the shadows of Tony behind me I felt were just about to creep up.
After rounding my last jibe, the winds were even stronger and Dragon reached its top speed of the race. a GPS indicated 9.8mph and Saturday at 2:24 pm, I finished. Glorious.
Nathan
Captain - Dragon (Aquadyne Trimaran)
Commander - North Fleet Command
Thanks All for your Support… Here the Tale…. I had an awesome time with 8 of me Hearties in Core Sound on Friday-Saturday. Everyone made it around the 100 mile or so trip except YHC, who snapped his mast in half off the SE Tip of Shackleford Banks, and had to paddle back to the old Check Point 1. DNFing at about 59 miles into the adventure, but enough beating up wind to destroy both big toe nails. Sean cleaned up and left me in his tail foam! Beau & Ed took First Place!
Lots of wildlife, turtles, dolphins, stingrays, small sharks, and I got two meet face to face two Shackleford Spanish Corolla Mustang Horses.... The birds on Core Sound side of Shackleford were beautifully deafening.... Check out the photo of Cape Lookout pre-sunrise on Saturday morning. Great time and fellowship on the course and carousing at Sharkies Bar at the Old Ferry Terminal in the middle of nowhere. On the 41 mile Uber trip from Checkpoint 1 to Cedar Island Ferry, to get my car and broken gear back on the same team, my driver was a retired contractor sniper, who was a history buff on Blackbeard, with tales of The Girl in the Rum Barrel, Sunken Ships, Buried Pirate Treasures on Carrot Isle. Also his stories of how he was present with Chis Kyle when he made that 2000M longest shot in Iraq.
More and longer pound nets than ever… . The last night at Sharkies, Ed and I ended up sitting with a Fisherman that runs most of the Pound nets on the Sound, and got to learn all about how pound net guide the fish in, the history of the Corrie Indians that developed the same net techniques they use today, the types of fish, fish migration patterns, etc.. really neat stuff. While at the same time, SeaDogrocket Sean and Beau exchanged stories of hallucinations and drinking bourbon in stealth camping sites inside a church... Awesome and fun time! Thanks again so much for your tracking and emails, very much appreciate!
(If only Sean wouldn’t whine so much all the time like a homesick puppy bout how he misses his lovely wife, Carla!)
Cheers,
Tony
Photo Link
https://photos.app.goo.gl/61VCgfq21YafBWPK7
Video Link
https://youtu.be/OV_V2JNhnIw