Wednesday, July 16, 2025 Moiles Harbor

Another beautiful morning and wonderful night. We have been blessed with the weather this trip. We've only had rain one day in the NC, and have not really had any strong winds to deal with or hide from. It is supposed to be windy this afternoon and tomorrow however. 

Gwynne Bay where we have been anchored has been pleasant. It's a new anchorage for us and is a niee alternative when Long Point Cove is too full. Also, it has far fewer bugs than Amendroz had. The mop has been able to handle the morning boat cleaning which has been very nice. 

Peter rowed over for his cappuccino and donuts. I enjoyed a second cup of coffee. He said they had decided to go to Gore Bay even without hearing from Norm. The forecast is for higher winds and Marianna likes to be in town during a blow. Later he heard from Norm that he would look at the motor when he arrived. 

Port side channel marker in the Whalesback Channel

We tooted goodbye at 9:45. Our trip to Moiles was as pleasant as could be, and totally uneventful - which is good. We traveled the 9.8 miles in 1 1/2 hours. There was only one sailboat in the harbor when we arrived. I imagine he was as disappointed to see me as I was to see him. But the harbor is large enough that we could anchor a good distance away. Kerry stood on the bow and watched for deadheads as we motored in. There are a lot of them here as this was an old timbering port. 

Annie's location shown by red arrow. Well protected from strong North winds

Annie anchored at Moiles Harbor

Kerry made us a nice salad for lunch which we enjoyed on the top deck. Afterwards I took a dinghy tour of nearby deadheads. Most of them stick up out of the water a bit, but not all. I saw a big one just a foot under the surface. I rode around Annie a couple of times hoping not to see one close to us. Most deadheads are close to shore. The accepted protocol is that if you see one in the water you should try to tow it to shore with your dinghy.

Deadheads

Family of Deadheads

Our neighbors on the sailboat paddled by to say hello. They are from Bayfield. The wife loved Annie. She wanted to know how you find one for sale so I told her about SENTOA, Southeast Nordic Tug Owners Association, where there are always a number for sale. 

We had a very nice happy hour sitting on the V-berth top in front of the pilot house. Annie always faces into the breeze when we are anchored so it's almost always cooler than other places. Kerry had corn on the cob for us for dinner. We cooked it in the microwave. 

It's 7:30 now. We have been waiting for this major storm to hit since 5:00 PM. High winds and 2" of rain are forecast. Nothing so far, although I am not complaining. They keep postponing its arrival. I was hoping it would arrive during daylight hours, but if it comes it looks like it will be at night. I've secured the dinghy, stowed the flags and uncovered the spotlight in preparation. I also have put out all 100' of my anchor chain.  

About 8:00 the rain started. Gentle at first, then increasing to heavy. It wasn't windy, so the rain fell straight down and was relaxing to watch as it hit the water. Kerry brought some liquors to the pilot house and we sipped them in little glasses with our small Karpinski ice cubes. 

I heard from Peter that Norm replaced his motor's spark plug. He had it back on his dinghy and was testing it. We went to bed at 9:00 listening to the rain hitting the pilot house top. We were so glad we had our hatch replaced last year and that no water was dripping on us. That would have been horrible.