After a few weeks of work in Minneapolis, Anne returned to meet Jim in Charleston. We enjoyed the city for a few days while waiting for a weather window to sail north.
After just a few days wait, the weather cooperated, and we had a great 30-hour journey to Cape Lookout, just outside the Beaufort, NC inlet. We even were treated to a dolphin pod escort for a bit!
We had spent time at Cape Lookout National Seashore last spring, and we love the barrier beach, lighthouse, walking paths and sea life. We thought it would be fun to spend a few days anchored out before moving on.
We had arrived at Cape Lookout in the dark, and had anchored far away from everything to make sure we were safe and secure. In the morning we decided to move closer in to the lighthouse and started raising the anchor.
Shortly after starting to raise anchor, the windlass failed. The windlass is the heavy duty mechanism that raises the hundreds of pounds of chain (we had over 120 feet out) and the 85 pound anchor. It is critical for anchoring and raising anchor. Fortunately, we were able to — very slowly — raise the chain and anchor by advancing it just a foot at a time, but we knew our anchoring days were over until we could get the windlass repaired.
Given that it was Easter Sunday, we were fortunate to find a marina in nearby Morehead City, NC, that could accommodate us. We spent a couple of nights there and then made the quick 30 mile run to our home marina near New Bern, NC. Add one more job to the list! We will order the parts and repair the windlass next month.
After a few days of work on Tilia, we are heading back to Minneapolis. We will enjoy time with friends and family, Anne will work for a few weeks, and in mid-June we will be headed back to Tilia! Until then…