Gone Paddling: Saturday 6:30AM - 4:00PM

SB and KB were back on the water of the James River this morning at 6:30AM. By 4:00 PM they had covered about 42 miles and were off the water to camp for the evening on Core Sound.

About 42 miles traveled on Saturday

From their start on the James River, they soon passed under a bridge and entered Beaufort harbor. By 8:30AM they had parked their boats on the Beaufort waterfront at the intended "Checkpoint" for the NC Challenge and were having a hearty breakfast at a dock-side restaurant.

Photo of KB in Beaufort

taken by SB at 8:40 AM

SPOT Tracking as of 8:00AM

Meanwhile, winds were forecast to be mild and SSW at 9:00AM. Stronger SSW or SW winds were expected toward afternoon and evening.

Sailflow's forecast (as of 8:00AM) of expected 9:00 AM conditions

After stopping for breakfast in Beaufort, SB and KB paddled the length of Taylor Creek and continued onward to Harker's Island.

They passed by the front side (south side) of Harker's Island and made a pit stop at shell point where there is a ranger station, picnic grounds, and parking for out-bound kayakers.

Rounding the east end of Harker's Island, they turned north and began a down-wind run in a NE direction up Core Sound.

On Core Sound, SB and KB used their Pacific Action sails. The SW tail-winds increased from 12 knots up to about 25 knots in the afternoon. SB and KB soon found that they were traveling Core Sound at 8 to 9 knots and surfing down the large breaking waves. [correction: max speed 9.5 mph by KB, 9.1 mph by SB]

KB has a rudder on her kayak, but SB does not have a rudder on her NDK Explorer kayak. SB had to constantly apply her paddle for stern-rudder maneuvers. SB said "I really need a rudder!" about as many times as KB said "You really need a rudder!"

As the winds increased they lowered and stowed away their sails at about 1:30 PM.

By 4:00PM, SB and KB were only 9 miles from the take-out point ("finish line") near the Cedar Island ferry docks, but they decided to land and camp. They landed on the back side of a sandy spit near the mouth of Thorofare Bay.

SB called home to report. She noted that their campsite Friday night and their current campsite for Saturday night were examples of where not to camp. However, an objective of this trip is to scout the route and identify the locations of good campsite options.

We can look forward to hearing further trip-report details from SB and KB.

In brief: By 4:00 PM the kayakers had covered about 42 miles, were off the water to camp for the evening.

-- DWSB reporting