Sept 11th 2001 @ anchor @ Silver lake Harbor Ocracoke NC

[Lanlocked]

It rained last night. Strong thunderstorms that were bands from Hurricane Erin. I was knocked my out of my bunk in the middle of the night when the wind shifted and spun the Simplistic 180 degrees on the anchor rode.

I owned the 32' whale deck sailboat for the last 7 years. She was built in 1976 in Sweden and the fiberglass was laid so thick you would have thought it was an armored car.

She had proven her self over and over as a sea worthy boat.

My buddy Bill and I woke up at first light and noticed that the anchor had pulled loose last night in the storm and we had drifted about 40 yrds before the Danforth hooked up again.

Bill said time for breakfast and in 20 minutes had 2 nice Spotted sea trout and a small tasty bluefish ready to fry.

I put on a pot of coffee and turned on the little black and white TV to get the latest on Hurricane Erin.

They broke into the local news and reported that a plane had crashed into the world trade towers. They followed up with live video. While we were watching a second plane crashed into the towers.
I turned to Bill and said, " We are at war".
He was on vacation and lived across the Hudson from NYC. He called his wife and she said there was smoke drifting over thier house.

He turned and said, "I have to get home."
I said , Bill there is a hurricane off the coast, the wind was making scarey noises though the mast stays. He said I know, I have to get home.

I lived in North Carolina but he needed to get back to NJ. This meant a 70 mile terror trip though the Pamlico Sound in 25 to 35 KT winds.

For those of you who know the shallow Pamlico sound you know the Shallow depths make for crazy waves when the winds are howling. Easy to broach or spin end over end in a following sea.

I called on the Marine radio to see if it was possible to make it thought the Ocracoke Inlet, thinking that maybe the 70 mile trip would be better in the open ocean. No dice. The inlet was awash in hughe breakers from Erin. No one was able to get out.

The wind was making that noise that I was all to familiar with when I told Bill to pull the anchor.
I had butterflies in my stomach as he tried and tried to get the anchor up.
It was snagged on something. I went to the bow to help. It was impossible to free the anchor, so I took my serrated knife and cut the rode.

The 3 cylinder Yanmar diesel was humming like a sowing machine below deck as I turned into the wind and headed out of Silver lake Harbor.

When we passed the breakwater and headed out in the marked channel I was amazed at how low the water was. I raised the marine radio and got a skipper who said that the Hurricane was sucking the water out of the sound and God Bless and good luck getting through the channel to the sound.

The Simplistic weighed 12,00lbs and had a 5.5 foot keel. Under normal conditions I was a cat on a hot tin roof going through this channel but today was a nightmare.

Of all the NC Ferry routes the entrance to Ocracoke from the Pamlico sound was the most dangerous. On the approach from the sound there is a sunken ship with it's stacks sticking out of the water on your starboard side. On the port there is continually shifting shoaling that is treacherous even in good weather.

The 27 Hp diesel was having trouble heading into the waves. They were breaking over the bow, and when the Simplistic came down off the wave the keel was bumping bottom.

I could see the sand and searched for some water, but it was hard to find any depth.

My mouth was so dry I couldn't even spit. Bill looked liked he had seen a Ghost but we both kept doing our jobs.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse I saw the Ferry rounding the sunken smoke stacks. This was the last ferry because they had cancelled any more due to the weather.

This channel is very narrow, very very narrow. I searched to starboard to find some water but even on my side of the makers there was breakers with sand bottom showing.

There was not enough water for the two vesswls in what was left of the channel.

My mind was racing, It looked like we were going down. The keel was bouncing off the sand hard and we we taking water in the cockpit as we listed from side to side.
I regretted risking my friends life, my life, my boat, but I thought we were at war and I felt we had no choice but to get home to our families.

Just when I finished praying the Captain of the ferry saw our distress and mad e a veer to his starboard side out of the channel allowing me to turn to port and head into deeper water. I saw the ferry churn up mud, sand ,oysters and whatever was on the bottom as I steered to the center of the channel. I had just enough water to bounce into the sound through the breakers which were submerging the bow.

I didn't even have enough time to wave to the ferry boat captain as i wrestled the rudder into the center of the channel.

As soon as we were past the submerged smoke stacks of the sucken ship I spun the wheel to the south.
WE were hit by a succession of 5 or 10 braking waves as I made the turn. We were hit so hard broad side that (2) 5 gallon cans of diesel that were in the cockpit went flying in the air and overboard.

Once in the sound the gale was from the aft. I opened the Genoa and secured it with a boom pole to port, then set the main out on the starboard side and locked it in with the boom Vang.

In the 11 years I owned the Simplistic I have never sailed faster. The knot meter only went to 10 and it was buried for most of the 9 hour sail.

On our way though the sound the weather moderated and the waves subsided, we kept wing and wing all the way back to Minnesotte marina on the Neuse river.

We saw Marine Harrier Jets and Apache Helos screaming across the sound. I knew they must be on High alert.

I hope my CD 22' will be as faithful as that old Sailboat.

When you can't spit and your bottom end puckers tight, It's just your ability, knowledge, and the capabilities of your boat.

I Owe that Ferry captain a seafood dinner and the grog of his choice. Maybe even two lives.

If you are the Captain on that Sept 11th 2001
Thank You!!!

That was my Sept 11th 2001

[Lanlocked]

Simplistic was retired in 2007 Due to corroded chain plates after making her last voyage from New Bern NC to the New York Harbor

[jhwilson]

Lanlocked,

Great story, thanks for sharing.

Harper