Navigating the Pamlico Sound in a 42' cat

[MartyB]

Hello Sailors!

I am planning my trip North from Florida to Boston at the beginning of May. While doing so, we plan on stopping along the way to visit a few places and smell the roses.

We also want to avoid doing too many overnights as it will only be my wife and I.

We have a 42' catamaran with a 72' mast. So the intracoastal is a no go.
I'm trying to figure out if we can stop in or around Beaufort NC, getting in through the Beaufort inlet and then navigating the Pamlico sound and getting out somewhere north avoiding bridges and shallow waters. This is not to save time but more to enjoy the ride.

The only other option is getting out at the Beaufort inlet and going straight to Norfolk VA in the open ocean keeping a safe distance from Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras and maybe getting help from the Gulfstream. We sail at 6 knots average.

Your comments are we welcome!

Thanks guys!

[donradcliffe]

The mast makes you an outside boat. You can stop at Cape Lookout and wait for a good weather window.

[ggray]

Someone posted here a suggestion that might give you some ideas. He had a too tall mast as well, plus a deep keel.

He made a series of day-night-day hops, arriving each second day before dark.

N to S he went Norfolk to Cape Lookout, which is a lovely anchorage.

C.L. to Charleston, grab a marina

Charleston to St. Mary's River. Anchor or find a marina

SMR to Miami, which was his biggest hop.

I've done much the same, but made a long hop from Morehead City (I can get under the bridge) to Fernandina Beach. Late arrival that night.

[MartyB]

Thanks guys!

Open ocean it is to my pleasure and my wife displeasure… 🤷*♂️😜

Will just have to find the right weather window to make it a smooth run for the wife… As they say, happy wife, happy life!

Thanks for the stopovers ideas!

[ggray]

Study the charts ahead of time and mark all bail out inlets you can use.

You probably can plan day hops but it will take much longer.

But make sure they are safe to enter at the time, or you will wish you had stayed out.

[Kettlewell]

You can go in the inlet and visit Beaufort, but you probably should go back outside to get around Hatteras without your own local knowledge. Yes, there is a shoal inland route from Beaufort up to Pamlico Sound, but not sure what the controlling depth would be and all the inlets to get out of the sound are tricky. I second the idea of stopping at Cape Lookout, then proceeding around Hatteras when the weather is good.