After using the magnificent public ramp perhaps half a mile from the east end of Taylor Creek, we had a pleasant run down the creek. As we exited onto Back Sound, we got the full 15 knots of westerly breeze with gusts up over 20 - the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. It being just after high tide, the Sound looked like a large expanse of sailable water, but we quickly discovered that the north-east end of the iddle Marshes had only about a foot of water. This was a task for "the Wayfarer"!! For a while, Chip and I romped along south of Harkers Island which I seem to recall figured in one of Margaret Maron's marvellous Deborah Knott mysteries set in NC. It was great sailing but uncertainty as to how well we could beat back to the ramp uptide and in mostly shallow water, made us opt for caution instead of trying to reach Cape Lookout in these conditions. In the end, the slog upwind was not excessively difficult - a bit wet but beautifully warm for this time of year.