We left Cape Charles at six am Wednesday morning on our way around Cape Hatteras to Beaufort, NC. We were expecting winds in the twenties so we had already put a reef in the mainsail when the wind was light the night before at the dock. We had the current going with us out of the bay which was nice. Our first moment of excitement came as we were approaching the bridge tunnel. I had just handed the helm over to George. There was a cargo ship approaching from behind and the AIS said the ship would cross the tunnel three minutes after us. Although there was room for us both it would be close. George tried to hail the ship on the radio but they did not respond after two attempts. Our main goal was to make sure they saw us. A few minutes later the ship let out a long honk. So, we knew they saw us but weren’t sure what they expected us to do. Our options were limited. If we turned downwind to slow down we would cross their path, not a good option. If we turned upwind we would be heading toward the bridge. Also not a great plan. Finally, the ship hailed us. George suggested that we could turn to port (upwind) as soon as we crossed the tunnel, giving them more room. The captain said that would be good and make it more comfortable for us both. He couldn’t have been nicer. So, we crossed the tunnel, turned to port, waited for the ship to pass and then turned to starboard to get back on course. No problem. Once we were back on course we had great speed with just a reefed mainsail. We were moving at 7-8 knots, sometimes 9 knots. Midnight Mile left the marina about 1/2 after we did and we fully expected their bigger boat to catch us and pass us. We were moving so well that they didn’t. The seas weren’t horrible but they weren’t especially comfortable and were hitting us primarily in the port aft quarter. One especially big wave hit us on the beam and splashed water all the way over the boat. Salt water found its way through gaps in the enclosure and the port side cushion got a bit wet. Once the sun set the wind that was finding its way through the little gaps made the cockpit feel chilly so I spent part of my watch using duct tape to tape them up. It wasn’t pretty but it did help. Once we rounded Cape Hatteras at about 1 am we were very close to the Gulf Stream and the air felt much warmer. When the sun rose it felt downright hot inside the cockpit. We started taking down panels and opening the zippers. George even changed into shorts and short sleeves. Quite a change from many layers of clothing on top of long underwear! We were visited briefly by a pod of dolphins who played in our bow wake for a while. They were doing some jumping but I was unable to get a good photo. 
We pulled into Beaufort in the late afternoon and are safely tied up at Homer Smith Docks. We plan to go into town this afternoon and then prepare to leave for an overnight sail to Cape Fear tomorrow.
Comments
Post a Comment