Breeze On

We left Beaufort Wednesday morning, following the tide out of the harbor. We raised the mainsail as we left the channel and it went up beautifully. The winds were relatively light so we left the engine on, motor-sailing in following seas after we rounded Cape Lookout later in the morning. At least we didn’t have those uncomfortable waves on the beam that we had going from Brunswick to Beaufort.  Once we rounded Cape Hatteras just after sunset we were able to unfurl the jib and turn the engine off. The favorable current in addition to the favorable winds allowed us to move right along at eight knots. By the time we entered the Chesapeake Bay Thursday afternoon we were traveling dead downwind again so we had to furl the jib and turn the engine on. We were happy the timing allowed us to enter the bay during daylight hours and at a time when the ship traffic was manageable. That changed during my watch after George had gone to bed. Numerous ships were coming up the bay and down the bay...

Thanks to Dan, the dockmaster at Homer Smith, our mainsail is repaired. We will be able to use it to sail home, where we will take it to the sailmaker to rebuild the head of the sail. Dan brought his very heavy professional machine to the dock. We partially unfurled the sail so he could do the repair right on the dock. Dan reinforced the ripped area with spectra webbing and stitched it with the machine. He did not bring the heavy machine motor so had to turn the flywheel by hand. It is amazing how well the machine went through the heavy layers. Dan also attached new bolt rope fabric to the top end (that piece has completely ripped off.) He cautioned that this is a temporary fix and we shouldn’t expect to get several seasons out of it. We plan to take care of a more permanent repair soon after we get home. We are so grateful Dan had the time and skill to help us.  George and I are finishing up preparations to sail the rest of the way home. Our plan is to leave early tomorrow morning...

On Tuesday, just before 9 am, we left Brunswick, GA on our way to Beaufort, NC. We had planned to leave at 8 am but, after we were told that there was a lot of fog further down the river, we decided to wait. The winds were too light for sailing but there was still a 3-4 foot swell from the east causing it to be a very rolly ride for several hours.  The wind picked up enough to keep the sail filled about ninety minutes after George went to bed the first night.  The boat rides more smoothly—and doesn’t react quite as much to waves—if the sails are filled. I decided to wake George up and ask him to help with raising the mainsail. He got everything ready and I turned the boat into the wind. The sail stopped going up after it was only partially raised and some strange noises were coming from the mast area. Although we had a full moon it was still difficult to see so I used the spotlight to investigate. I couldn’t identify what was wrong. George lowered the main and tried again with...

At least we think  we are leaving tomorrow. Plans can always change.  The forecast is for light winds over the next two days so we will be motoring all the way to Beaufort, NC. We have enjoyed our time in Brunswick, especially the time spent visiting with the nice cruisers here. Nevertheless, we are ready to move on. Currently it looks as if we will have to spent at least a week in Beaufort before we have an opportunity to move further north.  Mullet feeding in the water next to the dock. They swim along the water’s edge with their mouths open. It is quite a sight. 

Very early this morning we checked the latest weather forecasts and saw that the forecast for the area of squalls off of the coast of North Carolina looked even worse. It appeared that there was no way we could avoid going through thunderstorms. After looking at several variations in the course and timing of our trip we decided not to go. Our current plan is to leave here in two days and sail as far as Beaufort, NC where we will likely wait a week or more. Of course, that is subject to change. 

It appears we have a weather window to leave Brunswick and sail to the Chesapeake, taking 3 1/2 days. It isn’t ideal—there is a chance we will pass through some squalls off of North Carolina—but seems doable. We had been thinking along the lines of leaving here Monday (two days from now) and sailing to Beaufort, NC. Then it looked as if we would be waiting in Beaufort at least a week, maybe longer.  This morning, on Chris Parker’s weather broadcast, we asked about the trip to Beaufort and also asked about leaving a day earlier (Sunday) and sailing to the Chesapeake. Both options would take us through the potentially squally area. Chris said he thought it would be possible to do the longer trip, as long as we were comfortable with the potential for some squalls. We would prefer not to have them, of course, but will keep an eye on the weather and change course if necessary. George has already downloaded a few runs on our Predict Wind weather routing software and we can continue to do...