Around Cape Hatteras

This past weekend we made our first coastal passage; traveling from Norfolk, VA to Beaufort, NC. This was a big step and the first time any of the other crew had been on the open ocean.

Elizabeth and  David along with Kim and Caleb Yecke met up with me in Norfolk Friday night after spending a few days visiting historic Jamestown and Yorktown. Elizabeth had already shopped for the trip and had settled up with the Marina so we were ready to go! Little Creek Marina was a great place to stop and particularly sit out Sandy.

Unfortunately Zach Nelson, who had accompanied us on the previous leg was ill and unable to join us for this leg of the trip. He and his mother Susan did come by to see us off and present us with a beautifully engraved helmsman's knife which straps on nicely next to the wheel.

We cast off at 0805 on Saturday morning, only 5 minutes later than planned, leaving the Chesapeake Bay with an ebbing current. As we moved offshore we made several radio checks with the Sea Tow service at Little Creek Marina reaching them easily at over 20 nm. Cell service was also available from time to time as we moved down the coast, averaging 6-7 miles offshore throughout the day Saturday and into the evening.

As we passed Virginia Beach and picked up a 3 foot swell, Kim fell victim to Mal de Mare (sea sickness), and spent the first half of the voyage in misery. She was a trooper and rallied for her midnight to 0400 watch with David for the rounding of Cape Hatteras. By the morning she was feeling much better and was actually able to enjoy the rest of the trip.

The weather was cool and the wind about 10 kts on our nose most of the day Saturday, by about 10 pm the wind had dropped off but the cool temperatures remained. It wasn't until Elizabeth and Caleb took the 0400 watch that the temperature improved. The sky was clear and moonless (until just before morning) so the stars were incredible all night.

After rounding Cape Hatteras we took a relatively straight course from Diamond shoals to Cape Lookout Shoals which put us about about 14 miles out and beyond cell phone range of shore. This vexed the shore crew, Thomas and Alexis who were in the process of bringing the van back from Norfolk to Beaufort.

Sunday morning brought a beautiful sunrise and short sleeve weather, along with a wind shift that allowed us to run or broad reach most of the way to Beaufort. Along with the improved weather came an increase in sea life. During the last several hours of the trip we saw several pods of 10+ dolphin, a shark finishing off a meal of some sort and a leaping marlin. We also spent some time being shadowed by the Privateer Lynx which was enroute to Georgetown before heading on to Charleston next weekend.

During the trip, the ship's systems didn't miss a beat and we were able to average 7.1 knots during the 223 nautical miles trip over the course of about 32 hours. Before the trip we'd taken on 4 - 5 gallon cans of fuel, we added 10 gallons Sunday morning as the fuel gauge approached 1/4 full which saw us comfortably into Beaufort.

Everyone took a turn at the helm and did a great job keeping us on course. Alexis and Thomas pulled off a marathon road trip from Charleston to Norfolk to bring the van down to Beaufort and stage it for our return trip home, Thank you!

Getting Ready for Sandy

Friday night I drove down to Norfolk to make sure we were ready for Hurricane Sandy. Because the apparent track of the storm had it missing Norfolk by several hundred miles I elected to keep the boat in the marina and prepare it to weather the storm there.

On the way down I picked up 150 feet of 3/4" nylon/polyester blend rope to upsize the dock lines. The current lines are 5/8" and some of the spring lines are 1/2". Friday night the wind was relatively mild so I dropped and stowed the roller furling headsail. Angela from the marina and Mike helped me get the sail put away, it would have been a much less pleasant job without them.

First thing Saturday morning - before the rain started I installed the two stern chocks that I'd purchased at my last visit to Bacon Sails in Annapolis. This let me properly cross tie the stern lines which really improved the angles to the dock cleats. It also allowed me to better control the boats position in the slip. I was also able to duct tape the forward vents, they are old and stiff and I wasn't ready to fight with them to put the caps on the vents.

At this point the rain started to fall, lightly. The next step was adjusting the existing dock lines and rigging the new larger lines. I made two 30' and one 50' line to supplement the existing lines. After cutting, splicing and whipping the lines I added them as bow and spring lines. Also added chafe gear to the lines using sections of hose zip tied to over the line.

The whole day Saturday at the Marina reminded me of Minnesota before a big snow storm, everyone was out getting ready sharing supplies and advice on how to best prepare.

By the end of the day it was raining pretty hard and blowing 25 knots, everything appeared in order on the boat so I met up with Zach and Susan Nelson for dinner to discuss the next leg of the trip back to Charleston.