November 09, 2005
Baker's Dozen
A very exciting turn of events for us! My brother, Jeff, has decided to join Toby, Chis and me on our southound voyage to Fort Lauderdale. How amazing! Everyone arrives here in Charleston on Friday, and we will make hasty preparation for a departure at the first weather window.
Posted by dave at 06:25 PM | Comments (0)
November 03, 2005
N33.6 W78.0 Southport, North Carolina
Nestled in the mouth of the Cape Fear River is the town of Southport, North Carolina. A challenge to get to from the Atlantic Ocean from the north, because of the shallow Frying Pan Shoals that extend some 15 nautical miles out from Cape Fear (yes, of Hollywood fame). This was not a destination on our northbound journey because a fishing tournament consumed all the marinas, and there are no anchorages that can take our draft. Since we are not due to meet Toby in Charleston until November 10th, we decided to check it out.
We left Beaufort, North Carolina at 11am for our 24 hour sail. (Beaufort will receive the Tall Ships in 2006 and we highly recommend it as a place to see them – much more quaint than Halifax). Our departure was timed carefully with the tides, since the current that runs through Beaufort is strong, and there are two shallow parts in the river that are a bit scary for our keel. The gale warning that was 20 miles offshore, had moved inland, and we sailed quickly southwest toward the shoals. Cape Hatteras had taught us not to fear the gale.
Just before the wind died completely at 1:45am, we were visited by a wonderful pod (school?) of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins swimming around the boat. They don’t visit when the engine is running, so we tolerated the cranky sails and drifting speed to enjoy their frolicking. A little phosphorescence made their dance through the water visible in the dark.
After they had left, on with the donkey. Grrrr. Burrrble. Rummble.
We arrived at the marina around mid-day 23c sunny weather. We shed the layers of fleece and long underwear, and donned shorts and t-shirts. At last, we had returned to summer.
An elderly couple came into the marina in a 35-foot sailboat, and the dockmaster told them to park across the dock from us, between two motor yachts. It looked like there were 30 feet on the dock. Should we help? Should we stare?
They did a beautiful job. The skipper said to the dockmaster “if I knew I needed a shoehorn I would have brought one.” Chis and I giggled, then complimented him on his outstanding docking. Chis said “I would have just thrown the anchor on the dock.”
Then, the post-overnight, sleep deprivation induced, SNOOZE. I cherish these. I get 3 solid hours of deep sleep with lots of dreams, and awake, ready (almost) to conquer the world.
A couple of days of rest, exploration, reading and snoozing, and we will be ready for our trek to Charleston to meet Toby. Our last stop before Fort Lauderdale.
Posted by dave at 09:36 AM | Comments (0)
October 28, 2005
N34.4 W76.4 Beaufort, North Carolina
Our journey from Norfolk, Virginia to Beaufort, North Carolina would take 30 to 40 hours. An early departure with reasonable winds would put us in late afternoon the day after departure. Another overnight sail. We are so getting used to these.
The journey was full of complications. For one, the journey included Cape Hatteras, famous for bad weather. For another, we anticipated crew. But Toby couldn’t join us until November 3rd. And yet another, we had hoped to sail with Rhumboogie, a Morgan 50, who couldn’t go until November 8th. Norfolk is a nice place to be, but not for too long.
The weather forecast showed favourable winds and good weather. Cape Hatteras is the most eastern point of the United States, and is where the warm northbound Gulf Stream meets the cold Jet Stream. The result is generally poor weather and rough seas. As a general rule, sailors avoid any wind with an east component. Cape Hatteras creates its own weather.
Sam emailed from Rhumboogie to say that the forecast for Cape Hatteras had changed. East component, rain, stronger winds. We decided to go anyway.
At 3am, I woke in a cold sweat. Sort of an out-of-body experience. I was crazed about the east component in the forecast. The challenge is that an easterly wind blows us into the cape. This would be bad. I wavered. I lacked confidence. I could not make a decision about wanting to go. I tried to connect to the internet to check weather, but couldn’t connect.
Corsair, a Beneteau 50 next to us in the marina, expected to sail the same morning after having a diver scrub the bottom of the boat. They were heading straight to Florida. We agreed to meet over coffee at 5am to review weather. They didn’t surface. My doubts increased. Had they chickened out?
We decided to go.
At 9am, I called brother Jeff, our standby weatherman. He confirmed that the forecast was for stronger winds, but no rain and no storms.
We carried on.
We rounded Cape Hatteras at 1am. The winds had been picking up, as predicted. At around 2am, the winds really picked up. 30 knots, then 40 knots, then 50 knots. And a couple of 60 knot gusts. We shortened sail, put on full foul weather gear, tightened our life jackets, and began preparations for the worst. The rains came, the seas swelled.
We were wet. We were cold. We were safe.
Perhaps the worst weather we had experienced on our 8,000 nautical mile journey, but not the roughest. We rose to the challenge. Pulled together our courage. What would we do? Turn back?
We pulled into Beaufort, cold, damp, sleep deprived, mentally frazzled, and physically exhausted. We docked, plugged in, turned the heat on, and warmed up.
We have a wonderful, safe sailboat, who delivered us through a classic low pressure storm in cold weather. We would not have it any other way.
Posted by dave at 12:06 PM | Comments (0)
August 12, 2005
More Sail!
On our journey from Beaufort, NC to Norfolk, VA we finally had an opportunity to try our downwind sails. You will recall that we tried this in the middle of the Atlantic at 3am with no success (we ripped the sail from top to bottom). We realized that the winds were perfect to try again, both in direction and velocity. So off we went. With great success. It was truly amazing. This photo shows Chis dwarfed by the size of the two headsails dragging us downwind. It was beautiful!
Posted by dave at 07:22 PM | Comments (0)
August 10, 2005
Personal Moments
I am often filled with mixed emotions on this journey. The other morning, we were sailing from Cape Fear to Beaufort Inlet, watching the sun rise. We had slept on and off all night, maybe 2 or 3 hours each. It is amazing what the body will tolerate. I have a great fear of being struck by lightning, and being unable to navigate to safe harbour. We watched lightning all around us. It was like a guardian angel created a weather shield where we were. We put our handheld GPS, handheld VHF radio, laptop computer and battery charger in the oven. Safest place in an electrical storm.
We made coffee. Oh sweet nectar of the morning.
We sat in the cockpit watching the sunrise, and it occurred to me that there was nothing more precious than that moment. Just me, my best friend and love of my life, the wind, the water and our beautiful safe boat. No engine, just the sound of water percolating around the hull, the effervescence of the sea along the water line. The fine line between ourselves and the sea. The humbling power of nature.
A big massive sea, too deep for knowing, and a big massive sky. And then, just us, a mere pimple on the great map of the world.
"The feeling, a paradoxical mix of pulsing energy and profound peace, was intense and blissful. Whereas the road, the sea, the trees, the air, the sun all spoke differently to me, now they spoke one language of unity." Life of Pi, Yan Martel.
The dolphins came for their morning visit, and the seabirds came to see if we had scraps for them.
Contradicting this moment of elation were thoughts of family and friends at home and abroad, who I miss terribly. I believe that my pining for family and friends, and their prayers and wishes for our safe journey, protects us from harm. This has renewed my faith in people, and restored my sense of spirituality. These moments of inward contemplation have become regular, daily. Much more now than ever before. These are not moments of prayer, or religious rhythms. These are moments of profound peace.
Too often in the Type A, rat race world that we live in, we forget to seek peace with ourselves. This is something that I am learning. It comes with some trepidation, as I am learning things about myself that I may not like. But I am learning new things about myself that I really like. Courage. Conviction. Survival. Instinct. Fear. These are precious gifts.
Do I miss the robust city life of Toronto? Absolutely. Would I miss this life if I returned to the robust city life of Toronto? Most definitely. Choices are as awkward as fear. Just when you think you have overcome one fear, a new choice emerges. From the deepest oceans of our thoughts.
It is in this realm of confused seas that I seek peace. My hope is that it will come, but if not, I will grow in the journey.
Posted by dave at 07:44 PM | Comments (2)
Pirate Flag
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Blackbeard
The famous pirate, Edward Teach (Thatch, Tach, Tash, etc.), otherwise known as Blackbeard, was finally killed by the British Navy just north of here at Ocracoke Island. His flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge, sank in 1718. It was discovered in 1996, in 20 feet of water just southeast of Beaufort Inlet.
HERE is a great link with wonderful information about Blackbeard.
Posted by dave at 07:33 PM | Comments (0)
Cemetary, Beaufort, NC
Posted by dave at 07:12 PM | Comments (0)
Vienna H., Age 3, Died 1865
Posted by dave at 07:06 PM | Comments (0)
Virgin Mary Headstone, Beaufort, NC
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Ibis
This ibis was feeding on fish on the dock just next to Platina here in Beaufort, North Carolina. This is a charming town, perhaps our favourite in the USA so far.
Posted by dave at 07:01 PM | Comments (0)
August 09, 2005
N34.4 W76.4 Beaufort, North Carolina
We left Charleston, SC at 7am and sailed across Long Bay, the offshore bay of South and North Carolina toward Cape Fear. We turned the corner at Cape Fear at 2am and the wind completely died. We started watching the thunderstorms streaming in from the ocean. We motor-sailed the rest of the way to Beaufort, and arrived at low tide to a horrifying shallow entrance to the channel to the marina. YIKES! We finally tied up around 5pm and felt completely busted.
Glad to be here, they gave us 6 wooden tokens for draft beer. We barely managed one before we decided it was time for R&R. Platina is covered in salt from rough seas on our voyage, but her scrub down will wait for another day.
Just north of Cape Fear, and protected under the cover of Cape Lookout, many sailors wait here in Beaufort for weather before venturing out around Cape Hatteras on their journey for the Chesapeake Bay. Or alternatively, heading south, they tuck into Beaufort for R&R. The sailing community is awesome. The Maritime Museum sells charts and nautical guides. The coffee shop across from the marina has a book exchange - take one, leave one. They have cozy couches with sailing magazines, so comfy you hardly want to leave. It reminds us of the Caribbean Islands a bit. We will definitely come back.
Posted by dave at 07:08 PM | Comments (0)