The Spinnaker is Gone! And Now the Main Boom!

We did make an early start of it on Tuesday, getting underway at 5:30 guided by the Moon, and we cleared Fort Sumpter by 6:20, which was making good time, all thanks to the receding tide. The winds were light, so we were forced to go under power for the first bit, but the afternoon found us under full sail with the spinnaker flying. Nightfall found us heading up the coast towards Cape Fear.

All was going as planned, and we rounded the Cape in the early morning hours on Wednesday. And then at 4:25 am, while we were about 40 miles off of Cape Fear, Bob shouted out "We've lost the spinnaker!"

The halyard attaching the spinnaker to the mast had parted, and we were dragging the spinnaker in the water at about 6 knots. We managed to haul it back on board, and set the jib in its place. We continued on our way.

The winds were good,  but not always in the exact direction we were looking for, but we had a great sail throughout the day.  We had thought to sail to Ocracoke Inlet, but we making such headway that we would have gotten to the inlet at midnight instead of Thursday morning, and we had no desire to tackle a strange channel in the dark, so we opted to head to Beaufort, NC instead. We thought we would overnight there, and then see what we might decide in the morning. However the decision was taken from us when, at around 8 PM, the main boom snapped. We had been under power, and getting ready to take down the sail when an errant gust took the sail and snapped the boom. We scrambled to secure the sail as best we could do that the helm could have a clear view of the channel. We tied up at the city docks here, and tomorrow we will look for a good marina to dock the boat for the next month or so.

The Prep Work is Done

Today was spent making ready. Provisions were loaded, and charts are one again consulted. Our biggest jobs were fixing the radar, and getting the AIS set up. It took us most of the day but we are good to go!

Since we weren't setting out tonight, we met Ronda downtown at Fuel, a sort of Cajun style cafe. The food was excellent, and they have a very nice courtyard to sit out in, and it was just the right temperature to be sitting out side for drinks and dinner.

Tomorrow will be an early day. We will leave around 5 in the morning in order to take advantage of the retreating tide. Our next landfall should be in or around Oriental, NC.

Every Good Voyage Starts at the Gin Joint

At least it does if you are a Waffler! We started the planning phase of our trip with a couple of  Churchill Martinis, which are out of this world. A fine blend of a number of top shelf Gins with a lemon peel  (no olives here), and it all comes together quite smoothly. And before we broke out the charts, we appropriately put away a couple of chicken walked sandwiches topped with red pepper jelly. Spicy, sweet, and delicious.

While enjoyed ourselves with food and drink, we broke out of charts and task lists (I was really just kidding about starting out planning at the bar). Unfortunately, Bob has a shift tomorrow, but there are some things I will be able to do on my own to get us closer to finishing the outstanding tasks. Our goal is to get underway late Monday or early Tuesday, and sail straight through to Palminico Sound in North Carolina. If we make good enough time, we hope to be able to see Ocracoke, which is where they captured Blackbeard. We will have to see how we do for time.

Either way, it is going to be an adventure.

From Wrightsville Beach Back to Charleston

The sailing being done for this trip, we spent the morning seeking a longer term haven for the Black Dog. She needs to be there for a wedding next week, then Bob and Ronda will take a short anniversary cruise for themselves.. We wound up in a berth at the Sea Path Marina. It is a nice little place, and the people were quite friendly, and they got us setup pretty quickly. We were able to have a nice hot shower after cleaning up the boat and packing up out gear. We wanted to be presentable for the parade, as we were pretty sure that rounding Cape Fear would warrant a hero's welcome in the town. Bob thought we might even get presented with the key to the city. But the people of Wrightsville were strangely unimpressed. It almost seemed as if they were unaware of our magnificent feat! Sadly, there was no parade.

Not seeing any reason to stick around, we hot footed it back to Charleston courtesy of Enterprise. We made it back in time to meet up with Bob's wife, Ronda, for dinner at Virginia's. The shrimp and grits were all that I has been hoping for. The only thing missing was my wife, for the perfect double date. We ended our night at the old haunted county jail for a ghost tour. I can't wait to get my daughter on a ghost tour. Spooky!

Tomorrow will be a casual day downtown, soaking up some local culture, and then a flight back home to my own family tomorrow night. Is been a good trip but I do miss them and wish they could be here.

Where Wise Men Fear to Tread

Last night based on the weather report, we decided the winds would be right to round Cape Fear. This would require us to go through a slue in Frying Pan Shoals, part of the notorious Graveyard of the Atlantic. We could not resist the lure.

We topped off fuel before leaving Little River, just in case we had to motor more than we anticipated, and we got underway. The winds were with us early on, and we made good speed. We meet up with another sailboat, the Tioga, heading to Moorehead City. We wish them a safe voyage.

We made the slue at about 15:30. The shoals are very unassuming, and therein lies the danger. There is no indication on the surface of what lies beneath, until you veer off the slue, and watch you depth fall off too quickly. We held the course and saw the other side of the shoals safely.

The rest of the afternoon was a nice easy sail to the Wrightsville Beach Inlet. The inlet itself, however, proved to be one final challenge of the day. The current and the swells made handling the helm something of a wrestling match, and things were not well marked on the charts. We had to search out the navigation aids in the dark of night. Patience and caution got us to a good anchorage, however, and tomorrow we will leave the boat at a local marina.. Today was our last day of sailing on this trip.

Give Me a Tall Ship and a Star to Steer Her By.... and Wind, Don't Forget the Wind

We had another early day getting out of Georgetown, and the current was with us, so we were back out to sea in no time. The channel was a lot easier going in the light of day.

We had a mostly sunny day, save for one small rainstorm, but the winds weren't what they were yesterday. We motored a good portion of the day, but for the last two hours had an amazing sail. We put sixty miles behind us, and tied up in a nice little Carolina town named Little River. The people were most friendly, and the marina had a place for us to shower. Feeling greatly refreshed after that, we meet an old friend of the Waffler's, Mike Shaw. We did some catching up over some drinks and dinner at an amazing little restaurant called Clark's. My duck was delicious, and everybody else enjoyed their meal as well. We all had a good time. The bartender was most notable in that he asked me if I preferred my martini shaken or stirred (stirred of course)

Bob and I are winding up the day with a scotch and the weather report. Our course for tomorrow will greatly depend on the weather.

Out to Sea

Long day! We headed out of the North Edisto River at eight-thirty this morning into the Atlantic, and have just anchored at Georgetown at midnight. It was or intent to sail throughout the night, but we are making better time than expected, and calculated that we would be in the middle of a major shipping channel at two AM. So we opted feet an anchorage. Georgetown has a narrow channel, but is well marked so it is navigable after dark.  We made about eighty miles under sail today, and are half way to our destination. Tomorrow we press on.