Cape Fear to Cape Hatteras

At Sea

(6/14/05) It was tough sailing last night because our intended course had he wind dead behind us. I rigged the whisker pole to hold the jib out.

At midnight I relieved Libby and found that she was sailing out of control. The forced on the boat were unbalanced and had forced her 60 degrees off course. I decided to take down the mainsail and sail with jib only overnight.

At 4AM, when Libby relieved me, I had to tack the jib. Tacking is a big deal when using that whisker pole. I have to lower the sail, move the pole, and then re-raise the sail.

At 8AM when I relieved Libby, I resolved to raise the main again and get set up for today’s wind direction. I bungled it badly, fouling both halyards and just about every line onboard. I found poor Libby lying on the cockpit floor trying to duck the swinging boom and flying ropes. It took me 90 minutes to square away everything.

The difficulty was not lack of knowledge in how to handle sails and lines, but rather the difficulty of executing any plan when standing on a wildly rolling deck. Do a job with one hand while holding on with another and tripping over my safety tether all at the same time. It’s hard to do things right in those circumstances. Oh well, eventually it will be second nature.

This afternoon has been splendid sailing. Bright blue sky, no clouds, very nice breeze, whitecaps and waves from behind rather than from the side. Tarwathie zooms through the water sometimes surfing down the front side of a wave.

Once in a while we see tiny flying fish appear, fly for about 20 feet, then dive back in.

This evening we’ll pass Cape Hatteras. Not just any cape, Hatteras weather is dreaded and treacherous. Actually, by reputation I fear this place more than Cape Horn. My original plan was to go back to the inland waterway and motor 200 miles from Beaufort to Norfolk, just to avoid sailing past Hatteras. We’re blessed however by splendid weather and this way is at least 5 days faster than by using the waterway.

The forecast says Wed and Thu will be more of the same, then Friday no wind. I guess we’ll sail up to Delaware Bay and find a place to anchor Friday for a day of rest.

Our appetites onboard are reduced, so food stretches long than expected. We spend less than 45 minutes per day preparing food and washing dishes. That’s a small burden.

In the sailing books we read about how the salt crystals get into all your clothing. Because salt is hydrophilic, everything feels wet all the time. We’ll now we feel that truth directly against our skins. My jeans are clammy. Only fresh water wash will solve the problem.