On the Fringe

At Sea
32 01.11 N 079 25.43 W

Tuesday 20:00
By 13:00 today we had 155 miles to go for Frying Pan Shoals. That's exactly 100 miles progress in 24 hours. We may not do as good for the 2nd 24 unless the wind picks up. We spent the whole day making only 3.5 knots. Right now, at 20:02 it is sunset and we have 120 more miles to go to Frying Pan Shoals.

We passed a couple of stationary towers today (not oil platforms but looking like radio towers) those and a handful of vessels were the only thing seen.

Right now we are about 50 nm due east of Hilton Head Island. That's SE of Charleston, SC.

All afternoon I could see the clouds marking the center of the Gulf Stream about 50 miles to the east. I wanted to get into the GS to get the free boost in speed, but 50 miles out (and 50 more miles back in at the end) would be too much. However I wondered where the inner edge of the GS might be.

I studies our Reeds manual, and our charts. The edge of the continental shelf is about 20 miles east of us, so I figured that it might be there. However, the chart showed the approximate location of the inner edge at just about our current position. I began to look around some more. I saw a big sea turtle (about 4 feed in diameter). I saw increased numbers of flying fish. I saw baggie things (Portuguese Man of War). Those were all positive signs. I tried to measure the water temperature with
an electronic oral thermometer from our medical kit. No good. It would not measure a temperature that low. However, when I looked up again after fooling with the thermometer I noted that we had picked up 1.2 knots in speed and changed track by 30 degrees with no change in wind and no change in heading. Wow, that was abrupt. We are in the Gulf Stream. If we can stay here, we might be able to make 120 miles by sunset tomorrow. That would be cool.

It has been so calm and gentle out here that Libby and I have not been getting as tired out as on previous offshore passages. That's good.

I tried hailing another passing ship today on channel 16. No answer again. Huh? I'm sure that our radio transmits OK. I can theorize about nobody on the bridge but it is a stretch for three times in a row two at night and one in mid afternoon. I'll keep trying with every ship I see tonight, using both the fixed VHF and the hand held VHF.