Seamanship, Good & Bad

At Sea
33 17.85 N 078 51.55 W

We're at sea again. The bad weather has passed and now it is nice. Our window is now 4-5 days long. We could sail all the way to New York in this window, but we won't -- it's still too cold up there. Instead, we'll sail for 30 hours or so to Beaufort, NC. Then we'll anchor in Adams Creek for a nap.

To get here, we had to pass out to sea via the Wacamaw River and Winyah Bay where the river meets the sea. We had nearly an hour of really rough going as the outgoing tide met the incoming sea swells. Tarwathie pitched terribly and slowed to only 3 knots at full throttle. Anyone prone to seasickness would have been miserable.

It reminded me vividly of the same spot a few years back. It was in the fall, and we were heading south. We stayed the night at Georgetown on the Wacamaw River, and were itching for a chance to go on the outside and make a dash for Florida. I checked the weather. The next day promised 20-25 NE winds. Good! Perfect for a fast run down the coast in a SW direction. I checked the tides. If we left Georgetown at noon we would have an ebb tide to help us exit. Perfect.

We departed as planned. We were doing 7 knots with the help of the tide. THe winds were strong, so I let out the jib. Our speed soared to 8.5 knots. For sailors like us that's like being shot out of a cannon. I was exhilarated. Soon however, my exhilaration turned to horror when I realized that the inlet channel forced us to turn NE for the last 3 miles before exiting to deep water offshore. That would put us with the strong wind right on our nose! Much worse, the strong wind would be opposing the 2.5 knot tidal current. Those combinations cause huge standing waves. It is very dangerous and even stout boats like Tarwthie could be swamped and lose control. At best, with the motor at full throttle, we would have to stand the beating for 2-3 hours before being able to turn SW. I had to abandon that plan, do a 180 degree turn, and fight our way back up river against the current. It was bad.

Well, I recognized a dangerous situation and I avoided it. Why is that bad seamanship? Because, the bad situation was inherent to my plan for the day. With the planned winds, and currents and my chart in front of me, I could have foreseen the adverse situation 24 hours in advance and come up with a different plan. I could have and should have projected ahead in my mind and imagined making it out to safe waters. I could have, but I didn't. So I don't get a F for that day, but perhaps a D for bad planning, but a B for helmsmanship and damage control.

For the past 60 hours on the VHF, the Coast Guard has been warning everyone about the hazard of a 46 foot sail boat adrift and grounded on the Charleston South Jetty. Wow. Quite a story. I wish I knew what kind of bad seamanship that captain did to wind up on the jetty. If the boat has not been towed in after 60 hours despite mile weather, it must be holed. It will probably be a total wreck.