The alarm went off at 04:00. Catching the outgoing tide from Southport through the Cape Fear Inlet gave us a great head start on our 81NM day to Winyah Bay. Dawn found us offshore motor sailing WSW under our main and genoa. The afternoon found us continuing to motor sail as we navigated a mosaic of small storm cells. The cells kept the winds shifting. We continually adapted our sail plan and heading in an effort hang onto a VMG of over 5 knots. At the day's end we calculated a daily average speed of 5.7 knots over 14.5 hours of travel, but that would be jumping ahead in the story...

Much like our last day offshore, Beaufort to Wrightsville, the winds build dramatically as the day began to wane. In accordance with our planning we arrived at the entrance to Winyah Bay Channel just after the predicted low tide. Unfortunately the tides were not in sync with the NOAA predictions. We arrived to find 18knot winds meeting head on a strong outgoing tide. The result was 3 to 4 foot spilling waves. We now were faced with the task of running 2NM downwind among the waves in the narrow channel. It was not a difficult decision to reduce sail. It was a difficult task to reduce sail.

Turning to place the wind on our bow is the only way to lower the sails in high winds. This maneuver causes the sails to flog violently, but reduces winds pressure on the cloth and centers the sails over the deck of the boat. Anne's skilled touch at the helm turned us 180 degrees placing the wind on our bow and aiming us back to sea. My role is to clip into our safety lines (see harness in image included) and venture foreword to wrestle the genoa down onto the deck. After five minutes of focused teamwork we had the genny contained on deck and me returning to the relative safety of the cockpit. The only casualty of the day... the flogging genoa caught our radar reflector mounted on a stay. Anne sighted the reflector drifting out on the tide shortly after we turned C'est la Vie back towards land. Another easy decision was made to wave it goodbye. We were not eager to turn back to windward in the rolling seas for a reflector overboard drill.

The rolling waves surfed us along for long stretches that required a full body workout on the helm to prevent accidental jibes of the mainsail. The 2NM run into the inlet seemed to stretch on an eternity as we fought the tides the entire distance. Calm waters of the bay were welcomed by a weary crew.

We dropped the anchor along the eastern shore of the bay near the Georgetown Lighthouse. The water depth allowed us to come within easy swimming distance of the shore. Carlie and I ended out day with a swim into the beach. We all plan to swim in and explore the lighthouse in the morning. And still the tide ebbs... what gives?