Deliverance?
04 May 2012 | East of Georgia?
David
Deliverance?
24 hours after departing Stuart, FL, we had covered a remarkable 232 nautical miles! There were lots of high-fives and self-congratulations, celebrating what great sailors we must be. I know--you can cover that distance with your car in 4 hours or less--but an average day's total for Options is closer to 160 nm. Truth be told, we were able to accomplish this amazing feat only because of the Gulf Steam, which gave us a boost of 4 to 5 knots for most of the day.
Once we got out to the ocean, it was pretty turbulent until mid-afternoon. With 5-6 ft. seas, I had to be careful to kept my eyes on the horizon while I got my "sea stomach" back (that is, to avoid seasickness). As the day wore on, the seas laid down and we have had a comfortable ride every since. Flat seas mean light winds, so we've been running an engine since just before midnight. We've kept the sails up to add a knot or three to our speed. It's now 2 pm on Friday and we've covered almost 300 nm! Still smoking'!
We're sweating Cape Hatteras. I'm guessing we will get there in the middle of Saturday night and find winds of 15-20 knots in our face. With both engines running full out, we'll be lucky to manage 5 knots of forward progress. Once we turn the corner and head northwest towards the mouth of the Chesapeake, there's a chance the wind will be from the northeast, which would give us a good angle for sailing. Until then, we'll be praying for deliverance!
David
P.S. We had a group of up to 4 dolphins playing in front of the port bow this afternoon. Soon after, I discovered a very bold (and tired) bird. I couldn't believe he landed on my stomach! He knocked the wind out of me.