The numbers were mind-numbing for the first part of our journey from Stuart, Florida to Baltimore (to put these in perspective, a normal 24-hour distance for Options is 144 nautical miles): 232 nautical miles the first 24 hours; 223 nm the next 24 hours; and 122 nm the following 12 hours, which brought us to Cape Hatteras. While there were some bumps in the road early on, most of the ride was smooth, fast and pleasantly warm. The only thing we could possibly have wished for was more sailing and less motoring.

Over the next 24 hours, it was time to pay our dues. At sunset on Saturday night, we skated right past Cape Hatteras in flat, calm waters. The thunderstorm to the north of us was a specter of things to come. Instead of a hard, cleansing rain, we were given a drizzle that mixed with the salt on board instead of washing it off.

The forecast for the night was for light and variable winds. We expected to motor right along, albeit at a slower pace without the Gulf Stream adding its 3-4 knots to our speed. Instead, the wind piped up from out of the north. At first it was 15 knots, but it climbed through the night and into the next day, peaking at 25 knots on Sunday afternoon. The waves grew as the wind rose. In addition, the wind changed direction as it grew, creating waves that came together from different directions to pile up on us. We had spray over the top of the bimini (the cockpit roof), which is 10 feet above water level. The wind and waves created a swirling salt mist that covered every surface in the cockpit.

We knew we were losing the warmth of the Gulf Stream, but I didn't realize the water temperature would drop from 81 to 55 degrees in a matter of a few hours. We thought we would get to Norfolk in 14 hours. It took us 23 hours instead! When we were eight hours away, it took eight hours to get halfway. When we were four hours away, it took four hours to get halfway. The wind and waves brewed head winds, jolts that acted like speed bumps and a tremendous current that, by itself, slowed our speed by 2-3 knots.

Payback indeed! All things considered, though, the 24 hours of challenging sailing made us appreciate the 60 hours of good sailing even more. Life would be dull if it were monotonous!

As I'm writing this, we're bumping along on the way to Baltimore. As we hit various waves, I find my laptop jumping and causing me to write things such as ";dsfalkj", which was actually written by waiting for a bump! Time to end this…

David

P.S. The picture is of the sun setting into the coming storm.