November 21----We're up at 6:00, and underway at 6:45.
We had hoped to make an offshore hop today, but once again I'm not feeling well-- I'll be glad when this stinkin' sinus crud is gone!!!!
Robert is exhausted from his busy work travel, so he makes the decision to stay in the ICW today.
We motor out of our slip at Isle of Hope Marina under cloudy skies . One other boat leaves just as we do.
We motor down to Hellgate, and make it thru with no problems, even though it's almost low tide.
When we get thru, and out in more open water, we raise the jib.There's 10 knots of wind almost behind us, and it buys us about a knot of speed.
We motor sail along for a few hours, making about 6 knots. We are both beginning to feel a little perkier-- compliments of the salt air.
We begin to reconsider out decision to stay inside. We listen to the offshore forecast again, and decide to head offshore at Saint Catherine's Inlet.
We prep for the offshore run--- ditch bag, offshore life vests, tethers, and jack lines readied. By 11:00 we've raised the mainsail too, and out to sea we go!!!
It's very lumpy getting through the inlet, but we see one other sailboat out just ahead of us. They radio that it's rolling and lumpy, but "not horrible".
The forecast is for 10-15 knots of wind from the north, with 3-4 ft. Seas. Sounds decent!! If only!!
We have a light lunch-- a cheese stick for me, and Robert has boiled eggs, salami, and some cheese and crackers.
We average 6.5 knots, but the wave heights are NOT 3-4. More like 4-5 with some 6-8 footers. We are Rollin' around like crazy, but anticipating lighter winds and diminishing seas (that's according to the weather guessers) this afternoon and evening.
We hear on the radio that one boat ahead of us is heading back in at the Sapelo Sound, saying it's just too rough out here, but ever the optimists, we trudge on.
By 4:00 pm, I'm feelin' like warmed over sh----.
I try sipping on ginger ale, plus I took my motion sickness prevention ; but I still can't kick this dizzy, nauseous feeling. By 5:00, my cheese stick is in the trash can, and I spend the next couple of hours with my head in the trashcan, giving up my ginger ale too.
Damnit!!!!
Robert decides that I've had enough, so we make the decision to head in at St. Simons. I'm very disappointed, somewhat pissed off with myself, but also relieved that at some point tonight, the motion will cease.
Dinner is a chicken sandwich, potato salad, and cheese sticks for Robert. I nibble on a roll, and sip on ginger ale.
We hit the channel to the inlet around 7:30. The winds have lightened, but the seas are still at it! And it's really dark-- not a star to be seen!
As we head in, we see the Emerald Princess heading out--- she's a casino boat, heading out for a night of fun. We also see a 900 ft. car hauler, and a 70 ft. disabled sport fisher. SeaTow is on the way to tow him in. We are fighting a vicious head current, and only making 2.9 knots,even with our poor little engines revved up to 2800 RPM's.
We finally make it to our anchorage at 10:15 pm. What a day!!!
We have a light snack-- pretzels and drinks--- gin and tonic for Robert, and a disgustingly horrible electrolyte replacement drink for me---- YUCK!!!!
We watch a little TV, hoping to catch the news, but it's a no go. Instead, we watch a show called Bones, and call it quits around 11:30.
Finally, it's bedtime!! The clock is set for 5:45----- yee-ha!!!!!
More adventures tomorrow!