Caught but . . .
We’ve had the fishing line out and sung for our supper waiting for the high pitched scream of the line running out! All that hard work hauling in a fish! Yes, yes a real fish jumping and fighting the hook. Slowly in she came – a delicious dinner - but no tail! Perhaps the victim of a greedy shark? I bravely volunteered to clean it but as I was getting a bucket of salt water dinner slipped away – hash again!

After thinking that we wouldn't make it in time here for Juds arrival, we have made it after all with just three days to spare!!! Wow. Seems like it's been a rush! From Bimini we sailed to Cat Cay and anchored for a few hours rest before crossing the Bahama Banks to Whale Cay. We decided to do it overnight as we weren't sure that we'd make a daylight arrival! We did see a few other sailboats and a barge but otherwise it was uneventful.

Setting off from Charleston the current had us firmly pinned to the dock. Once it slackened we were off and heading out of the Charleston Channel to the Ocean. By noon we had sails up and engine off and were sailing. Wow, what a terrific moment. And it was for just a moment. Fifteen minutes later the winds died out and our speed had dropped to 2.7 knots so back on went the engine. All the way to Fernandino Beach in North Florida we had to motor into choppy seas and the wind picking up overnight right on the nose! So we had lots of slamming and with each big 'wump' the boat would shudder and shake making the trip an exercise of balance and hanging on!

In the morning after Drake had left us to return to Oriental, NC, we backed off the mega dock against an incoming current and headed out to sea. A lovely brisk day! We left the channel and shortly after turned up into the wind to raise the main which we'd carefully readied with a double reef and halyard secured. All we had to do was stay in the cockpit and haul on a rope! Wrong . . . . the halyard had wrapped itself around the lower spreader and somehow woven its way around lazy jacks and stays. So decked out in harness and secured to the boat, I managed a type of 'rope dance on the sky deck' flailing my arms about to release the halyard. At last it was free. Down I came and up went the main. Whew!

Next came the jib, that rather large sail that gives the boat most of its forward drive. It's not a hank on and hoist type but neatly rolled around the forward stay. We unfurled it about 2/3 of the way and sat back and rather enjoyed a good old romp at 6.5 to 7.5 knots (pretty good considering the sea conditions). But we were going the wrong way! Uhm. . . . time to 'head up' to head down South! Then the wind dropped so we thought we'd let out a little more of the jib. It was then that we noticed the furling line was fouled! About this time, (2 ½ hours out) the seas were coming at us from two directions - on the bow and the beam - the waves were rising up and spitting at us and as the boat plunged down the foredeck got a good wash! It was a rough ride at the rodeo, and despite having things secured below, stuff was still trying to find safe havens on the floor!

I went up on the foredeck to assess the extent of the jam. After contemplating our next move Jim and I donned harnesses and decided:

1. We would have to fix the furler jam before dark
2. It would take the two of us on the foredeck (no tools needed but take knife in case)
3. We might lose a finger but would try not to
4. We'd get soaked, may as well put on shorts
5. We would heave-to (meaning we would park the boat angled into the wind so that instead of being buffeted about, we'd be riding down the slick we'd create - that's the theory.)

To heave-to we simply rounded up into the wind, back-winding the jib and this strange calm was all about us - we had effectively parked the boat. The seas roared and spume was flying off the wave tops all around us but we just sat there as if in a bubble of calm! Up to the foredeck we ventured. Jim muscled each wrap free while I pulled the furling line through. Bang, snap went the jib loudly as the remainder of the sail unfurled! Altogether, there were six wraps jammed as tightly as you can imagine. It took about 30 minutes to sort this mess out and once back in the cockpit we were not only pleased with ourselves but also pleased that no fingers were missing!

Back on course, the winds were now hard on our nose, in fact, coming straight at us at 28 knots. It wasn't at all what we'd expected. We had no choice but to start the engines. Time for another decision . . . should we motor into these awful seas beating up the boat and us while making only 2.2 knots or retreat back into Charleston harbor where we could anchor before dark? We decided it was time to head back into port. We were very pleased to have the canvas enclosure - waves hit us from all sides, but inside our salt encrusted cockpit, we stayed warm and dry! Imagine that!

By 1800 hours we had dropped the anchor behind Fort Johnson in a strong current and treated ourselves to a good glass of the "oh be joyful"! With the wind still howling, the lights of Charleston harbor twinkling around us, the anchor holding firmly, we called it a day early and slept like lambs.

Next day, Tuesday, with the approach of a cold front, we decided to make way via the Intracoastal Waterway and planned to catch the first opening of the bridge over Wappoo Creek which coincided with a favorable current! We were both up with sunrise, well rested and ready to go. After breakfast, we wasted no time to get the anchor up and make way. Up came the anchor, down went one engine! Yes, talk about bad luck - Jim quickly surmised that, with crab pots that had appeared overnight and were dotted all around us, a line to one of them was now firmly wrapped around our starboard propeller and it had locked up the throttle and any chance of using that engine. "Damn", I said.

Six miles and 2 ½ hours later on one engine we limped along and finally arrived at Charleston Boat Yard, crab pot in tow, and a dozen skinny crabs looking to escape! Now we're on the hard, waiting for saildrive parts and our next great adventure!

Here we are in Charleston hoping to have our water-maker looked at. If we can't, then we have our water catchment system from the hard top for a back up. We may just have to rely on nature and simplicity! The hard top has a drain hole in each of the lower corners to which we attach hoses. They are led to 5 gallon jugs which quickly fill up in a good downpour. So hear we are.

We were delighted when Drake Roberts agreed to join us for this first leg of our trip. With lots of experience and camera in hand, you couldn't wish for better crew. We had quite a sendoff as we left Sailcraft and Oriental. Friends we'd met at Sailcraft, Matt, a long-time friend of Drake and the owner o the Consignment Store in town, as well as Alan, the owner of Sailcraft all came to see us off at the crack of dawn. Alan gave us each sweatshirts to remember our long stay there! (As planned, Drake had come by the boat at 6AM only to find Jim and I still fast asleep! So much for our good intentions for an early departure.) However, it wasn't long after that we woke up and got busy getting ready to leave which we did at 07.15. Our destination was the gas dock in Moorhead City to top up our fuel supply.

So our real adventure began when we sailed out through the channel at Beaufort, NC and headed out to sea at 12.30. We tried sailing but the winds were very light - only 4 knots which forced us to keep the engines running to keep us moving. The motion of a catamaran is different than a monohull. It was new to all of us. We'd all read all sorts of descriptions , however, it really was different to what I'd expected. There was no heeling, but instead a sort of rocking from side to side, almost a clawing or waddling type of motion.

Despite calm seas and light winds we decided to 'play it safe' and go around "Frying Plan Shoals". It was a dark, moonless night and we thought we would have a lot of difficulty seeing the unlit buoys marking the channel through the shoal. Otherwise our first night was uneventful. We saw a navy ship in the evening. During the night mystery lights appeared far out off on the horizon. Jim had them pegged as warships doing military maneuvers (we were not very far away from a large marine base), I guessed fishing boats (we were close to the shoal area off Cape Fear). All through my watch, I waited and watched as one of the lights gradually came closer . The other seemed to be moving in the same direction as we were. Finally as the sun rose, I was sure the one off our port side was a sailboat! Wrong again, it was a lighted tower buoy!

Day two the sea conditions deteriorated and a couple of attempts to sail were thwarted as the wind swung around to the bow. So we bounced and rock and rolled and what had been a rather "cruise-ship" ride yesterday, became a test of balance! The boat does bounce around when the seas are coming from two directions but she's good and strong and bounced along gaily every now and again dumping a load of stuff from a shelf inside onto the floor. We learned even in a catamaran things need to be well secured inside and out. Jim was very game and cooked us a great spaghetti dinner one handed, the other hand hanging onto the boat!

As the evening closed in on us, we settled into our pattern of watch keeping - 3 hours on and 6 hours off. Since we weren't going to venture into Charleston Harbour at night, we stood off and did some back-tracking and circles while Drake gave both of us excellent instruction on using the Chart Plotter which is integrated with the Auto Pilot. Just touch where you want to go on the screen of the plotter and click on the button to tell the Auto Pilot to follow a heading to the cross-hairs! Very clever once you know how! Drake also showed us how to make full use of features on our VHS radio! We really have enjoyed having Drake along, he's a great instructor. We hope to meet up again in another port somewhere. Meanwhile we'll be avidly watching his DrakeParagon movie clips on YouTube and look forward to seeing the start of our own voyage too.

Sunrise was very pretty for our final turn toward the channel into Charleston Harbour.

The new hardtop over the cockpit is brilliant. It's been weeks in the making but the guys here at Sailcraft Services have done a fabulous job. Dan's and Turtle's craftsmanship is impeccable. Both the stainless frame and the hard top are not only super strong but also works of art. We have a sliding hatch above the helm station, a water catchment system, lights, speakers and plenty of under roof storage for fishing rods and the cushions (which we hated dragging inside whenever it rained). We're very pleased. Now the canvas makers at Inner Banks are busy making the cockpit enclosure, adjusting the mainsail, installing Strong Track and Cradle Cover, all of which will make life aboard much more comfortable and sail handling much easier.
We're hoping for a favorable weather window around the middle of the month when we'll head out to sea and sail down the coast to Miami where we'll make final preparations for the crossing to the Bahamas.