Ocean Sailing is Wild Yo

This weekend was, with no exaggeration, one of the most intense things I have done in my life.

Terri is still working remote through Jan 3. So we have hatched a plan whereby we will sail south on weekends and holidays, then find a marina to hole up at during the weekdays so Terri can work. I will do various boat projects while Terri is work-working.

This weekend was our first duo sail with just the two of us and no captain or crew. We planned ~ 10 hours at sea from Beaufort NC -> Wrightsville Beach NC on Sat, anchor at Wrightsville Beach, then ~ 8 hours at sea Wrightsville Beach -> Southport NC on Sun. Then into a marina at Southport.

The Sat leg was Wild! We knew from PredictWind that there were 20-25 knot winds well offshore, which we definitely wanted to avoid. However, we figured if we stayed relatively close to shore – say 5 – 10 nm – things should be manageable.

And we actually got both sails up ( mainsail and headsail (genoa, technically)) up two handed. Which was something I had been worried we weren’t going to be able to manage.

And I mean, it was manageable in the sense that we didn’t sink or capsize and nobody went overboard. But it was a VERY INTENSE experience.

Wind was ~ 20 knots behind us from the starboard quarter. We started the day with one reef in when we first raised the main. We did have following seas ( ie the waves were going in the same direction as the boat ), but the waves were going faster than the boat. So we were rocking back and forth as a wave caught up to us, lifted up the boat, passed under us, and then we fell “backwards” into the following trough.

And the waves were BIG. It is 8’ from waterline to the top of our dinghy davits in still water. When we were in the trough of a wave, the crest of the next wave was frequently higher than the dinghy davits. Which is freaky because it looks like this huge wave is about to crash into you and swamp you and sink you. But the boat floats on top of the wave and you don’t even really get any water on the sugar scoops. It took a while to get used to that!

We have never been in seas anywhere near this rough. When we’ve chartered boats in the USVIs and BVIs, everything was relatively calm (except for a few short specific incidents) and pleasant. It was fine wandering all over the decks in shorts and t-shirts. We would even go up and sit on the so called “princess seats” at the front of the hulls for extended periods while underway. Sure, there were life jackets on the boat, but no one ever wore them.

This was very different. The boat was rocking forward and aft like a haunted rocking horse when there is a poltergeist in the house. We could both imagine if you were up on the forward deck when one of the big waves hit, one could easily get pitched off the boat. We both had our life vests on all day, with safety tethers so we were always clipped into the boat, and we stayed at the helm or in the cockpit. Never out on the decks.

EXCEPT – when we pulled into the inlet for Wrightsville Beach, someone had to go out on foredeck, to the mast, to pull down the mainsail. Some boats have “all operations can be performed from the helm” as a feature. Our boat is not one of those. So I went out to the mast.

I wouldn’t say I was “scared” per se, but I was like, oh shit, this is somewhat serious, I need to be mindful of all the safety stuff I’ve learned. I was very conscientious about hanging on with 3 limbs or 4 limbs where possible, keeping crouched down so low center of gravity, and always being clipped in. There were a few points where I had to unclip from one railing and clip into a new railing, which I kept as brief as possible.

Sails Up !

Dinghy Davits vs Sugar Scoops

Offshore Safety Gear - Jacket, Life Vest, Tether

Then there was another day of sailing on Sunday, but this blog is already too long. I've included a clip Terri took on Sunday, when things were quite a bit calmer, and we deliberately had less sail up.

Also, Terri and I are both so sore we can barely move today (Monday). Turns out, sailing needs muscles. The DOMS is real. That’s a whole other blog.

- Todd

p.s. Here's a clip Terri took of sea conditions on day 2 ! Quite a bit calmer than first day!