Hilton Head

Well, we didn’t make Beaufort, but we did have a safe journey to Hilton Head, SC. At the point where we had to turn NE in the Gulf Stream to continue to Beaufort, the wind had not switched to the SE as forecast, nor had it decreased to the 10kts as expected. So rather than motor into the wind and the 5 foot seas, we decided to call it a day and sail into Hilton Head. It’s funny because at the beginning of the winter we said that we’d come back to Hilton Head and continue where we left off last October when we turned south and headed for the Bahamas. The decision to head in early was a bittersweet one, in that we had to leave our friends on Second Wave, who decided to tough it out and continue to Beaufort. But they must return home to Toronto before July 1, so they are under the gun to make mileage.

Our crossing began on Monday as we departed the Strangers Cay Cut through the barrier reef into the rolling ocean with 5 foot swells and 15kt wind from 80 degrees. Along with Second Wave, we saw speeds of 7kts or better on the beam reach. Skies were mostly clear with scattered cumulus. As land sank out of sight the wind picked up to 20kts and the swell increased to 6-8 feet. Second Wave’s mainsail ripped near the top of the sail and they were very dismayed and worried about it getting worse but decided to press on. Rachel got seasick, and Kathy wasn’t feeling very well either. Linda and the two boys on Second Wave were sick as well, but Matthew reported later that Nick (9 years old) was “chipper and eating junk food again” But at sunset the wind piped up to 25kts and seas increased to 10 feet. We veered more to the west to keep the wind slightly aft of the beam and keep the ride as smooth as possible. Watching the big swells bear down on us was something to see. They would rear up and threaten to topple the boat, then would lift us into the air, pass by underneath, and gently lower us into the next trough, leaving foamy whitewater washing away downwind of us. I thought it was quite thrilling, especially when we surfed down the wave at 11kts, but the girls did not share my sentiment, It would have been fun if Kathy and Rachel had been feeling better.

The wind continued to blow at 20-25kts all night long. With the full jib and the main reefed to 1/3 the boat was nicely balanced and the autopilot did a great job, never faltering as usual. That’s one piece of equipment which has performed flawlessly- good ole “Otto”. The moon was almost full, so visibility was good, and the sails were glowing in the moonlight. 4 big ships were sighted, with one of them coming within 1 mile of our location, but not requiring a course change. Matthew stayed in the cockpit most of the night as well, and we occasionally chatted to help each other stay awake. Kathy was able to relieve me for 2 hours during the night which got me through ok, and she and Rachel felt better towards the morning.

During the next day, the winds dropped some to 15-20, still out of the east, and as we sailed into the Gulf Stream, our speed increased to 9-10 kts with peak speeds above 11kts. We would watch the speed indicator and chant, “11-1, 11-4, 11-8, 12!” Kathy and I swapped off at the helm so that by the end of the day I was up to a total of 6 hours of sleep for the last 30 hours. But this was the point at which we continued on our NW track, as Second Wave pressed hard into the wind trying to stay enough east to avoid the big turn into the wind and waves which they eventually had to do anyway. So we saw them get smaller and smaller until their mast disappeared below the horizon. We stayed in touch on the radio until they were 30 miles away, and said our tearful goodbyes just as they faded out of range. Rachel napped in the cockpit, which we discovered was the one place on the boat which was comfortable for her. She had some ginger ale and canned peach slices and started smiling more.

Tuesday night the winds decreased to 10-15kts, so with full sails up and still in the Gulf Stream, we continued to book along on the usual beam reach. With smaller swells and the absence of chop the ride was quite nice for all concerned. Kathy and I shared 3 hour watches all night and that worked well. Towards morning however, the instruments died and the autopilot shut off. Thankfully I was at the helm when it happened. I woke up Kathy from a deep sleep who thought the world was coming to an end if I needed her help so bad. She took the helm while I checked out the boat and found a loose battery connection. With that fixed and the generator spun up to recharge the batteries, we were in business again. The wind died, and we put the sails away and motored the last 40 miles to Hilton Head.

Kathy woke me up as we entered the marked channel to Tybee Roads into Savannah. We mixed it up with the numerous shrimp trawlers as we motored across the flats into the Calibogue Sound, and on into Hilton Head. Whitefoot in particular was prancing around and looking all over the place, probably saying to herself “Look at all that glorious land to do my business on!” She had managed to relieve herself some during the trip, by having us turn downwind to steady the boat for a few minutes, but it was pretty tough for her too.

Going past all of the multi-million dollar homes on the waterfront made our eyes bug out after what we had seen in the Bahamas. We anchored in our old spot in the Broad Creek next to the Palmetto Bay Marina. I called customs only to find out we could not clear in from Hilton Head as we had thought. So after a great night’s sleep we pulled anchors and headed for Savannah where we are now, at the Thunderbolt Marina. 2 customs agents came aboard, one with the mysterious name of Mr. Bravo, who was plain-clothed. I wondered what he thought of me since my beard is now a little long and a little grey, kinda like Bin Laden”s. As Mr. Bravo poked around cabinets, we covered the paperwork with the other guy. They confiscated all of our expensive food left over from the Bahamas, and even my bag of coconut pieces which I had liberated from the friendly trees. They also confiscated our 3 bags of trash, since it is Bahamas trash, and I thanked them for that at least.

So we’re plugged into the dock, with all the power, water and air-conditioning we can use which really feels wasteful. It’s nice to see that the systems we haven’t used for 4 months still work. There is a nice couple with a little girl next to us on a catamaran which they just bought and are about to start a similar cruise on. They didn’t really know how to dock, and had 20 fenders down the side of their boat. As they approached the dock, I told the woman she needed one more fender near the bow, and when she said ok and started to get one I had to tell her I was only kidding. No one ever seems to know when I’m kidding. But Jeff, the captain did a great job of docking as I caught a dock line from Tracey the admiral and I wondered where they store all those fenders. Maybe that’s what the other hull is for. They remind me of us only one short year ago.

We’ll motor the 3 hours back to Hilton Head tomorrow in the ICW and stay there for a week and celebrate Rachel’s 13th birthday in a place we all enjoy very much. Mom and Dad will try to meet us there as well which would be terrific! I can’t believe my little girl is about to become a teenager. I would grit my teeth in resigned anticipation were she not the most wonderful person I know.

Oh yes, the stats on the crossing, as Dennis always asks for are: 350 miles sailed in 52 hours. 6.7kts average and 12.8kt max! Straight line distance, 334 nm. Items lost overboard: one bag of saltines.

Leave for Beaufort on Monday

The delta anchor will come up in 30 minutes, and we’ll head for Spanish Cay to get water, then Carter’s Cay for the next 2 nights to stage for our crossing up to Beaufort, North Carolina. Second Wave will be our buddy boat, and since this is the first decent weather window in a month there will probably be many others crossing with us too. We plan to depart Carter’s Cay on Monday morning and head north. It should take approximately 3 days, which will put us into Beaufort on Thursday. We’ll make some phone calls to Jim Sr. and Brud when we get to the States, with more calls forthcoming. We’re all psyched up, especially Kathy who has been yahooing all morning. Kinda indicates we’ve been in the islands long enough for now and ready for new terrain. Not to mention the type of shopping which can only be had in the States! Rachel’s birthday is coming up, and she has outgrown most of her clothes, so we need those Gap stores, etc.

Two nights ago we had a big potluck dinner on shore with 10 other boats and the two resident families on shore who have been such great hosts. Matthew and I provided 13 snapper from our recent spearfishing jaunts. We also had chunks of coconuts from the trees ashore. Everyone brought great dishes and we ate too much. Then the mosquitoes chased us all back to the safety of our boats which aren’t affected by bugs.

Yesterday we snorkeled with Second Wave and Trisha and her two kids from the house on shore. We visited 3 wrecks, saw tons of fish and even a Hawksbill turtle up close hiding in the wreck. After giving us a few minutes of viewing pleasure he slowly rose up out of the wreck and sped off to open water. Rachel and Chris kept up for a few seconds before he gracefully departed the area.

Trisha just called on the radio from shore, and wants us to stick around for a few more minutes so she can run a fresh made coconut crème pie out to us. Did I mention gracious hosts? Her husband Bob provided Matthew and me with some great tips on spearfishing and filleting our catch.

There won’t be any wifi connections as we move north the next 2 days, so this is our last blog entry before arriving in the States. The weather looks great, and we’re very excited at the prospect of being back “home” again!

Hiking to the beach on Manjack Cay

More Manjack

After a few days at Green Turtle Cay, we’re back at Manjack again. The wind is blowing 20kts but this is a great place in NE winds so no problema. Mid morning I snorkeled off of a new spot here in the bay and shot 2 snapper. Kathy already has plans for dinner, so the snapper will wait til tomorrow night. Then we joined several friends ashore, and we cracked a coconut open and ate it before hiking on the beautiful trail to the ocean beach. We just finished showers on the stern, and Kathy is cooking dinner. Hopefully the wifi will allow this quick posting and maybe even a couple of photos to go along with it.
After dinner we will dinghy over to Wild Horses. Roger and Adelle have invited several of us over for games on their big catamaran.

photos

Manjack Cay

Stardust has been bouncing back and forth between Green Turtle Cay and Manjack Cay. All of the stores and marinas with water, fuel, groceries, and post office are on Green Turtle, while Manjack has easy access out into the ocean reefs.

Matthew (Second Wave) and I have made several dives from Manjack, and we refill our tanks at a dive shop on Green Turtle. We’ve seen some good reefs and some poor reefs, but each dive has been excellent. We’ve even seen a few lobster, but lobster season is over, unfortunately. I’ll try to post some recent dive photos if the wifi connection allows it.

Many boats are in the area waiting for weather to cross back to the States. Green Turtle is the last point offering supplies, so we hang out here waiting to cross. When a suitable weather window arrives we’ll head up the islands which extend another 60 miles to the north. They look fantastic on the charts but there are no supplies, so not many boats go there. There aren’t many protected harbors either, so it would be sort of like anchoring off a small island on the edge of the ocean. Sounds good, but you need good weather to do this and the good weather is over for a couple of weeks. So we’ll remain here until things shape up. Our crossing back to the US could be in two weeks. We hope to make it to Beaufort, North Carolina (just south of Cape Hatteras), but if the weather does not allow us to traverse this distance (465 nm) we’ll make landfall somewhere else along the coast. Worst case scenario would force us straight across the Gulf Stream to Florida.

Squalls bringing 20-30kts of wind are forecasted for the area for the next 10 days. We have good anchorages around here, so we are comfortable and safe. A deep low near Cuba could go sub-tropical, but the mountains of Cuba and poor upper level conditions for tropical formation will probably squash it before it gets too big. Still, having had a named storm this early in the season forcing the rescue of 12 boats off the Eastern Seaboard has us a little on edge and ready to depart with the next opportunity. I bet we’ll be part of a flotilla of 20 or 30 boats crossing to the US when the good weather arrives, so there will be lots of company and safety in numbers definitely applies here.

Meanwhile we are having fun with our friends, and there are several kids around for Rachel to hang out with. We spent yesterday afternoon at the marina pool with parents drinking cocktails and discussing the weather while the kids yelled and screamed in the pool. I keep looking behind Rachel’s ears for any signs of gill formation. I can now hold my breath underwater for two and a half minutes, so maybe the girls should start examining me as well. We’ll probably visit the local museum today or tomorrow during a lull in the 20kt wind. I shaved Whitefoot this morning on shore, so she looks as sleek as an otter again.

Manjack Cay

Stardust has been bouncing back and forth between Green Turtle Cay and Manjack Cay. All of the stores and marinas with water, fuel, groceries, and post office are on Green Turtle, while Manjack has easy access out into the ocean reefs.

Matthew (Second Wave) and I have made several dives from Manjack, and we refill our tanks at a dive shop on Green Turtle. We’ve seen some good reefs and some poor reefs, but each dive has been excellent. We’ve even seen a few lobster, but lobster season is over, unfortunately. I’ll try to post some recent dive photos if the wifi connection allows it.

Many boats are in the area waiting for weather to cross back to the States. Green Turtle is the last point offering supplies, so we hang out here waiting to cross. When a suitable weather window arrives we’ll head up the islands which extend another 60 miles to the north. They look fantastic on the charts but there are no supplies, so not many boats go there. There aren’t many protected harbors either, so it would be sort of like anchoring off a small island on the edge of the ocean. Sounds good, but you need good weather to do this and the good weather is over for a couple of weeks. So we’ll remain here until things shape up. Our crossing back to the US could be in two weeks. We hope to make it to Beaufort, North Carolina (just south of Cape Hatteras), but if the weather does not allow us to traverse this distance (465 nm) we’ll make landfall somewhere else along the coast. Worst case scenario would force us straight across the Gulf Stream to Florida.

Squalls bringing 20-30kts of wind are forecasted for the area for the next 10 days. We have good anchorages around here, so we are comfortable and safe. A deep low near Cuba could go sub-tropical, but the mountains of Cuba and poor upper level conditions for tropical formation will probably squash it before it gets too big. Still, having had a named storm this early in the season forcing the rescue of 12 boats off the Eastern Seaboard has us a little on edge and ready to depart with the next opportunity. I bet we’ll be part of a flotilla of 20 or 30 boats crossing to the US when the good weather arrives, so there will be lots of company and safety in numbers definitely applies here.

Meanwhile we are having fun with our friends, and there are several kids around for Rachel to hang out with. We spent yesterday afternoon at the marina pool with parents drinking cocktails and discussing the weather while the kids yelled and screamed in the pool. I keep looking behind Rachel’s ears for any signs of gill formation. I can now hold my breath underwater for two and a half minutes, so maybe the girls should start examining me as well. We’ll probably visit the local museum today or tomorrow during a lull in the 20kt wind. I shaved Whitefoot this morning on shore, so she looks as sleek as an otter again.

Green Turtle Cay

Green Turtle Cay is having it’s Island Roots Festival complete with a pirate theme. Lots of events for the kids and adults too. The schooner Wolf is here giving rides and shooting the cannons. It is the flagship of the Conch Republic and looks like a pirate ship. There are sword fights, short plays, tug of war, three legged races, stilts, music, and food and drink. Many of Rachel’s friends from other boats are here and they are all having a blast. We’ll move up to the north end of Manjack Cay today, for some scuba and snorkeling on the reported excellent reef there. I’ll scuba with Mathew from Second Wave, who used to be a professional diver working on oil rigs 600 feet down. Then we’ll don the snorkel gear for some spearfishing, since you can’t shoot fish with scuba gear. We hooked up with a dive shop and did a two tank dive with them. There were huge grouper, and many sharks to liven up our dive. Didn’t see any lobster.

I tried to look up Tom and Kay Murrell at their home, Key Lime, but they are in Florida, and will return here the middle of the month. We hope to hook up with them later.

Hope Town was a wonderful stop, and is our favorite town to visit so far. The narrow flower lined paved streets up and down the small hills are a delight. We had a great view from the top of the lighthouse and spent an hour up there looking around. Our mooring came with a swimming pool, so we spent an afternoon soaking up the fresh water, and Kathy read the end of a school novel to us.

We may return to Hope Town since our stay there was just overnight and we liked it so much. But we were in a hurry to make the festival at Green Turtle and spend time with pirates.