From Florida to the Chesapeake and Back

Day 18

We left the Beaufort anchorage by 7:30 this morning wanting to get to St. Catherine’s Sound by dark since we were going to go “outside” today. We headed out under cloudy skies which eventually gave way to bright sunshine by 10:00 a.m. After that it was quite nice. After 15 miles or so we stopped at Windmill Harbor Marina to get fuel before heading outside. I was quite surprised to see they had a one boat lock you had to pass through to get into the marina. Of course this is on Hilton Head Island at a very upscale marina; I believe the lock is there because they have fixed docks they want to maintain a fairly constant water level in the marina. With 7 foot tides I guess the lock does the trick, otherwise it would be very difficult to get on and off boats with that kind of tide on a fixed dock. Most places have floating docks so the boat and the dock float together and their relationship never changes. Anyway, we got fuel, and not as much as I was anticipating having to get. My estimates were a little off, in a good way.

From there we were able to head directly out into the ocean. Well, the great prognosticators of today’s weather were predicting 2 to 3 foot waves on a period of 7 seconds. Well, I still haven’t seen a 2 or 3 foot wave. We were hitting 6 footers and getting hammered. A 7 second period? Not in your dreams, maybe 3 or 4 seconds … at best. We started out operating the boat from the flybridge but the swing radius was just too great to be up there comfortably. I went down below to get a better operating environment. Well the futon sofa that is on the port side of the salon was now against the chairs on the starboard side of the salon. The carpet was all pushed up from the futon, dishes were clanging together, a water jug had slid off the counter and splashed open on the kitchen floor. The closet door in my stateroom was opening and banging shut over and over and over, but nothing I could do. I could barely stand up to operate the boat. The waves that hit broadside rolled the boat one way then the other in an arc that was sometimes as much as 30 degrees. We eventually made a couple turns that put the waves at our stern which at times made it feel like we were surfing. We would go up, and then ride the crest, very comfortably I might add, then the bow would come down and you were looking at the crest of the wave ahead of you over the bow. Sometimes you would get spray, other time you just started over. During some of this Rick was still on the bridge sitting down, unable to make his way downstairs. He said at times spray was going over his head. He stood up once (a big no, no, never stand up) and thought he might go over the side having to grab onto the railing around the bridge. He eventually did make it downstairs. After a couple of hours I was tired of fighting the wheel, so Rick took over. This went on for four and a half hours. We finally made it to the inlet, and settled into the anchorage just about 5:00. Wow, I’m not sure it was worth the fight to avoid the hazards on the ICW. If the forecasts had been accurate I never would have gone outside. Once you are out there a ways, you are committed because it is just as painful going back as it is to just keep going. We were out about 3 ½ miles to avoid the Georgia shoals along this part of the coast. The boat is literally covered in salt spray and really needs a fresh water bath.

Tomorrow we are back in the ICW. We are going to try for Brunswick Georgia, our final destination for this leg of the journey. After a few days there we will head back home for the holidays.

BTW, we are just loving the new Rocna Vulcan anchor and Lewmar windlass I put on this year. The anchor sets first time every time and holds like glue. Getting the anchor up and down is a breeze, just step on the button. Easy peazy.

Today we traveled 78.4 painful miles for a total of approximately 846 miles. It took 8hrs. 50mins.

We are both worn out and I think it’s almost time for bed.