Overnight Sail to Norfolk, VA

I think sailors largely suffer from acute selective memory loss (must be all the rum).

Sailing is glamorous. It’s you and the elements. The endless seas to new horizons. That’s what we remember…. at least that’s what I remember, the other stuff are just details to a story.

In planning a sail, you weigh variables & tradeoffs like Distance, Comfort, Time, Weather, Risk; and always remember strong winds can kick up high seas over time and space. The first overnight passage on this trip was 110 nautical miles Conney Island NY to Cape May, NJ. We had good wind from the West (from the coastline), which meant a limited amount of space for waves to kick up. We assumed it would be a smooth sail. So WHY the heck were there large swells coming from the South! Once the sun went down and the horizon disappeared, I was down for the count & not in a good way.

People react very differently to seasickness (aka the imbalance of the inner ear). Seasickness is disorientation between your visual perception and perceived balance. Women and children tend to be more prone. The usual aids for prevention are bonine, ginger root, bitters…. (no joke, I mean bitters, the stuff you put in your Old Fashions), and prescriptions like stugeron or cinnarizine.

I’ve seen people hugging the railing unable to move, I’ve seen others who just stand swaying back and forth. In the past, I’ve only gotten dizzy, taken a nap, and woke up to function just fine. This time, I tried taking a nap giving Mike the first 4 hour shift. I woke up feeling completely unbalanced in the stomach and in the head. Mike told me he was fine. It was a partly clear night with good light wind. We were just bouncing around everywhere. Swells from the south and waves from the West made for an uneasy ride. Around 1 AM I tried sitting on deck for my watch and finally submitted to seasickness. It’s the most awful feeling. I struggled; fighting exhaustion, nausea, and a very unbalanced inner ear for the next 3.5 hours. Around 4:30 AM I told Mike to go down below and take a nap. It was still pitch black but the seas were calming. As the sun illuminated the sky so too did my sense of health and happiness.

The Overnight Passage:

Our second overnight passage had far less nausea…. but wow we pulled our New Englanders card and muscled through the coldest night on our trip. You’re probably thinking, ‘but Kirsten why would you pick the coldest night to stand outside in the wind, cold, and dark for 12 hours….’ Well, we wanted to spend one day exploring Assateague Island where the wild horses roamed. Secondly, we had this cold snap due to wind/weather coming from the Northwest – a great direction, but it brought the cold! The wind was stronger than anticipated, unfortunately for us. Instead of leaving at high tide from Assateague Island, sailing 120 nautical miles, and arriving at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay around sunrise; we were going too fast and hit one of the busiest ports around 4:30 AM. In all our tips and advice, everyone always said, keep clear of the shipping channels, they’re busy (dangerous). Great job planning this one Mike & Kirsten (sarcasm)!

But in all that bitter cold, we saw a pod of dolphins various times, a whale breach, and a little bird take refuge on our boat for an hour or so. We also had amazing gumbo stew to keep us fed and provided an amazing boost to morale.
We made it into Norfolk under the cloak of darkness when I took over. As we shifted to a more westward direction, 4-6 foot steep waves rocked the haul swaying the boat by 45 degrees in either direction. It took me an hour to come to terms with my fear and discomfort. It was pitch black & little red dots surrounded the harbor (some being channel markers, telling you to avoid dangerous waters!), the wind was shifty and howling 25-30 knots, and series of steep 5 foot waves would violently knock the boat back and forth. On top of that, 200-300 foot tankers/containerships moving 10-13 knots could appear and pass you within a 4 minute period. We were on 3 hour watches and those 3 hours were the worst. The first rays of dawn had never been so welcomed, once again. We’re going to work on planning our estimated time of arrival better…. but in the meantime, I’m going to enjoy Norfolk, VA! I think we’ve earned it.Read more