Beaufort, NC to Gloucester Point, VA

Sunday, April 28- We pulled anchor in Beaufort, NC at 12:15 p.m. and headed out Beaufort inlet toward Cape Lookout Shoals. We pulled the main sail partially out once past the jetties. Wind was mostly on our nose, slightly to starboard. Wind gage was reading 14 knots and waves were calm. We motor-sailed through out the night going about 5 to 6 knots. It was a very calm night with no issues. I did the 9 pm to midnight and 3 am to 6 am shifts. Kevin did midnight to 3, and was suppose to sleep from 3-6 but he probably came up earlier than 6.

Monday, April 29 at 6:30 a.m. we turned towards the west more and were now on a beam reach, port tack at which point we pulled out the Genoa. The Wind was still around 15 knots and we continued to motor-sail. Even though the sun was coming up the temperature was 65 degrees and felt cold, I changed into warmer pants and from my windbreaker to a warmer coat, added a layer under my pants, and light gloves. Kevin went down to sleep a bit more around 8:45 am. At 9:20 am the winds picked up to 20 knots and we were cruising at 7 knots. I eased the genoa a bit and turned off the motor. It was finally a quiet sail! Hours motored-sailed: 21.
Just before 3:00 p.m. the winds died down to 5-6 knots and shifted to a broad reach, port tack and we turned the motor back on.
Sail time: 5.5 hours
The sun was out in full force and the cockpit had warmed up a good bit, the layers started to come off. The rest of the afternoon the wind toyed with us with highs and lows allowing us to occasionally turn the engine off and sail, only to die down again. At 8:30 p.m. I took advantage of the engine being off and went downstairs for some sleep before my 12:00 am shift. I had about an hour a peaceful sleep before Kevin turned motor back on.

When my shift started at midnight (now Tuesday) we were approaching Virginia Beach and the wind, water and temperature were all mild. We had been motor-sailing at 5.5 knots until about 1:00 a.m. Suddenly, the wind picked up and we went from a speed of 5.5 knots to 7 knots. I depowered the genoa but we continued to gain speed. I slowed the boat down and we continued to gain speed. I shut the motor off, let the genoa out more but we still picked up speed and were going 8 knots, heeling more than I cared to, with winds at 37 knots. At 1:30 a.m. I woke Kevin up trying to keep my voice calm! Over the next 2 hours we continued to depower the sails and reef them in. It’s difficult when the wind is strong. By 4:00 a.m. we had pulled the Genoa in completely and the mainsail was reefed to about 1/4 of the way out. I made coffee because neither of us was going to get any more sleep at that time. By 5:00 a.m. Tuesday we were entering the Chesapeake Bay.
At 10:30 a.m. we were anchored close to the marina, waiting for high tide to be able to enter the marina.

Sail time: 19 hours
Motor sail: 23 hours
Motor only: 4.5 hours

We docked at 2:30 on Tuesday, April 30 at York River Yacht Haven. We were close to Kevin’s brothers, Rick and Steve. They plus Rick’s girlfriend Debbie met us for dinner that night. It’s feels so good to be with family, on a dock, and we’ll be here for a month!Leer más