Subtitle: Is this a storm? No it's an Atlantic gale
Friday, 26 May 2017
So much has happened in the last 7 days, I hardly know where to begin. Since departing from Spanish Cay in the northern Bahamas last Saturday 20 May, we have experienced a great variety of weather, ranging from flat calm and no wind to prolonged thunder and lightning storm, raging sea with waves up to 4-5 metres, raindrops like bullets and wind gusts up to 43.5 knots (gale force 9)! We barely slept (in shifts of course) and hardly ate anything over the final 24 hours of this passage. It all began in the early hours of Tuesday 23rd May morning. Both Skipper and First Mate sustained injuries when thrown off balance when down below by two different rogue waves - Skipper thrown against a door post impacting his left back; First Mate against a shelf impacting her left cheek. Skipper’s injury was painful, affecting his ability to function normally on deck. Despite still being 200 nm from our intended destination of Beaufort, North Carolina, but fearing a possible cracked or broken rib(s), we diverted to the nearest accessible port that we felt we could sail to under gale conditions - but it was still 100 nm away. This happened to be Georgetown, South Carolina, where we arrived at 05:45 on Wednesday 24 May. It is 10 nm up a river, so happily no waves and much less wind. So we made it, surviving the gale, which by the way was not forecast when we left the Bahamas 7 days ago!
Below is the text I composed whilst en route with absolutely no thought of gales in mind… it was to have been entitled “No, we have no bananas…!”
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Sunday 21 May 2017
This post is being composed whilst out on the ocean wave, so to speak. It is 10:30. We set sail yesterday from Spanish Cay, off Little Abaco island in northern Bahamas, to travel north to Beaufort, North Carolina on the NE coast of the USA. The ‘rhumb line’ (or as the crow flies in non-nautical lingo) shows the distance to be 467nm but being keen to maximise our speed we have plotted a course 60nm longer to take us still north but further west of the rhumb line in order to find the Gulf Stream that runs north up the coast of Florida. The best laid plans ... do oft times gang aglay. The forecast yesterday for east wind of 15-20kn turned out to be a SE wind of 5-10kn. We had to motor-sail for about 7hr yesterday and sail a course further west and not so far north as planned. BUT now we can see the dark blue strip of the stream off the port side and look forward to at least a couple of knots to help us on our way.
In fact the winds have been lighter than we like since leaving Rock Sound on Monday 15 May after re-provisioning. We had to motor the full 30nm from there round to Alabaster Bay on the west side of long thin Eleuthera - a beautiful sheltered sandy bay with clear clear water and Follyfin the only boat there. Also the site of our 4th green flash and another large sting ray swimming round the boat! Shame we had to leave early the next day to carry on our northwards progress up to the Abaco Islands. More motoring across the bight of Eleuthera until we exited its surrounding reef but then an exhilarating night sail, arriving to shelter from strong winds in the lee of Powell Cay, just a couple of miles south of Spanish Cay.
Which brings me to the title of this post… the marina on Spanish Cay is neither Spanish nor key! According to the pilot guide we have, it is a great place to prepare for a long passage north or south. Well, they do have fuel yes, served by a very nice local man but it is twice the price of most other places and the dock where one ties up for it is really high and unsuited to cruising yachts, a real nightmare. Water was unavailable since the pipe had been broken the precious day. And the rather unfriendly provisioning ‘store’ had so little to offer that I anticipate having to fall back on Smash and corned beef again! Never mind, we are on our way and now have a lift from the Gulf Stream, so despite very light winds we feel we are making progress.
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Back to the present….
It's hard to describe what it's like being on a small boat in those gale conditions, completely at the mercy of the elements. Fortunately for us, Follyfin is made of stern stuff and looked after us well. We went to the hospital yesterday and the good news is that there is nothing cracked or broken, just a very bad bruise. And I only ended up with a black eye and swollen cheek.
Skipper, alive and kicking...no external bruising visible but the X-ray picture proves it!
Well dear reader, after reading the above account, you may say ‘they must be mad’, or ‘why do they do it?’ I confess I made the same comments to myself whilst going through this last awful experience. And the answer lies in the wonderful places you find yourself in. Like here in Georgetown - it is really lovely and the people are so kind and friendly. There is so much history - in the mid-19th century the area round here provided half of all the rice, Carolina Gold, consumed in USA - and we are really enjoying the fantastic food offerings available. Shrimp features heavily on every menu as well as tuna and other seafood and of course grits (not my favourite!). The least we can do is spoil ourselves after the Gale Experience!
Below is a selection of photos from the voyage and from Georgetown, which we are taking our time to explore whilst waiting for injuries to heal.
Tuny fish caught but a large Mahi-Mahi got away with lure and all
So that's about it for now. We hope to depart from here early next week, as long as Skipper has recovered his strength. We will head out to sea for the 150nm up to Beaufort NC. Before that, more chillin' in Georgetown. Could be worse - a lot worse!
Gyou have survived to tell the tale of two Georgetowns parents. Please take it easy!
ReplyDeleteYour survival instincts seem to be allowing you to overcome such tribulations (thank goodness!) Here's hoping your onward journeys prove to be less dramatic. Good luck from all the Thompsons!
ReplyDeleteOh, and your photos are great. Hope you're taking some video shots too, for when you return to Blighty!
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