We had a minor setback yesterday due to weather. Who'd have thought that after 3 full days on the open ocean with incredible weather that we'd be beaten up so badly on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) that we'd cry "Uncle!"? As I already reported, the offshore passage wasn't perfect. The last several hours were not fun, but we survived those and incorrectly assumed we'd overcome the worst conditions we'd see during the trip and the final legs would be smooth sailing. We were wrong.
It wasn't just that the weather was so bad, but it was a combination of things. Operating the boat in high winds, waves that are too much for the autopilot and require someone to actually steer the boat, occasional rain showers, and the thought that our next stop was an anchorage with high winds that might require constant monitoring and possibly even resetting the boat's anchor in the middle of the night add up to high stress and a low reading on the fun meter.
We'd been fighting a ferocious 15 - 20 knot crosswind with 3- 5 foot waves for 3 to 4 hours, and the next leg would point the bow directly into that mess, and we just couldn't do it anymore. When we honestly appraised what we'd been through and our readiness to continue, we bailed and booked a spot at the first marina available where the Pungo River makes a 90-degree right turn at Belhaven, NC.
The stop was ~6 hours earlier than planned, so our schedule was significantly impacted, AND Scott's plans to leave the boat had to be adjusted. We were disappointed. It wasn't as bad as breaking down and staring at a major repair for 2 days, wondering if it would ever happen, but it was disappointing.
When we plan to stop at a marine, we research the possibilities with a cruising guide for the area, I call the one we choose on the phone to let them know that we're coming and to verify that they have a spot for us, and if they do, the marina usually gives us an idea of where they'll park us. They then give me a radio frequency on which to contact them when we're approaching the marina so that they're ready for us with line handlers and to give us any final instructions.
For this particular stop, the marina told me that they had a spot to park us along a pier that we could angle into against the wind with a long approach. It sounded perfect. Even though Chuck has proven to be a great boat handler, he appreciates it if we can avoid difficult or drastically new docking challenges.
When we got close to the marina, I called them on the radio, and the plan changed completely. Not only were they giving Chuck a new docking challenge, they were asking him to do something that most people would avoid at all costs. They asked us to motor well inside the marina area, turn the boat stern-to the pier, and then back it into a narrow slip. Most marinas would be protected from the wind and the challenge of backing inta slip would not be that significant, but we were still experiencing a 20+ knot wind from the stern. Crazy!
With the slip we were supposed to back into off the bow, Chuck saw the pier and parking spot with the long approach that the marina had originally described and pointed, yelling from the fly bridge, "Over there!" but the marina staff waiting to handle our lines shook their heads and answered back on the radio, "No, Captain, we need you to back into this slip," gesturing like airline handlers at the tiny slip they were standing at. Unhappy but resigned to accept his fate, Chuck set up to back into the assigned slip, and he handled it beautifully. No, the landing wasn't perfect, but nothing or nobody was hurt in the process, and it ended successfully.
We spent an uneventful night in Belhaven, a claim I suspect is made quite often, and we all woke up more refreshed than I think we've been throughout the whole trip. The disappointment of the previous day was forgotten, spirits were high, and we were anxious to get the modified 4th leg of the journey started.
For those of you who just read this blog because you're fans of Scott, you can stop reading. We left him in Belhaven this morning, making it a much better place than we found it. He was an incredible asset throughout the planning, preparation, and initial phases of getting this adventure off the pier at our starting point, and he will be sorely missed. In the nation of Branwen, he is a national treasure. I look forward to having him aboard in the future to show him how the boat has improved with his sage advice.
Chuck and I left by ourselves on the fourth leg of the journey, waving to Scott who walked down the pier beside us as we left. (Yes, that's about how fast a trawler moves.) We planned to end the day at Coinjock, NC but were concerned long-term about completing the journey with just the two of us and near-term about the weather crossing Albermarle sound. It's a large, shallow body of water that can get whipped into a frenzy with just a little bit of wind, and we were expecting more than a little bit.
Well, we made it safely to Coinjock. The day was mostly uneventful. Yes, there was weather and waves and a few rolls bigger than we'd have liked along the way, but the rolls didn't scramble the boat's interior as badly as those experienced before Belhaven, partly because we've improved as a crew and had the boat in better shape, due largely to Scott's suggestions.
While there's too much food on board that will have to be eaten eventually, we're eating out tonight, because cooking and cleaning up is a lot to do after a full day on the water.
Greg.
No comments:
Post a Comment