Fair Winds and Following Seas
Once we left Georgetown
in the Exumas, we headed to Emerald Bay again for a few days until some weather
passed, and then, perhaps because we had endured our fair share of headwinds,
and perhaps Neptune had finally started to feel sorry for us.... everything
changed, and not just for the better... the best!
It’s
true, "Fair Winds and Following Seas" are the way to go!
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| Spill The Wine flying her spinnaker in the Bahama's Northwest Channel |
We had just shoved off from Nassau with the intention of sailing thru the night, returning to the United States, when we noticed another sail boat was on the same track. It wasn't long before we received a call on the VHF from S/V Nomad introducing themselves and inquiring about our path. It's always nice to have company. After some time David and Leeann on Nomad raised their spinnaker and Barb and I decided to do the same, and then Nomad called again and made a perfect offer.... "We'll take pictures of you and you can take pictures of us and we'll exchange via email". So above is the product of that great idea. Thank you S/V Nomad!
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| Our Hitchhiker |
This little guy flew
around the boat and perched on our lifelines as we were leaving the Berries.
He stayed with us for several hours and seemed to fly off in the
direction of Bimini. Glad we could help him out. 😉
From leaving Key Largo,
Florida to finding a slip in Hilton Head, South Carolina, with the Bahamas in
between, we stayed on Spill the Wine for nearly two and a half months
straight.... that's a record for us, and the only real way to describe it is:
Piece of Cake! We're so happy with the comfort and stability of the
Island Packet. It truly felt like home.
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| Spill The Wine's Crew.... Rested and Ready to Head North! |
So now we've traversed
the east coast three times - all on the outside. Well, not all the
east coast of course, Baltimore is far away from Maine, we are simply rounding
up, but Maine is on our list! We can't
wait until we can explore the northern states.... hopefully next summer. From
Florida, we could go the Intercoastal Waterway but with our mast height we'd
just rather wait out the bad weather and go the direct way. Of course,
that doesn't always work out.
Our only bad passage
came on the southern trek around the outer banks of North Carolina. We
headed out of Norfolk with three other sailboats in the morning with the
intention of sailing thru the evening. Barb and I take three hour shifts
thru the night and when she came to rouse me at three in the morning, the first
thing out of her mouth was "the wind has really picked up".
Over the next several hours it not only picked up to 35 knots, but changed
direction from the forecasted north west to a south west. The wind was
directly in front of us and it stayed that way, blowing hard for the next 20
hours. It was miserable. We heaved
to three times to make repairs. Once the
spinnaker pole fell from its lashings on the mast, once the dingy straps undid themselves,
and once a jack line began to come loose from the bow. Bad, Bad, & Bad! Barb was sick. Worse! We made slow and dismal progress as we
rounded the crashing and turbulent waters of Diamond Shoals.
Of the four sailboats
which left Norfolk together, one had to be towed. Another had an onboard
fire which they were able to extinguish but certainly caused alarm for all. As
for Spill the Wine, while we had cabinets fly open and debris everywhere, and
we were exhausted and uncomfortable, the yacht itself was strong and balanced.
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| Baltimore - Key West - Key Largo - Georgetown - Baltimore |
Of course, time, and
more importantly our relationship with it, is a very delicate thing, for it
seems to dictate so much of our existence. Since leaving Baltimore last
October, we've learned a great deal about managing time to improve our sailing
and enjoyment of its adventure.
When we look back and
think about all of our bare boat charter experiences and journeys on our
previous boats, where we only had a limited amount of time and thought less of
weather and preparation, we quickly realize what very different sailors we are
today.
With the advent of our
newfound status as empty nesters, it has admittedly taken us a while to slow
ourselves down, and to listen intently and react appropriately to the answer to
one very important question, "What is the weather telling us to do?"
and now, having sailed from Baltimore, to Key West, to Nassau, to Georgetown,
and back to Baltimore, we view time as our ally, a companion on our trip, and
along with weather, the four of us have found a balance which already we're
eager to repeat.
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