Well we got our butts kicked! We left Beaufort NC after nearly two weeks of being tied to the dock. The first week was anticipated (not necessarily looked forward to by anyone) we had always planned to go back to Maine once we got the boat someplace warm enough to sit for a while. So finally we did, but when one week turned into two, admittedly, we became a bit frustrated.
We were all happy to be back together and enjoyed the first day back as a break from so much driving, the next two days weather came in. By Thursday we had heard looked at the next part of the ICW and decided it was just ugly, add to that that one of our friends boat, someone with local knowledge, had run aground and we were sure, we’d rather go outside. So we did.
And we got out butts kicked. It started out rainbows and light with pods of dolphins running with us sometimes for hours at a time. We had planned to go from Beaufort to Southport NC, but we were itching to “make up time” all the boats we knew had passed us and were making tracks for Bahamas. We did the math and somehow it seemed to make more sense to go from Beaufort to Georgetown.
By the time you add the distance into and out from the coastal towns we would be saving another 30ish miles so it seemed logical at the time. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other ideas. We probably would have been fine going into Southport if we’d have gone in like we’d originally planned. The storm that was coming, the one that blanked the whole Eastern seaboard and brought feet of snow in some places was just working itself up into a real tantrum. When we started out it wasn’t supposed to be that bad, and it wasn’t supposed to even arrive until late on the second day.
Unfortunately it was worse then predicted earlier than predicted and it turned out that it got us, and our bananas too. We left Beaufort a little later than we’d planned. We were waiting on the tide but since it wasn’t right until around 10:30 we rather lulled ourselves into the idea that we didn’t have to rush. In the end we left the dock around 1:00. Then the swing bridge didn’t open on demand only on the half hour, funny how we’d been at the dock for almost two weeks and didn’t notice that the siren only went off on the half hours. We did complain vigorously to each other more than once about how efficient the bridge tender was with his warnings. When we did go through he complimented us on our boat (since I figure he sees all kinds I’ll take that as a big compliment) and we decided while he’s heavy on the horn he has great taste in boat.
Between the late departure and the bridge and the long run to the ocean we were behind some when we started. The weather was decent all the rest of that day but by Paul’s watch, 12 to 4 AM it was so rough that Boyd was the only one left standing. The next day was pretty much a wash. I don’t know how Boyd did it. He took some of my watch, the 4am to 8 and basically the rest of the day. The wind was sustained 25-30 knots with gusts to 35 and the seas, which were from behind for the most part, were even with the top of the davits more often than not. Boyd said the waves were 8 to 12 and I could hear them breaking as they reached us. I knew it was bad when Boyd wouldn’t let me go out on deck to retrieve one of the fittings that shook loose.
Just to round out the experience it started to rain sometime during the night and by morning it had taken it up more as a passion than a hobby. Thank goodness Boyd doesn’t get seasick! With the wind and the rain and the waves there was no place to keep warm or even dry, not even under the dodger.
The one bright spot happened around 9am when a large pod of dolphin joined us and decided that the waves were absolutely perfect for practicing their Sea World super show impressions. They joined us and took turns leaping from out of the tops of the waves, sometime directly towards the boat getting the max amount of air-time possible. After that all I remember is being cold, wet and seasick for the rest of the day.
Finally around 3pm we came into the “breakwater” for Georgetown. Nearly all the breakwater there is submerged so for me at least it was a big disappointment. I was counting the minutes to relief from the swells only to find that “inside” the breakwater the waves were more confused than outside. So while they were somewhat lesser in actual size the combination of the direction we were now forced to go to stay off the breakwaters and the reflection of the waves bouncing around didn’t make it much more comfortable.
We finally reached an area where the tide, wind and rain were the only elements we were fighting and the kids and I started to feel more alive. We decided in that moment to find a marina. I called several and we settled on one with a seemingly better price and the coveted free WiFi.
We came in in the pouring rain. When Paul stepped out of the dodgers to rig for the dock we were instantly soaked to the skin. Even our rain jackets didn’t help. I had pushed on a ball cap and was amazed to see that the brim was dripping pink droplets; it was the best we’d felt all day.
Once secured and hooked to shore power we all wearily went below only to find that our previously neat cabins looked like someone had put the contents in a blender. Cushions, books, clothes, food, tools and the like were intermixed with everything else we own. Add a little salt water and stir thoroughly, oh, and the bananas were bruised!
What’s the big deal with the bananas you might wonder? Well what I noticed when I came below was that even though the bananas were still hanging from the net in the galley and they didn’t end up on the floor they had hit the side of the boat so hard (most likely in the rolling inside the breakwater if not before) that there is a permanent dent across the entire bunch. So… not only did we get our butts kicked but we’ve bruised our bananas (and perhaps our pride) as well.