Cape Fear

Not quite as planned

Rounding Cape Fear and arriving at Oak Island looked pretty simple to us

PLAN

  • Thursday 2pm - Thanksgiving dinner

  • Thursday 4pm - leave dock in Beaufort, NC

  • 117 nm / 6 knots = 20 hours

  • Friday 12pm - arrive at Oak Island

ACTUAL

  • Thursday 4pm - leave dock in Beaufort, NC

  • Thursday 5:30pm - put up spinnaker

  • Thursday 5:35pm - take down spinnaker

  • Thursday 10pm - winds pick up (20 knots), reef jib

    • Jib furler gets too tight and won't budge

    • Duane clips in and heads to bow to diagnose

    • Spinnaker got sucked into jib crease

    • Unwind furler, and wind it up again

    • Jib reefed successfully.

  • Friday 8am - cute dolphins! Rain on the ocean is pretty.

  • Friday 10am - winds too strong (25 knots), time to motor

    • Jib furler not working again

    • Crap, now jib sheets are tangled up

    • Duane clips in and heads to the bow again

    • Yuck, it's raining, and the waves are huge, and Duane is wearing bluejeans.

    • Jib sheets are a mess. Not going to be easy to fix, especially with the jib flopping around in heavy winds.

    • Examining the furler -- it's not the spinnaker this time. It's an override!

    • Duane can't untangle the override

    • Duane figures out a solution - wind it up manually (with hands, no furler)

    • Requires jib sheets to be untangled! Ugh. Solution - unrig jib sheets

    • Andrea can't get the stopper knot out! Solution - cut the line

    • Duane finishes rolling up jib, but can't secure it tightly. Seems ok, though.

    • Drop the spinnaker and put it away (20 mins?)

      • During this time I (Andrea) am pissed because Duane is taking so long at the bow while we are motoring in the wrong direction (upwind, because of reasons) and even though he is clipped in, it's still risky. Solution - buy walkie-talkie headsets so we can communicate when one is at the bow and then other in the cockpit - brilliant!

    • Dry out bluejeans, crawl under covers, shiver

  • Friday 1pm - jib came lose and started flapping around again

    • Andrea gets woken up to help

    • Duane clips in and heads to the bow again

    • Duane is prepared for rain and splashing this time, but it wasn't necessary this time.

    • Unwind the jib and wind it back up

    • This time use a spare rope to keep it from unwinding.

  • Andrea has been seasick and taking dramamine this entire trip - but it still gets her and she tosses cookies overboard.

  • Thursday 5:50pm - arrive at Oak Island just before marina staff leaves for the evening

  • Thursday 6:00pm - dinner at nice italian resturant. Nice, but can barely stay awake for it.