US/Canada East Coast 2008

Waccamaw River, SC

June 06, 2008

On Tuesday June 3rd we sailed away from our anchorage and out to sea through the Fernandina Beach inlet.  Staying about 10-30 miles offshore we had perfect conditions with good winds and small waves.  After sailing overnight (alternating 3 hour watches) we had another great day and saw lots of very cool dolphins (Atlantic spotted and bottlenose) surfing along and under our bow.  This alone reminded us that it was all worthwhile! We also saw a loggerhead turtle, many flying fish, and a migrating warbler landed for a few minutes rest on the life lines. 

 

Over next night, the seas increased from 2 – 4 ft waves to 4 - 6 ft and the old mainsail developed a new, small tear that needed fixing (a new sail had been ordered).  We had not yet worked out how to sail this boat comfortably downwind when following waves were frequently taking the wind out of the sails (causing the boom and jib to slam annoyingly – we subsequently fixed this for the boom with a line going forward from its end called a preventer).  So rather weary of the waves and less-than-cooperative wind we headed inshore motor-sailing into the inlet at Winyah Bay, SC.  After seeing that the anchorage was very crowded at Georgetown we decided to forgo a repeat of the wonderful meal we had there last year with my brother Mike (when delivering the boat from NY) and instead anchored on the beautiful WaccamawRiver by Butler Island.  We were within easy sight of several osprey nests (2 -3 young per nest) and were delighted with the beautiful, peaceful site. We were so happy that we stayed at anchor there through Friday night.  We took the opportunity to fix a few things including patching the mainsail tear, sorting out all the stuff that ended up on the floor during the bumpy sailing (mostly books, etc. – now we knew what needed better securing in the cabin) and stowed things for long-term storage in the least accessible lockers.  We also just relaxed!
Foredeck and collapsed jib from mast (photo actually from Plymouth, MA) Aft from mast: solar and wind generators Cabin chaos after rough seas; learning what needs to be tied down! Alison in her bosun's chair up the mast
On the beautiful Waccamaw River
I've been here
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