S/V Halley

36 26.171 N 75 28.460 W After a week in lovely Cape May, New Jersey, a weather window finally opened up for another long haul south. We are currently underway to Beaufort, North Carolina, a passage of 470 some nautical miles (870 km or 540 miles). The weather is cool, but we have good wind with sun shine here and there. At night, it’s all dark around us; no full moon this time, only a sliver that occasionally peeks out between clouds. This leg takes us around Cape Hatteras. It’s infamous among sailors for being subject to tough conditions. Constantly shifting shoals extend out from the cape for miles and two major currents, the Gulf and the Labrador current, converge on the cape, making for confused and rough waters, especially in high winds. The latest forecast is for winds to remain moderate and steady from the west, good conditions to round the cape in about 12-15 hours. In the meantime, we are cruising along nicely with a full main sail and head sail up. Chris took the early night ...

39 01.723 N 74 35.428 W A full moon on the open ocean is crazy bright. It has been our companion for two nights now as we are making our way to Cape May from Block Island. Last night it set in the west into its own reflection, a spectacular pool of molten lava, Tonight, it’s still up as we are closing in on Cape May.

  41 22.033 N 71 27.606 W We think that is what they call sun. Feels like a novelty after 5 days of rain, wind and clouds on anchor. But now we are happy. The parachute sail is hoisted and we are heading to Block Island in calm, beautiful conditions. We’ll spend a day or two there, then use it as a convenient jump-off spot into the Atlantic for our journey south.

41 19.605 N 71 57.597 W We’ve been bouncing around on anchor in Newport, Rhode Island, for the last several days. White caps in the harbor, rain, chilly and gusts up to 35 knots (18 m/s). It’s a classic New England Nor’easter. We’ve been mostly stuck on the boat; too choppy and rainy to make a dinghy ride to shore any fun + plenty of vessels around to keep an eye on in case they (or we) drag anchor.  So instead, cozy onboard with candles lit. Indoor projects for Chris from the never-ending list and regular work days for me. But, we have snuck out for a few walks and really enjoy Newport. Lively atmosphere and charming old houses. The harbor is large and full with sailboats of all kinds and sizes. Definitely a sailing Mecca. We also had dinner with a Rhode Island couple that we met in the Bahamas last season. Fun to reconnect and trade stories. Now we are obsessively following the PredictWind models to see when a weather window opens up to head south. We are hoping tomorrow, but wil...