Like ships in the night…
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 shift and is sleeping. It’s less than an hour before sunrise and the sky is already getting lighter in the east. I’m listening to music and keeping a close eye on the boat traffic around us. Many cargo ships are passing on their way up and down the east coast. They are large and fast, and can sneak up on a slow sail boat in a hurry. We just had two cargo ships cross our path not far away. No problem staying alert during night watch when that happens.
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