“The best-laid schemes of mice and men Go oft awry,”
~ From to a Mouse by Robert Burns
Beaufort Harbor, NC.
We spent our first night (Nov. 23, 2024) on Kailoa before our departure Sunday morning. As final preparation we pulled the detailed charts, re-read the cruise book section on Ocracoke Inlet, and entered several waypoints into the BNG Chart plotter.
According to the Map Tech Embassy cruising guide “North Carolina waters provide a variety of cruising styles both offshore and the Inter Coastal Water Way (ICW). The straight-shot offshore run of 280 miles can be the most challenging, with weather and inlet issues to consider all the way.” Most cruisers take the inland water way down
through North Carolina to avoid the offshore hazards. If you look at the Marine Traffic app , you will see a parade of boats all the way to Florida.
A conversation with a local Safe Harbor staffer named Dave, stuck with us. In his southern drawl he said, “the offshore approach channel to Ocracoke has shifting sands, you may want to call sea tow for an escort into the channel.” After discussion we both agreed that our best laid plans had issues, and so the decision was made to sail directly to Beaufort, NC (pronounced Bow-fort) instead of Ocracoke. This extended the total passage to 220 miles or about 32 hours at an average boat speed of 7 knots.
We headed to the outlet of the Chesapeake Bay after slipping lines at 0700. We took the sight of dolphins as a sign of good luck when we rounded by Cape Henry; our motor sailing speed of 8.5 knots under full main and code zero.
Things went according to plan whilst we headed southeast along the outer bank of Virginia. The change in direction south dictated a change out of the code zero for the staysail on our way to Currituck Sound, North Carolina. We arrived at Currituck ahead of schedule. With the increased wind speed encountered, we put one reef in the main before the sun set that evening over Nags Head, NC.
The passage would take us through the notorious unfamiliar waters around Cape Hatteras. For those reading who may not be aware, the Outer Banks is nicknamed the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” with over 5,000 named shipwrecks since the early 1500s. The most notorious of all is Diamond Shoals claiming 1000s of boats and countless lives (not ours though).
Amped with excitement as we approached Cape Hatteras, neither of us were able to sleep during the day. It’s hard not to realize that there is less than an inch of fiberglass between us and the mighty Sea, and there is always a thought and appreciation for Kailoa working so hard surging through waves and wind to carry us forward. In hindsight the most challenging part of the passage around Hatteras would coincide with our highest level of fatigue during the trip.
A tired brain is a mariner’s worst enemy because it can significantly impact brain function by impairing cognitive performance, integrative decision-making, and the ability to react quickly. Kim experienced this when easing the main. We were not
able to use our red headlamps (due to dead batteries), so we were unable to see at night as well as we could have. When performing the maneuver, Kim mistakenly opened the outhaul block causing the main sail to lose its shape and flap wildly in the wind. We had to use a cell phone light to ease the main further (not ideal), before pulling in the outhaul and retrimming the main. Luckly all this could be done from the safety of the cock pit. The incident was a reminder to stay alert, ensure head lamps are functional before a night sail, and consider high fatigue points in planning future passages.
Thanks to the innovation of Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) we took note of four (4) other vessels on our instrument panel that were traveling along our course. We wouldn’t have seen them otherwise in the dark night. AIS has been revolutionary in that you can click on a feature on the panel that shows the name of the boat, type, speed, course, and point of interception. The vessels with us were Prince of Tides (100ft), Zissou (45 ft), Juniper (45 ft), and Loretta (45 ft). The cluster of boats made it feel like we were in a race, and we amused ourselves by watching, taking note of them
to pass the early hours of the night.
Before we knew it, we arrived at Diamond Shoals off Cape Hatteras (0130) as the orange crescent moon rose and the wind picked up. We got into a bit of a disagreement over whether to head to the lighted marker (further off the shoal) or cut to the outer shoal unlit Buoy. To shorten the course, we headed for the unlit buoy. The wind gradient from low to high, corresponding from land to the sea was blowing steady at an average of 13 knots, with gusts to 18 knots. It was quite eerie being in this place, a graveyard of sorts, and it took all the mental acuity of the both of us to navigate the
shoals, position of our companion vessels, tug towing a barge, and low-moving fishing trawler (not on AIS).
Scott’s instinct was to tack into lighter wind after we cleared Diamond Shoals to avoid the offshore high wind band. At this point our course took us right into the wind and the wave fetch on starboard tack meant Kailoa was taking the force on the bow. This caused the hull of the boat and bow to shutter and bang every 4 th or 5 th wave, making for a loud, unnerving and uncomfortable ride. We tacked to port for a while and back to starboard, losing ground as compared to the companion boats. Port tack took the waves on the beam, but unfortunately for us we needed starboard tack to
make our course. Scott tried every maneuver during those early morning hours making a series of adjustments, such as slowing the boat, increasing the speed, and changing the wind angle, but nothing seemed to relieve the stress on Kailoa, to maintain our 70-mile rum line to Cape Lookout. In Scott’s words it was a” brutal” 12 hours at the helm.
Sunset at Nags Head, NC.
Our bodies, chilled from the night air, warmed, as the sun rose over the eastern horizon at 0700. The rising sun raised our spirits and gave us the energy to push forward for another 8 hours to Beaufort. We were greeted by a school of about 50 dolphins off Cape Lookout. Yeah!! Apart from Zissou, who was behind us, our companion boats had all but disappeared far ahead. Land Ho at 1300, our entry to Beaufort Harbor was uneventful as well as docking at Beaufort Marina. We even received a compliment from the staff who said, “it’s a pleasure to help folks that know what they are doing.”
Our analysis of the trip plan relative to what was recorded in the log showed all the planning was in sync with what we observed at sea, which gave us a lot of confidence that the models we were using, and more importantly, our interpretation of them was spot on. In post-processing the passage, the planning helped relieve the decision making burden under fatigue conditions. Overall, we worked well together except for the dispute over the mark on Diamond Shoals.
Comparison Planned Trip to Beaufort versus Observed.
We found Beaufort to be a charming harbor with many boats in slips or at anchor all traveling south, like us. We knocked off at about 1400 and slept for 12 hours. We woke up feeling pleased …… Kailoa served us well!!!!
We will be looking for our next weather window to Charlott, SC.
Holding FAST.
Special note: Today marks what would have been Kim’s Mom’s 89 Birthday. Mom, we think of you every day and hope that you are watching from heaven.
AND
BIG shout out to Scott’s Brother Sandy (aka “Animal”). Happy Birthday to the most skilled sailor and world-class ocean racing champion we know. We love you and wish that you were here with us. xxoo
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