Last night while we were in Fernandina Beach, the talk on the docks was all about the forecast incoming "brisk" winds from the NE. As is often the case, NOAA doesn't always get it right, but this time they were spot on! This morning (at 630am) we awoke to strong winds coming offshore toward the land. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't be a big deal as the ICW is often well protected from the elements. But today, our route took us through four different open inlets and sounds fully exposed to the Atlantic Ocean -- and the "brisk" wind. Which for those of you so nautically inclined, it was blowing at 18-20 knots with gusts to 30 knots.
That resulted in seas that ranged from a "light chop" in the protected ICW to 4 foot angry seas right on our nose. We adjusted our speed and angle of attack accordingly, but even then, we were taking seas and spry over the bow. Thank goodness for a well built boat capable of handling such conditions, not to mention a very supportive and helpful Admiral in the navigation seat!
Needless to say, we were delighted to finally reach Hilton Head, SC some 7 hours laters -- come to think of it, we actually ran through the entire state of Georgia in just one day! It was a meandering day going north, west, east and even south at times.
Upon arriving at the Hilton Head Yacht Basin, ENCORE drank up 180 gallons of diesel fuel followed by a thorough washing from stem to stern. Tonight we are looking forward to a relaxing evening at the Topside Restaurant overlooking Calabouge Sound.
Oh yeah, we are docked about a 9 iron away from the 18th green of the Harbor Town Golf Club, home of the RBC Classic.
We haven't made a final decision about tomorrow quite yet. The forecast calls for the winds increasing, so unless we can stay inside the well protected ICW, we might opt for another day in Hilton Head.
More to come….
No comments:
Post a Comment