Conquering the Jersey Coast (best sail of my life)
A handful of boats left Sandy Hook yesterday, some stayed waiting for better weather. Glad the forecast was as predicted. N-NW winds with a constant 15-23knts. Motor sailed until sundown, and then raised our sails,reefed for an evening of calm 120° AWA sailing…..
Turned out we had everything but that. Following seas and constant high winds led to a sporty 12 hour overnight shift for me. I felt like I was flying. From 12am to 4am we averaged 6knots and topped out at 8.2 knots. The boat was balanced and responding well to the helm so I kept her driving downwind. I awoke my crew a few times when reefing, but other than that the boat and the crew were happy.
Sleeping bag, winter gloves, an airpod, and the wind is all you need.
PS, we got cooked by a pair of boats sailing about 2 boat lengths away from each other in the middle of the night. I’ve never been passed when doing 6 knots like that.
And we lost our yacht ensign. But we saw a dolphin at the breakwater in Cape May.
