I was asleep and then was hit in the head with a Honeycrisp Apple, jolted into the reality of being in a port-side lee cloth sailing in the ocean. I sat up, swung my feet to the floor at the end of the settee, and stepped on two bananas. That’s pretty much the story of the second half of the trip from Beaufort, NC to Charleston, SC. The macrame slings from Etsy that hold our fruits and vegetables inside on the starboard side had swung past the point that the cup hooks keeping them attached couldn’t do it anymore. Fruits and vegetables flew across the cabin. The waves were large and the boat was rocking but we were still sailing along at 6.5 knots so I took it in stride and cleaned up banana mush on the floor in the dark at 2:30 a.m. That’s blue water sailing in a nutshell. Our original plan was to sail to St. Augustine. The forecasted southwest gale force winds in the ocean off of Savannah on Wednesday night, followed by strong winds on the nose Thursday afternoon heading further south caused us to reconsider our destination and so we headed into the Charleston Inlet. We’ll miss a mooring ball, showers, mail, good food at The Drunken Horse St. Augustin’s, and amazing live music (on Sunday afternoons - I’m sure they are good every day but Sunday afternoons are over the top!) at Dog Rose Brewing Co., the  Marine Supply & Oil Co which is a must-visit place for any sailor, plus the bonus of a Christmas Parade this Saturday. As you can tell, I love St. Augustine, in short bursts, particularly on Sundays. The constant in this sail was that the wind blew from roughly 010º. After a few slow hours leaving Beaufort, NC, wind speeds picked up and never dropped below 20 knots. Perfect for Avemar. It was a very cold, one-starboard tack sail except for two short jibes to get around Frying Pan Shoals. Two reefs were in the main and two in the staysail. Avemar’s Wind Pilot steered for most of the trip. The story of the trip, other than the apple-to-the-head wake-up call, was about the huge waves during the night on Tuesday. Winds were still 25 knots with higher gusts from the same direction, but the waves changed from the stern to hitting Avemar on the starboard side for a few hours. It was chaotic but we both hit the sack and got some well-deserved sleep. As a bonus, after 34 years of sailing, I finally experienced a wave coming over the stern and swamping the cockpit with 5” of water. I was on watch at the time and thankfully I was sitting in the companionway under the dodger and only the pillows I was sitting on got wet but it was quite an experience for a first-timer! All in all, it was fun. I got to sleep. April enjoyed her midnight to 4 am shifts at the helm and counting shooting stars. We are happy to be at anchor with the woodstove burning and waiting out the upcoming blow in a protected spot and are now looking for the next window to our next adventure… southbound!

At this pace, Avemar will be south of Charleston at this time tomorrow and then the winds build and build. Will we be far enough south? I don’t know but I’m developing a bail out route to St. Augustine. After a slow start from Beaufort, NC yesterday afternoon, winds picked up today! 25 knots from behind and 6.5 to 7.5 knots of boat speed for most of the day. The swell has set in now making things below a little uncomfortable but April and I are enjoying sailing again vs. the ICW! Oh, we lost the cups on our B&G wireless wind instrument at the top of the mast. That sort of sucks if for nothing else but to record these gusts in our logbook! We’re hanging on below!

April and I met our friends Sput and Suzy on SV Validated this morning in Oriental, NC and we cruised together to Beaufort. We had the tide with us for most of the trip so it was a leisurely day. As we were turning into the Taylor Creek from the river, we hit a submerged jetty. HARD!! The obstruction is well marked with signs, so we took the green nun #3 at the entrance to the creek wide to port. Well, that mark is not in the right location. If you are ever coming in from the ocean, stick to the reds!!