In an attempt to wait out the weather and make one final
offshore push up to Beaufort, NC we spent July 2 & 3 in Charleston. On the 4th of July we sailed close
hauled across a busy Charleston Harbor and re-entered the ICW at Sullivan’s
Island.
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| 4th of July traffic off our stern in Charleston Harbor |
The south east winds allowed us to sail the majority of the
skinny, marsh grass lined waterway along Bulls Bay and into the Cape Romaine
National Wildlife Refuge. I recall the
day seemed to stretch on a bit long as we fought against a flooding tide for
the final couple hours. We had no idea
that it may be our last full day of sailing aboard C’est la Vie.
Initially the 5th went according to plan. In an effort to take full advantage of the
ebbing tide through Winyah Bay, we awoke at dark thirty and were underway as
the hazy sun crept above the marsh grass.
A fresh southeast wind greeted us as we entered Winyah Bay. Once in the bay we raised the main sail. Motor sailing close hauled on the ebbing tide
C’est la Vie bounded towards the ocean at 7.5 knots. On two bells, we overtook a couple outbound
tugs straining to keep their barge in the channel. Fortunately the depths allowed us plenty of
room to slip the commercial traffic before the channel narrowed as the mainland
fell away. Once clear of land the
well-marked channel is hemmed on both sides by long rock jetties that occasionally
rise above the water’s the surface. Our 09:10
log book entry notes we put R”4” astern and set a course of 75⁰. Close hauled under a full main & genny we
were making 5 knots. According to our GPS, 13H39m of sailing would place us off
the east end of Frying Pan Shoals.
Offshore, we quickly realized that passing rain showers were
confusing the local winds and seas. Our
hopes of sailing the entire final 160NM back to Beaufort faded as the winds
increased and backed to the east.
According to the log book at 09:30, only 20 minutes out of the Winyah
Bay inlet we restarted the motor. With
the engine now assisting with propulsion, we were able to sail our rhumb
line. Shortly after engaging the engine
we put one reef in the main and reduced the genoa to approximately 60%.
Within an hour, the squall passed off our stern. The winds clocked back south a few
degrees. Local windborne whitecaps rode
atop a 3 to 5 foot easterly swell making sea state confused. C’est la Vie handled the conditions well. Under the reefed main, reduced head sail, and
1800 rpm on the engine she was making over 6 knots with her leeward rub rail
skimming the water. We set up the
electric auto pilot and let it take over the well balanced helm.
Our morning watches were irregular, but by noon we agreed on
a cycle of two hour watches. Anne took
the 12:00 to 14:00 watch and I settled into the leeward side of the cockpit for
a nap. I awoke nearly two hours
later. Rousing from my nap, I made a
scan of the boat and surroundings.
Another squall was building to the east and the winds were again pushing
20 knots. Realizing we were now well
ahead of schedule and would likely arrive at Beaufort Inlet on ebbing tide, we
further reduced the head sail to approximately 40%. Prior to beginning my watch, I made a log
book entry...
33⁰23.947’N
78⁰35.717’W – 7/5/13 @ 14:01 – 38.8NM to Frying Pan Shoals – ETE 6H44m
on a course of 76⁰ - Speed 6.2 kts – winds approx 18 knots SE – “Couple of
showers to east over Gulf Stream. Motor sailing close hauled on lumpy seas.”
We were both in the cockpit, Anne facing forward
and I facing aft when the rigging failed.
Alarmed by a sharp snap and Anne screams, I spun around in time to see the
folded mast and white sails entering the water on our leeward (port) side.
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