We were up and ready to go - threw off the lines at 6am and began our offshore adventure. And adventure it was! I planned to write, ready and enjoy the scenery while the autopilot pointed us south. By about 10am, the autopilot decided that we should manually steer the boat. Then the generator decided not to start. Thank heavens that Blair is so handy as he managed to restore both of these items. Laughing in the face of adversity, I couldn't help but shake my fist at the sky and think: is that all you've got...we can handle this!! Well, that wasn't all, as we listened to the engine shut down at about 11:30am without warning. Talk about a major meltdown! Blair disappeared below while I took the wheel - once again with no autopilot and now no engine! WHAT THE HELL!!! I was more than slightly terrified. After a lot of cursing on Blair's part, and a lot of recitals of the "Hail Mary" on mine, we managed to restore the engine - at least Blair did - not sure if the Hail Mary's played a part.
We contacted Southern Cross IV by radio - Blair suggested that they go on ahead without us, but Andy would hear nothing of it. We changed our course to head into Southport, North Carolina so that we could regroup. The day ahead proved to be long and tiresome as we had to hand steer all the way. On the really positive side, I managed to get a great feel for the boat - so although it required a lot of focus, it wasn't nearly as treacherous as I had imagined. We had all the sails up until just before dusk and had a great sail - enjoying the dolphins riding our bow wave - now that was exciting!
Southport Marina looked like our best bet for a reservation for the night, but much to our surprise, they didn't have a spot for two boats. I got the feeling that the owners didn't want a couple of sailboats arriving so late. That was mildly terrifying - to be turned away - now what? I contacted Bald Head Island Marina (on Bald Head Island, of course) and they were very helpful. We reserved two spots and pointed ourselves towards Cape Fear River...how appropriate is that? We arrived at the mouth of Cape Fear on an ebb tide with the current against us - just to add to the drama of the day. Despite this, we got in and tied up on our own. Andy arrived quickly and we agreed to meet for a drink. Blair, in exasperation, told Andy that he hates boats, and wishes that our Odissea would sink right now! However, the really funny thing is that (as Andy pointed out), we couldn't sink because we were sitting on the bottom - our depth sounder showed "O" feet under the keel - WHAT ELSE!??
The four of us sat down - Andy and Isabella were right in suggesting that we push on for day hops - we can make Winyah Bay tomorrow where we can anchor. Once we get to Winyah Bay, we will go inside on thge ICW to Charleston, South Carolina; then outside again to Brunswick, Georgia and Jacksonville, Florida. Hopefully we will have solved the autopilot problem in Charleston.
Some interesting facts about the Cape Fear Inlet:
The inlet is a well-marked big ship channel that is protected from the North. It is an easy entrance by day, but challenging at night, as we experienced. The current is strong. Fortunately we arrived near the end of a slack following low tide so it wasn't as bad as it can be. Cape Fear's moniker comes from the fearsome Frying Pan Shoals offshore - this area marks the southern border of the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Bald Head Lighthouse (or "Old Baldy") was North Carolina's first lighthouse dating back to 1796. Also, Joshua Slocum (the 19th century single-hander sailor) came ashore in this area while returning from South America in his self-built vessel that he wrote about in his book "Voyage of the Liberdade".
By the way, I saw the elusive green flash at sunset today - absolutely thrilling. I thought it was a myth, but believe me, it is real! For some facts about this phenomenom, check this website:
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/atmos/redsun.html
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