Charleston, SC
We've gone state-hopping. After two nights at one of our favorite stops, Cumberland Island, Georgia, we set off from the St. Mary's Inlet for an overnight passage to yet another favorite: Charleston.
The weather was finally, finally turning in our favor. The squalls skittered away and our northeast route would be blessed with 10-15 knots of east wind slowly clocking to southeast and easing at the end of the day. Then, the diurnals would kick in giving us some good wind for the night.
Well, none of that happened, but it was a beautiful trip anyway! For once, the unpredicted weather was in the other direction, lighter.
We headed into the deep at 6:30 and into pretty big swell on our beam. Under full sail, we were able to ride over it nicely.
Down:
And back up again:
The wind didn't ease much, and it never clocked south, so we rode on the closest point of sail we could manage, which put us exactly on course to Charleston. For the first time ever, we raised the sails and never changed the set for 30 hours.
The swell laid down in the late evening for a gorgeous night of stars punctuated at midnight with a half moon.
Sometimes dolphins joined us.
We rode in on a rising tide and reached Charleston Maritime Center at exactly slack water.
A perfect passage? Almost. For the first time in three years, I got seasick. :-\ Perhaps it was the particular motion of the swell, which wasn't anywhere near as bad as the Gulf Stream crossing. Curious. I was at the helm the first three hours, and then got sick. It never left me.
Chip was a superhero, helming about 2/3 of the trip.
Another cruiser posted this excellent article about combatting and treating seasickness. I know there were several factors that made me susceptible:
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| Our Norwegian friends conducting home school on Cumberland Island. |
We've gone state-hopping. After two nights at one of our favorite stops, Cumberland Island, Georgia, we set off from the St. Mary's Inlet for an overnight passage to yet another favorite: Charleston.
The weather was finally, finally turning in our favor. The squalls skittered away and our northeast route would be blessed with 10-15 knots of east wind slowly clocking to southeast and easing at the end of the day. Then, the diurnals would kick in giving us some good wind for the night.
Well, none of that happened, but it was a beautiful trip anyway! For once, the unpredicted weather was in the other direction, lighter.
We headed into the deep at 6:30 and into pretty big swell on our beam. Under full sail, we were able to ride over it nicely.
Down:
The wind didn't ease much, and it never clocked south, so we rode on the closest point of sail we could manage, which put us exactly on course to Charleston. For the first time ever, we raised the sails and never changed the set for 30 hours.
The swell laid down in the late evening for a gorgeous night of stars punctuated at midnight with a half moon.
Sometimes dolphins joined us.
 |
| Photo by Chip |
A perfect passage? Almost. For the first time in three years, I got seasick. :-\ Perhaps it was the particular motion of the swell, which wasn't anywhere near as bad as the Gulf Stream crossing. Curious. I was at the helm the first three hours, and then got sick. It never left me.
Chip was a superhero, helming about 2/3 of the trip.
Another cruiser posted this excellent article about combatting and treating seasickness. I know there were several factors that made me susceptible:
- I didn't sleep well the night before.
- We had been inshore for a week or so, on smooth waters.
- I started on an empty stomach.
All bad. Usually if I take a slug of Pepto before leaving, I don't have much trouble. This time I was not so lucky! I slept at least 12 hours of the passage.
Once we arrived in Charleston, the queasiness disappeared -- and Charleston awaits. Now that's perfect.
Thanks to Stian on To Be for the photos.
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