Day 1, Year 10: Passage to Cape May, New Jersey, Day 1
Date: Saturday, October 11, 2014
Weather: Overcast and Rainy, Temp in the low-50’s, Winds NE 15-20
Latitude: 40 51.648 N
Longitude: 071 30.998 W
Location: 17 Miles Due South of Block Island, Sailing WSW
Miles Traveled: 60 Nautical Miles
Here we are rolling our way south. We had wind from ESE all morning which put us on a port tack with seas on the port quarter. We were rolling, sometimes very violently. That plus the rain and the cold were making for a fairly miserable day. But mid-afternoon the winds went to the NE putting both the wind and seas directly behind us. We poled the headsail out to port and we are still rolling but it is much gentler. And we can now sail the rhumb line. Downwind sailing is not my favorite as something about the rolling motion affects me more than other movements. I find it hard to stay below for more than a few minutes unless I’m sleeping. But I’ll settle in. It just takes a few hours to get back into the passage mode. The rain has stopped and it actually feels a bit warmer. And we’ll hope for a sunny day tomorrow.
We are back to Day 1, this time for Year 10 of the Voyage of Windbird. Years 1-6 were spent circumnavigating the globe. Year 7 was land-based in New England. Year 8 started just like this new year with a sail to South Carolina for the winter. Year 9 was again land-based in New England. And who knows where Year 10 will take us. But wherever, we’ll enjoy our time once again cruising on Windbird.
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| 141011 Day 1 Passage to SC, USA–Rainy Day 1 of Offshore Passage |
