25 September 2010

Second Single-handed Sailing

What a prefect day for sailing, but I am missing my crew. My oldest boy was at maintenance day for the NC State sailing club. My youngest was in the process of trading in his sea legs for skating legs and preparing for hockey season. My 1st mate and lovely wife was busying providing taxi services for the household.
Autumn was offically here, even though it doesn't feel like it. It felt more like summer. On the first day of Autumn (22 September) the temperature was 96 degrees in Raleigh. It was the warmest September on record for the Raleigh, NC and surrounding areas.


So when the weather forecast is calling for upper 80s with Southwest winds around 10 knots, then it's a good day to go sailing even if your are short-handed. They were calling for winds 10 to 15 knots on the Pamlico Sound and acturally they were around 15 with gusts in mid-teens. At 09:00, I decided to get underway. With the temperatures forecasting to be in the upper 80s and southwest winds around 10 knots, I wasn't sure if it would be a good day for sailing or working on the segalboat. The winds were gusting around 8 knots at the slip, so I decided to get underway.

When you are single-handed sailing, you need to prepare all the lines and sheets before getting underway. You also need to prepare for snacks and lunch, because you might not have time to leave the helm. I was not disappointed with the weather. After I cleared Whittaker Creek Channels, the winds were blowing around 12 knots from the southwest.

I headed up river toward Adams Creek. I decided to head up river, because the winds were coming out of the southwest and were forecast to change to the northeast in the afternoon as a cold front moved eastward. If the forecast stayed true, then I should be able to tack up river and back in the afternoon. It took a little time to get the timing down in tacking, but after a few tacks I had the process down really good.
The first time I tried single-handed sailing the winds were blowing over 15 knots from the northeast. I had a difficult time bringing up the main and decided to sail without the jib.


Today, I did not have any problems, because the winds were coming out of the southwest and not the northeast and I did not have to deal with severe chops (waves). It was easier to bring up the main. I did not have any issues with the jib either. I let the wind decide which side to roll out the jib. The wind decided to place me on a starboard tack. I enjoyed a nice day of sailing on the Neuse River. The first weekend on Autumn, but it felt more like Summer.

4 September 2010

Whittaker Creek to Minnesott Beach
Hurricane Earl gave all of us a scare during the week. On August 29, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was forecasting Earl to track east of Cape Hatteras and stay 150 miles off the coast of North Carolina. Therefore, we prepared our sailboat for a tropical storm warning assuming that Earl was going to track east of Hatteras. Then on Wedneday evening it strengthened to a category 4 hurricane and was predicted to make land fall over Cape Hatteras. I was preparing to leave Raleigh and head down to Oriental to prepare for the worst, but Howard (Island Dream) called me and stated he was down there already. He stated my vessel looked fine and he was willing to take down my dodger for me. I said thanks. It was nice to know that your fellow sailors look after one another.


I slowly watched Earl move northward on the 75th parallel Thursday night waiting for the critical turn to the east.
It finally did and Hurricane Earl weakened to a 105-mph Cat. 2 storm and passed about 80 miles off Cape Hatteras. Our original plan was to head down to Oriental as a family when the boys came home from school. Now with the worst behind us, we were back on track for a long weekend on the sound.



On Saturday, September 4, it was a beautiful day to sail to Minnesott Beach. Our friends on the Island Dream were heading for Beaufort (NC) Town dock. They are members of Neuse Sailing Association (NSA). The NSA scheduled a weekend outting at Cape Lookout, but because of Hurricane Earl and Tropical Storm Fiona, Small Craft Warnings were posted for Cape Lookout. The NSA decided to change plans and stay the night at the Beaufort Town Docks.


The forecast for Neuse River and Pamlico Sound was Northwest wind 10 to 15 knots, waves 1 to 2 feet, wind coming out of Southwest in the afternoon down to 5 to 10 knots. It sounded like a beautiful day to sail to Minnesott Beach. We got underway at 09:30 EST with a crew of four (Michele-helms man, Raymond-crew and lookout, Zigman-boatswainmate, and Ziva-fly swatter). The Tabanidae (horse flies or green eyes) were tremendous. As we left Whittake Channel and headed southeast ward everything was fine. We came about to bring the sails. I had Raymond rise the main this time around and I handled the jib. Once the jib was up and secure, we proceeded with a starboard tack toward Minnesott Beach. Who would have expected the baby horse flies to be so dreadful. The crew was seeing who could rack up the most kills.

We enjoyed smooth sailing for the rest of the day.