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We had a
great day for the start of the Rally, after taking the last dockside picture we
sent you in the last email, we hoisted the dinghy and strapped it down well,
warmed up the engine, and at long last we finally untied the docklines and
headed our bow out to Sea! With so many boats leaving the docks at the same
time for the Rally start at noon, the first major obstacle was just to get out
of the marina without hitting anyone... it was crowded and there was a long line
of boats on their way out! As usual, we never finished all of our projects, but
the first thing you learn about offshore cruising is that you will never truly
finish them, you complete the major ones and the rest will either have to wait,
or you finish them underway!
It was a beautiful sunny day on Chesapeake Bay and all the boats had their sails up jockeying for position at the start line waiting for the start signal. Steve Black counted down the final 10 seconds of the start on the radio and then we were off! It's always a very exciting moment when everything you've spent so long working towards finally culminates in one moment and then your new adventure is finally underway! The winds were fairly light, but everyone was sailing and managing to do about 4 knots. As we approached the Chesapeake Bay bridge tunnel that marks the dividing point between the bay and the ocean, the wind started to die down a bit which was going to make it difficult to make the opening in the bridge without tacking... this is where the motors started coming on, lol. Once the boats drop below 3 knots and can't sail a stable course, most of the captains make the decision to sacrifice some engine time and get the boat out to sea where at least there is some stable wind to sail by.
 The boats lining up for the Rally start
The wind didn't accommodate on this day, it continued to remain light and variable which dictated that we all keep motoring. We had a window of opportunity to get across the Gulf Stream in relatively calm conditions that nobody wanted to miss. Once the new weather front came through, bringing with it N-NE winds of 20-30 knots, the Gulf Stream would become one of those places on Earth that nobody wants to be! We kept on motoring out towards Cape Hatteras and watched one of the most beautiful sunsets you can imagine while we were surrounded by other Rally boats enjoying the same moment.
With the sun gone, the wind continued to withdraw as well and we all began to realize the vacuum of weather that had been left in the wake of Hurricane Noel, which had just roared up the coastline only a day or so ago. There was a very minor swell of about 6 feet, and even that died down quickly in the early hours of the evening. We had a perfectly calm, clear, starry night upon us for our first night out and even though we were motoring, it was a perfect night on the ocean.
As nightfall enveloped us, we all settled into our impending routines of watch keeping, eating, and sleeping. We enjoyed a great dinner underway, and then just sat and admired the myriad of lights from all the neighbouring Rally boats in our area. By around 10pm I was on watch and we were motorsailing with the mainsail up when I noticed a different feel to the boat... she was starting to heel over and pick up a bit of speed! Sure enough, the wind was picking up out of the NW so I immediately pulled out the Genoa and pulled back on the throttle... we were left doing about 5 knots, but that was good enough for me... sailing at 5 knots was preferable by far to motoring at 6 knots and paying an hour penalty for every hour motored! We kept along at that rate for only a short while before the wind starting filling in a little better and then we were sailing faster than we had been motoring... perfect! All the other boats in our area had pulled away from us when we stopped to sail, and apparently either didn't find the same wind or didn't care, as they all kept motoring. This kept on all night and it was so great to finally be sailing on the ocean again!
Daybreak brought us sunshine, warmth, and a a great breeze that kept us humming along at hull speed in calm seas. We all enjoyed a little down time in amongst the usual projects that are needed to keep the boat moving along smoothly. The wind has been great, the sun has been great, the sailing has been great... Tortola here we come!!
Mark enjoying the sunshine while studying on deck
It sounds like many of you have been enjoying the satellite link I sent out in the last email, I know allot of you have been commenting that we haven't been keeping up with the pack very well based on the satellite photos, but you have to keep in mind that most of the other boats all still owe us a time penalty for the hours they spent motoring ahead of us when we were sailing. On top of that, most of the boats in our class are faster than 'Sophisticated Lady' so we won't know who the true class winner is until the handicaps are applied to the final times upon arrival in Tortola. So far we're only 72 hours into the Rally and Joy For All and Spirit owe us almost 40 hours each, Nana Maria owes us about 10 hours, Special Delivery owes us 33 hours, Arch Angel owes us over 16 hours, Destiny owes us 37 hours, Star Pass has diverted to Bermuda for repairs, and Parallax is our closest rival as they are about 20 miles ahead of us and we owe them 5 hours... as you can see, we're not out of the race yet!!
For now
we'll keep charging along hoping the wind holds out... keep your fingers crossed
for us and we'll talk to you soon!
Cheers, Rick, Mike, and Mark 'Sophisticated Lady'
Wind
In
My Sails Inc. |
