Day 2 Chesapeake to Nova Scotia

These Blog entries are edited versions of the messages we sent back as we completed the passage. They were sent by radio using a laptop that controls a modem and the HF/SSB radio, using the SailMail system. We sent the messages daily to Charlotte and she then forwarded them on to a list of family members.

2359 (AST, GMT-4) 23 Jul 2018

Dear All,

Well, I have to say that I found last night to be quite hard work.  We were hit by a series of squalls and so there was lots of rain and several sail changes.  Nicky, being a stronger bad weather sailor than me, took it all in her stride, but I found the mixture of torrential rain, the odd bit of lightning, and gusts up to 30 knots a pain to deal with. In general, the wind was not that strong but the sea is shallow here and so we had lots of short gaps between the waves and BV was being bounced about.  During one of the sail changes I fell across the cockpit and landed heavily on the side of my ribcage.  I think that I have just bruised the area but I'm still moving around fairly gingerly.

The additional drama came at 0645 this morning when we were hit by another strong squall.  I asleep was off watch and didn't hear anything, but the wind was strong enough to damage the wind indicator at the top of the mast. The whole unit is now hanging off on its cable, so we no longer have any electric wind direction or wind strength indications on the instrument displays.

We had been planning to go outside both the Nantucket Shoals and the George Bank, which adds a surprising amount onto the most direct routing from Chesapeake Bay to Nova Scotia.  But both sets of shoals are incredibly shallow, in places dangerously so, with soundings of only 3-5m 100nm from the nearest land! So, discretion being the better part of valour, we had been aiming for a waypoint that would keep us well clear of the reefs.  As a result, the distance we intended to travel offshore would have been very similar to the distance we could have travelled had we planned to route from the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay to Block Island, the Cape Cod canal and then to Nova Scotia from inside Nantucket/Cape Cod.

It had been a sound plan but with me now moving around very carefully and an expensive wind indicator dangling 'on a string' we have decided to divert.  However, that's not an issue, passage plans are there to be changed which is why you always write towards you destination in the log rather than to it. We are now heading towards Block Island and Newport which we should get to some time tomorrow or on Wednesday morning, weather depending.  I'm in no state to go up the mast whilst we are at sea and so hopefully Block Island and/or Newport will provide good shelter to allow that to happen.  Newport's also a huge sailing centre, so if we need to get any parts to add to the spares we have on board, then we'll be in a good location to get them.

Aside from all of that, the weather has settled down nicely today with mostly clear blue skies and just the odd towering cumulus bubbling up, we think over the Gulf Stream which is out to the east of us.  Sailing into deeper water has also lengthened the sea making BV's motion much more comfortable.

We have been joined by dolphins several times today and, miraculously, my big camera has fixed itself and the mode selection dial is working properly again.  A good day at sea!

Love to all,

Reg and Nicky

Passage statistics:
Position at midday 23 Jul: N38 27 W73 30
Position at 2359 23 Jul: N39 41 W72 41
Midday to midday distance: 153 nautical miles
Midnight to Midnight distance: 154 nautical miles
Total miles covered:  254 nautical miles
Approximate distance to go: 97 nautical miles to Block Island (+30nm to get to Newport)

End of Day 2  Chesapeake to Nova Scotia