End of Day 1 Beaufort NC to Antigua

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.

2359hrs (EST, GMT-5) 19 Nov 2019

Dear All,

What a day.  We were all set with nearly everything prepared for a 0700hrs departure except that our AquaDrive shaft had not arrived on Monday as it should have done. UPS had left it on a truck so it had zigzagged back and forth between the same two depots on its journey to us, eventually arriving a day late. Innamorata II, Scoot and Zwailer all set off without us and we spent most of the day keeping everything crossed and hoping that we would get the part and not miss our weather window to head south.

The package finally arrived – a huge thanks to Dianne Tetreault, the Beaufort OCC Port Officer, for receiving the delivery on our behalf and then immediately driving it to us at the dinghy dock.  Right:  Opening the box revealed the new shaft and, to our relief, it was exactly to the spec we ordered

So mid-afternoon today we finally got the new AquaDrive shaft and immediately set about installing it.

Out with the old….

…. and in with the new

We showered, stowed the dinghy, and then we lifted the anchor and crept round to the Beaufort Town dock to get water. Creeping because the new shaft needed to be run-in and we were restricted to just idle power setting for half an hour.  Tied to the dock we kept the prop turning as we filled up with water and dumped the rubbish so when we set off properly at 1740hrs we could start to use up to half power. Fortunately for us, by going straight away the tide was rushing out at 3 knots so as we picked our way past the channel markers we were going at 6 knots even with the low power setting.

The wind was very light so we motored gently for another 3 hours, progressively increasing power to complete the running in process. By then the wind had built enough for us to switch to sail power; a perfect running in cycle for the new shaft.

For the rest of the night we are going to be heading south towards our chosen Gulf Stream crossing point.  By the time we cross the stream the wind will have built to 25-30 knots from the northwest.  By crossing directly south of Beaufort we hope, because the Gulf Stream is running from west to east there, that we will minimise our exposure to rough seas from wind opposing the stream.

Love to all,

Reg and Nicky

Passage statistics:

Position at midday 19 Nov: N34 43 W76 40

Position at midnight 19 Nov: N34 08 W76 36

Midday to midday distance:  N/A

1740hrs to midnight distance: 36.2 nautical miles

Total miles covered:  36.2 nautical miles

Approximate distance to go (direct line): 1300 nautical miles

End of Day 1 - Beaufort North Carolina to Antigua