WOW!

We always pay close attention to the weather, and yesterday, we were particularly concerned, as we were setting out on the longest leg of our journey so far – 5.5 hours on the open Sound, out of sight of land.

After a day spent exploring Cat Island by rental car – mostly interesting for its modern and historic churches and ruins – we consulted our trusty Inreach (no cell phone coverage at the boat) for the weather forecast. At least we thought it was trusty … It reassured us with a prediction of 8-9 knot winds (light) and almost flat seas – perfect for our sail to Long Island!

So off we went, leaving the Hawk’s Nest Marina, where we’d sheltered for two nights, ready for many hours of hand steering in calm seas. NOT!! From the start, the wind was blowing 14-16 knots (not so bad), but the waves were humongous – over 2 metres- 6-7 feet ☹. Sometimes it felt like a tsunami heading for the boat. At first, I was terrified, but then, after I reassured myself that the boat could handle this, I found it exhilarating.

However, it was exhausting, constantly wrestling the helm onto the course against those waves, which were on our bow quarter, with water coming over the deck up to the dodger, and sometimes into the cockpit. We had a well-reefed jib flying to stabilize the boat, and were managing to sometimes motor-sail close-hauled at 6.8 knots – fast, considering the conditions. But it still took 5.5 hours to get to the calm little harbour called Joe’s Sound on Long Island, where we are now recuperating.

A final challenge was getting into the harbor and anchored – it’s a very narrow, rocky entry, and the water in the harbor is extremely shallow. But my Captain negotiated it beautifully. In fact there are 5 boats with us here – three floating with no one aboard, and two completely wrecked and aground. So it’s very quiet – almost like a boat graveyard – but quite beautiful with its turquoise water and uncovered sand bars.

Today, we’ll just rest, and tomorrow, early on the high tide, set out on the last leg of our journey to Red Shanks, near George Town – only about 20 miles. It’s supposed to be calmer tomorrow, but as we discovered, you never really know until you get out there.