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October 11th, 2009 – At Sea, 34 43N, 074 59W
by Herb McCormick
Today’s log may be one of the most boring dispatches we’ve filed since leaving Seattle last May. And we couldn’t be happier about it.
On Sunday afternoon, after three rather difficult and challenging days since leaving New York City, the crew of Ocean Watch was enjoying fast and efficient sailing en route to their next port-of-call in Charleston, South Carolina. With a fairly steady northeasterly breeze of around 20-knots and a full complement of working sail – reefed main, staysail, and poled-out genoa, the classic sail-plan configuration known as wing-and-wing – Ocean Watch was making good time towards the coast of Carolina, occasionally hitting speeds up to 12.5 knots. The 64-foot cutter has famously (with tongue firmly in cheek) been cited as “44 tons of surfing fury,” and today the big steel yacht was churning almost directly downwind and living up to the claim.
Cape Horn, at the southern extremes of South America, is probably the world’s best-known cape, and if all goes well, Ocean Watch has a date with the legendary landmark in the not-so-distant future. But in North America, Cape Hatteras is a formidable waypoint in its own right, and on Sunday the crew was extremely pleased to have passed the mid-Atlantic obstacle and set a fresh course directly for Charleston, now less than 300 nautical miles away. Hatteras owns a well-deserved reputation as a challenging hazard to navigation, and it’s satisfying indeed to have put it in our wake.
Like the rest of the team, skipper Mark Schrader is pleased to finally be making steady and meaningful progress, as is evident in the latest installment of his personal log:
“Sometime just after dark last night David Thoreson and I looked at each other and nodded, then shook out the 3rd reef, hoisted more mainsail and breathed a nervous sigh of relief. The gale that was glued to our nose and pounded us for 30 some hours eased and ever so slowly clocked to the north. Some stars appeared, the breaking seas seemed to lose their determination and the moon appeared. And best of all, as Ocean Watch followed the wind shift she was actually able to point her bow directly at Charleston.
“For awhile in the dying gale we were still bouncing up and down in no particular rhythm with all hatches and portlights closed in order to keep tons of salt water out – which also kept a couple of days worth of aromas in – but never mind, the barometer was rising and the gale was going away. It is a very satisfying feeling to shake out reefs and hoist sail after a storm. The night watch was actually enjoyable and by morning the seas were calm, the wind out of the northeast at a steady 15 – 20 kots. Just after dawn we unfurled the genoa, winged it to starboard, shook the 2nd reef out of the main and for good measure, hoisted the working staysail. With all plain sails flying Ocean Watch is sailing almost directly downwind at a comfortable 9+ knots.
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| The latest Gulf Stream chart shows the stream coming very close to Hatteras, almost touching the coast. |
“We’re currently 40 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras and some 260 miles from Charleston. The latest Gulf Stream (Buoyweather.com-FNMOC Ocean Model) chart shows the stream coming very close to Cape Hatteras, almost touching the coast, but well away from the coast between Hatteras and Charleston. We’re intending to cross the Stream at its narrow point just south of Hatteras and then stay close to the coast the rest of the way into Charleston. If this works according to plan we’ll enter Charleston harbor at dawn on the 13th.
“On a completely unrelated matter, onboard scientist Michael Reynolds just handed me an interesting article which caught his eye because of a Unilever connection. Unilever very recently made a significant contribution to the Around the Americas Project, specifically earmarked to help Ocean Watch and crew continue the journey as well as help for our science and education mission. Apparently Unilever buys 7% of the world’s tomatoes, and just announced that in making its Ragu pasta sauce it would favor California tomatoes grown by farmers who used efficient drip-irrigation systems. ‘We’re highly reliant on water as a source material . . . if we don’t have a handle on water availability, we might not have the business in the future,’ said the company’s sustainability director.
“If we’ve proven anything so far in this journey, it’s that we now have some interesting and important stories to write and to tell – and the stories should certainly include information about our sponsors and supporters who have contributed to this project.
“That’s it for now. We’re sailing along at a very nice pace and enjoying every minute of it. I’m happy to report, all are well aboard Ocean Watch.”
- Herb McCormick and Mark Schrader with photographs by David Thoreson
This crew log submitted by Iridium OpenPort and Stratos
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