The Wait Continues

At this point, we might be in for a longer wait than I or the crew were hoping for. The December weather so far has been horrible as the wind and waves pound the seas off Cape Lookout and Fear. A glance at the wave heights for Dec 9th show waves over 12 feet, which is not at all acceptable for the trip. We continue to wait for the window we need.

I have heard a lot of opinions and words of advice from cruisers that have been all around the world. Although most of it varies from person to person, one piece of information has always been exactly the same...no matter who says it. And that is, "One of the most dangerous thing a sailor can have is, a hard fast schedule." Many people put themselves at risk because they "have" to be somewhere on a certain date or time. They leave port when conditions are questionable and usually regret it when it's too late. That is advice I have taken to heart and will never forget. So with that said, even though I want the boat in Florida as soon as possible, I would never put the crew, the boat or anyone else in danger because of impatience.

I have read many stories of cruisers waiting out weather for a good passage window. One couple I read about spent over a month in Bermuda waiting for a decent weather window for their leg to the Caribbean. Granted, our trip is much shorter but passes by some pretty nasty areas.

A possible "plan B", which would avoid Cape Lookout altogether, would be to motor down the ICW and come out below Cape Lookout near Beaufort, NC. This would add quite a few days to the trip but take rounding the cape completely off the table. We would still have Cape Fear and Frying Pan shoals to deal with, but I guess in this kind of weather, everything helps. As of now though, we are sticking to the original plan.

More updates to follow... Oh, and by the way...I am sure there are a quite a few folks out there who have done this trip or something similar and would have great information to add. Please don't hesitate to comment on any of the posts on this blog. I certainly don't consider myself an expert by any means and would love to hear what you have to say. Thanks!