After a while, wind will cause waves to build, and by 0800, we were plowing through some as high as 7-8'. These were mostly off our port quarter, so we got thrown around a bit -- we had to go a little more west, out to sea, to clear the shoals off Cape Fear.
At that point, I checked the chart and found we were 26nm from the shoals. Since the winds and waves were expected to pickup and there was a SCA for the afternoon, I decided it was time to make for the closest safe harbor. However, the rough conditions made it very difficult to search the charts on the iPhone, and there was no way I could leave the helm to go below.
We were pretty far out, essentially on a rhumb between Beaufort Inlet and Fryingpan Shoals (off Cape Fear), so it took several hours to close with the shore. I steered as far north as I could under double reefed main and a small jib, but it was tough with the wind now on my starboard quarter. Luckily we we averaging hull speed, 6.7kts, for most of the time, and surfing down waves that continued to build at close to 8. I figured the wind and waves would be better closer in, so I wanted to get within 5 miles before heading north to look for an inlet.
We finally got close to shore and headed north, but the conditions were no better, and probably worse. There were several waves that were well above my head coming off my starboard side (10'?). We had no choice but to surf down the bigger ones. Occasionally, we get caught beam to and end up with the port toerail under water. I could hear stuff getting thrown around below -- luckily Zoe stays in her protected cocoon under the forward v-berth -- but couldn't leave the helm to see what was going on.
When we turned north, I had to drop the jib and sheet the main in tight in order to point that high. We slowed to under 2knts, so I turned on the engine and started motor-sailing. At that point, I just wanted to make it in and hoped the fuel filter wouldn't clog up before we got there. I'd put a new filter before we left, so I wasn't too worried, but with conditions that rough and a history of clogging, the thought never left my mind.
I learned that Wrightsville Beach was the closest inlet, and a little over 12nm directly north of me. I still couldn't use my charts, but confirmed this on the radio with the Coast Guard -- I must have a loose connection because my VHF doesn't work well at all. It took about three hours to get there, which was good, because that's about how long it takes to get an answer out of the Coast Guard.
They eventually sent out a boat to escort me in -- I made it clear I was fine and was only asking for information, but I guess it was a slow day for them. They also told me to let them know where I was staying so they could send an inspection boat out to make sure I had all the required safety gear -- which I do. I think their slow response, and in some cases no response at all, along with the safety inspection is designed to discourage people from calling them. I tried to call them as requested, but got no response.
The waves are still pretty big outside, but otherwise the weather is excellent, so we're going to stay inside and make it a short day today. I'm still exhausted from yesterday. It was sorta fun, but a lot of work when you're by yourself. Plus I'm constantly worried about Zoe down below. While we were motor-sailing into it going north, we had a few waves break just over the bow and a lot of spray -- I was soaking wet by the time we got in -- glad it was relatively warm, though I did start to get cold toward the end.
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