A 25 Hour Sleigh Ride

While in Wrightsville Beach, we talked with friends on "Argonauta", "Polar Pacer" & "Passages" about going offshore from Wrightsville to Charleston, SC. This would be a 24 - 30 hour passage; involving an overnight. We have not done an overnight since we started cruising; so this would be a good opportunity to sail with other boats. We headed out at 0630 on Monday morning & decided to motor down the ICW to Carolina Beach and then motorsail down the Cape Fear River, and out the Cape Fear Inlet. We had the current with us & just flew - often over 9 knots! The conditions were near perfect for the entire trip - wind 15 knots close to our beam. Only one glitch - our inmast furler hiccupped for the first time ever. As it was getting dark, Jim wanted to reef the mainsail - the furler wouldn't budge. The tack of the sail had slipped off the connecting hook & the hook dropped down and blocked the furler from turning. Jim was able to make the fix just before night fall. The night sail was even better when the full moon peeked through the clearing clouds in the sky. We averaged over 6 knots for the whole trip. We arrived at the Charleston channel just before dawn and watched the sun rise as we entered the Harbor. By 0745 the anchor was set.