LORD'S PRAYER LOG, Part 99:
Monday, September 25, 2000 (continued)
Underway south of Long Island enroute to Cape May
1055 A large Maersk container ship crosses my bow left to right at 1/3 NM, inbound to NY City.
1305 A commercial vessel crosses right to left 1.2 NM on my bow, outbound from NY City.
1328 An outbound container ship crosses astern left to right inside < NM.
1400 The wind is NE 10-12 kts. Under full main and poled out jibs the boat is making about 5-6 kts.
1810 With the wind now NE 13-15G18 kts, I haul down the mainsail and snug things down for high winds. The jibs are spread full out on the poles.
1837 Sunset
1915 The wind has strengthened to NE 16-18G20 kts. I start rolling a reef into the jibs.
1945 With the wind now ENE 18-20G24 kts, I further reef the jibs. My objective in so doing is to prevent the boat from trying to exceed her 7-kt hull speed, since whenever she is pushed above that speed, she tends to experience large, sometimes violent excursions in both roll and yaw - a tiresome and unpleasant motion that results in crew irritability.
2125 The wind has freshened to NE 20-22G25 kts. GPS speed sometimes indicates as high as 8 or 9 kts while yaw and roll divergence have become excessive. I crank more of the jibs around the headstay, to the point where the sail area of the two jibs is now reduced by nearly 2/3rds. This brings boat speed down enough to stop the divergent yaw and roll. A trawler passes to port, inside a = NM, headed opposite direction.
2207 The wind is quite flukey coming sometimes from NE and sometimes from nearly E and gusting to 27 kts. Rain is heavy at times.
2212 One wind gust just reached 34 kts from the east and laid the boat over to starboard.
2230 The wind direction is back and forth between NE and E making the ride rough
 and erratic.

Tuesday, September 26, 2000
Underway: East of Barnegat enroute to Cape May
0028 The wind is variable E to N 22-28G30 kts. The boat is being buffeted by the flukey, gusty wind. Rain is still heavy. The heat in the boat has cut off with the voltage on the battery monitor at about 11.8. This seems to be where the heater's low voltage cutoff (nominally 10.5 volts) is shutting the heater down. I suit up. With the splash curtain rigged to protect the nav table & electronics, I
slide open the companionway and climb out into the cockpit. I start the engine to charge the batteries and further reduce the size of the jibs.
0109 Position: 39 36.55N 73 51.35W or 56 NM NE of the Cape May Jetty.
0200 I note that the bilge pump is activating more frequently than usual. I believe that water is gaining entry via the stuffing box for the rudderpost. I note an apparent flow from aft and pull off the engine panel to see if I can tell exactly where the water is coming from. I believe I can see some water dripping from around the rudderpost but I am too far removed from it to tell. Conditions do
not permit opening the cockpit deck hatch at this time so I postpone further investigation. However, I observe at this time that there is an unusual amount of oil beneath the engine. I have an oil-adsorbent pad there to collect any drips and the pad is drenched. I shut the engine down, clean it up, add some oil, and restart it. There is evidence of oil dripping from around a seal on the forward end of the engine. The seal, which protrudes somewhat, is clearly cracked.
0230 The wind reaches gale force: E to NE 30-33G37 kts and the boat experiences continuous buffeting.
0302 The wind shakes the whole rig. It is time to stow the jibs. I suit up again and climb out into the cockpit. I roll the jibs the rest of the way up. Then, tethered to the boat, I go forward and stow the poles. After doing this I stow gear and lines in the cockpit. After checking the state of the batteries, I shut the engine down. The boat is now running off before the wind with all sails stowed making between 5 and 6 kts.
0314 Wind: ENE to E 30-35G38 kts. When the wind is steady at 35 kts the boat reaches 6 kts through the water under bare poles. There is at least a knot of downwind current boosting the speed over the ground.
0350 The boat gets hammered by several waves and laid over hard to starboard. Water squirts through the cracks of the closed companionway wetting down the galley and nav seat cushion. The splash shield by the nav table protects the electronics from the intruding water.
0450 The boat is being bounced around in the shallow-water waves and the autopilot is having some difficulty in holding the heading. With the engine running ahead about 2000 rpm, rudder response improves and the autopilot handles the task.
0649 Sunrise
0850 At 15 NM NE of the Cape May Harbor entrance, I call the Cape May Coast Guard for an assessment of the conditions at the entrance to Cape May Harbor. The USCG reports conditions dangerous with 8 to 10 foot seas rolling over the jetties at the harbor inlet. Based on that I decide to go around Cape May to enter the Delaware Bay. The USCG further advises that conditions in the Cape May Channel may be dangerous as well and suggests use of the main ship channel. I adjust my navigation plan accordingly. The new routing adds 2-3 hours to my route and puts me into a strong ebb flow until the tide turns. The wind is forecast to back to N 20-25 kts later today and to NW 15-20 kts sometime tonight. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will hold off long enough for me to take advantage of the current fair wind in the Delaware. If the wind backs to NW before I reach the C&D, I'll experience a weather tide (wind against the current). This bay has a particularly nasty reputation under such circumstances.
1030 The wind has begun to back, putting it directly astern. I pull the jibs out about 1/3rd without using the poles and they fill like a small spinnaker. The sails take the load and I secure the engine.
1142 I round the first channel marker and head for the next one. I roll the double jib up and hoist the staysail. My plan is to use the staysail and a double-reefed mainsail to close reach up the bay on starboard tack (if the wind will just hold off on going into the north for a few more hours).
1233 The wind backs to NNW 20-22G25. Rats! It is going to be dead on the nose all the way up the bay! Looks like I am going to find out just how nasty this bay can be! I am tempted to turn south and go around Cape Charles. The distance is 100 NM greater going that way, though.
1330 Off the mouth of the Delaware I turn to enter. It is necessary to get the staysail off, as it flogs on the on the new heading. I discover that I am unable to make any progress into the bay motoring into the wind even at high power settings. The wind is too strong and the water is too rough.
1345 I turn back toward Cape May Harbor and call the USCG for another check on the conditions at the jetties. While I wait for the call back, I note that I am unable to make much forward progress back to Cape May either. The USCG calls back and advises that they have not checked the jetties in the last hour but they believe the conditions are unchanged.
1400 I prepare a new nav route and turn the boat south for Cape Charles to enter the Chesapeake at its mouth.
1551 Position: 38 33.74N 74 56.33W or 15 NM NNE of the Ocean City MD inlet.
END OF PART 99


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