CRUISING ADVENTURES AND GUNK HOLING IN SMALL SAILBOATS 6

Article By Richard Frye
Part 6 of the series: Backpacking On The Water

Sea Mistress loped along, cutting through the waves at a comfortable pace. The wind was out of the SE and I was making good headway at about 7 to 9 knots and now and then a gust would shove her forward with such force I was startled as the sudden blast put me on edge for a moment! The steady breeze would suddenly go from 9 mph to 23 mph without a hint of a warning. The log read as follows:

May 15
10:00am
Wind - Southeast, Steady 7 -9 knots (Gusting 23)
Clear Sky, rough water. Off shore about 8 miles. Will head inland if things get worst.

I looked around and the sky was mostly clear with a big bright sun! For some reason white caps were not even showing up but once in a while. The sea began a slow roll and I locked the tiller, set the course on about 330, and decided to prepare some lunch as the wind became more predictable and steady. Sardines in mustard sauce were on my menu for today’s lunch! I was hungry so I opened two cans! Some saltine crackers, an ice cold Black Label beer, and a two inch block of New York sharp cheddar cheese. Wow! Now that’s a feast! Claude had somehow, and without my knowledge, placed a 6 pack of beer into my old metal cooler that was showing signs of rust!

My little ship rolled along dipping down and raising her bow above the horizon with a steady cadence that was most comfortable. BUT, as it would be, Murphy’s Law was all around, and a healthy blast of air would rock her to port without warning and I would make some quick adjustments to the tiller and the mainsheet without spilling my lunch all over the cockpit!

Sailing for the next few hours was not eventful and I passed the mouth of the Savannah River a few miles out. I kept the distance off shore and continued my northerly course as I had for the past 10 hours and had covered almost 92 miles according to the route I’d marked on my strip chart! That was a good run, and then suddenly realized that I would be sailing in the dark very soon! I headed her nose to the Northwest to search for a suitable mooring for the night, but it wouldn’t be easy. Then it happened. I was in the dark! Not another boat in sight! I was alone with only the sounds that a sailboat can make when all it totally quiet! No sea birds, no deep throaty noise that only a diesel engine can make and no screaming Mercury outboards blasting by at 60mph just to say hi or to spray me with water! Most of those 60 mph people wound up getting a ticket by the USCG or local patrol, and it was more likely to happen on a weekend when folks were in a party mood. Tonight was unusually silent from those sounds I mentioned and other sounds too. It was quiet to the point of being spooky with the water sizzling along the hull! There was also relief that I wouldn’t be run down by a 70 foot shrimper or being driven into the marsh like a surfboard riding a 5 foot wake!

Lights began to illuminate the shoreline. A lighthouse could be seen with a flash now and then off my stern. I checked the chart, it was Tybee Light and well behind me now, but I knew that area well, not the area I was heading for! Hmmmm…this should prove interesting! It would have to be one of those moonless and pitch black nights! You don’t know where the water meets the sky and it’s hard to define the border where the stars reflect on themselves, and the only sign of life are the lights on shore. That provided a little comfort! But I still had to find a safe place to drop anchor. All I could think about was that when you are having a wonderful time this is what happens! I was off guard and wasn’t thinking at all, I was too tired to sail all night! There is nothing more beautiful than sailing at night under a full moon or bright stars. Tonight was not that night!

Night blindness was fading and I was at last able to distinguish certain things but the water and land still merged into blackness. I managed to keep Sea Mistress away from the bank in an inlet or river that was beginning narrow quickly and I felt her swing keel center board hit the bottom a few times. I slowly turned her to what I thought was deeper water then cranked the winch handle a couple of turns to bring the keel up a bit, and she was clear. Twenty minutes later without another incident, I turned her nose into the wind, hove to, and looked around before dropping the bow anchor. I dropped my sounding lead with a fresh packing of beeswax in the hollow part at the bottom of the weight. Water depth was around 10 to 12 feet now, the tide was going out and the bottom was black mud. At least I could get some rest before I had to move again. Lighting my little kerosene lantern and hoisting it to the top of the mast was another relief! This meant that I was going to get some rest. To others it simply meant that some idiot was on board that little sailboat and was probably lost!

A cold beer and some snacks began the unwinding procedure! Little Penrose sausages that came in a jar were pickled and had a tart zing to them along with a little more cheese, some wheat rolls, and later a few chocolate chip cookies made my day complete! I brushed my teeth, fired up a pipe I sometimes puffed on and kicked back in the cockpit to enjoy the undistinguishable lights! I had no idea what they were for, and no idea where I was at, but something told me that I was close to the area I was thinking about.

When daylight came I knew immediately where I was at and that I needed to get moving or get run over! Diesel engines pounded away as the boats warmed up and stocked their holes with ice. I was right where some of the shrimp boats would be coming out soon and on their way to the fishing ground. They would be gone for at least a week. Those lights I kept looking before I passed out into a deep sleep were indeed from the ice house and docks where the shrimpers unloaded their boats.

A hand or captain of a large boat that was having ice loaded in its holds waved at me in a slight way of a salute and a nod of his head then went back to watching the ice pour into the open cargo hatches. I casually waved back, and the brief moment signaled to me that he could have been a sailor at one time in his life and might even relax aboard his own daysailer when time allowed.

With no time to waste, I pulled the muddy anchor onboard. I’d wash the mud off later, then fired up the little Evinrude and noticed from the water level and shells and barnacles on the massive pilings that supported the heavy docks that the tide would be high in a couple of hours. Now that I could see what was going on, I motored further back into the river and found a spot to drop anchor again for some breakfast and a badly needed cup of coffee! The latter was first!

Although I was further back I noticed that the wave action was getting a little stronger. This was from the larger boats heading out and the wakes were making their way back to me almost 200 yards around the bend and with me completely out of sight! It was going on 7am and I pulled the anchor and headed back out to the mouth of the river and bounced through the choppy water until I was clear of all the turbulence. I headed straight out to open water and then steered a northerly course. I decided to pass by Hilton Head and my next port of call would be Charleston Harbor!

Winds picked up without warning and howled out of the west! I hadn’t listened to the local weather report like I normally do, and learned another lesson. Black clouds rolled in and I reefed the mainsail quickly and stowed the jib inside. I was 3 miles out and only half the mainsail was up. The wind was blasting at around 35 to 45 mph with rain drops hitting my face so hard, it felt like pellets from a shotgun! I tried to head inland but the force of the wind kept me turning way for some reason! I fought the wind for over an hour while riding over the 6 foot waves before I realized the centerboard was about half way up! I almost broached several times and that had me worried!

Some dumb member of my crew must have forgotten to lower the board after motoring out of the river! He should be made to walk the plank! After getting over a case of “stupiditis” Sea Mistress battled the waves like the fighter she was and we headed close to shore, hoping to get a little relief and protection from the trees and buildings but it was really getting bad! I had to find shelter or head further out to sea. Seeing no place on the charts without heading back from the way I had come, I headed further out and although the gale was still in full force the deeper water made things a little better.

Sea Mistress pounded and rolled in perfect timing and I was glad that everything was tied down and put away. Well …almost! I heard a crash and a toolbox had opened up and wrenches, screwdrivers and other tools were all over the floorboard inside the cabin. Nothing serious happened from that event, except they would need drying off and a light coat of oil applied, and of course the latch needed to be fastened securely! I had left the latch undone! Of course I tried to blame it on another crew member! When you sail alone there are times when you do that just to keep from feeling like a complete moron, but lessons are always learned. Sometimes the hard way!

I was soaking wet and had a knot on my head from not ducking in time when an unexpected shift of wind cause a quick gibe and slammed the boom into my hard head with a sharp glancing blow! Luckily I was sheeted in tight and didn’t get the full force but enough to open a small cut about 3/4” that bled all over the place. I ducked behind Folly Beach, and further north on Folly Island I spotted a marina. I had made it into port at last, and three stitches later and some pain pills after a visit to a local clinic I was fine, had a terrific headache and was very lucky I wasn’t injured severely as another not so bad squall passed over. Now back on board my Sea Mistress, I decided to stay over for a while and nurse my wounds and bruises.

This area was bustling with activity but I was not in a partying mood. I just sulked on my boat at watch bikinis pass by. I had a concussion that I wasn’t told about earlier on my second visit to the clinic. The pain would not stop. With a different medication and bed rest for a few days I should be ok…according to the “new” doctor that examined my broken head! He said that the stitches could be removed in 5 days. With nothing else to do I wandered around as a tourist and had nice restaurants for meals through the week. I was on vacation!

I spotted a BBQ place that looked inviting and I can’t resist the smell of GOOD Bar-B-Que. Feeling starved I got a sandwich that was a monster with a side order of coleslaw with a large iced tea to wash everything down! About 9:30pm while listening to and AM radio station playing a Chuck Berry hit, Johnny B Good I grabbed the closest bucket and commenced to fill it with BBQ sandwich, coleslaw and Sweet Tea! I was sick as a dog and running a fever. IT…got worse and now thinking I might be sent straight to Davy Jones! Man oh man was I sick!

In fact I felt so bad I couldn’t muster the strength to get up to do anything. I would go back to that clinic IF Davy Jones didn’t take me before daylight! The only thing in the medicine chest was some Bayer aspirin, Band-Aids, Mercurochrome, a thermometer, a roll of adhesive tape, some gauze pads, burn cream, and that was it! I would certainly have a full blown first-aid kit before I left the area.

The aspirin was taken at regular intervals to get the fever down, and was working. After taking 4 within 4 hours I was able to get some sleep. I woke up about 8am and looked around. All seemed well ….except me! Off to the clinic I went. They could see I was in bad shape just from the bump on the head but now I was a disaster case! Pretty nurses came around to take care of me, gave me a shot in the butt and told me to sit tight. The doctor would be by shortly. He came in with a diagnosis of some type of flu and said it wasn’t the BBQ. I had intestinal flu. He said I probably picked up the virus a few days before and it was just now coming out in full form! I was sent back to my boat for bed rest and he gave me an emergency telephone number to call if I got worse. He also said there was a hospital near if I really got bad! As far as I was concerned I had already passed that stage!

Back on Sea Mistress I did sleep after I took the pill that he gave me and told me to take just before I went to bed…like when I got back to the boat! I went out like a light and slept till 11am the next morning! I made coffee and that seem to help prod me back into the real world. Rest was the order of the day with plenty of liquids and some Chicken Noodle soup! Luckily I had 6 cans of Campbell’s! That, along with some saltine crackers made life bearable for now. I listened to the local radio stations, and after hearing a good weather report, I enjoyed some music by the Andrew Sisters that put me to sleep and later on…some rock and roll! The coffee and soup stayed down, and it was time to rest again. I would be here at least a full week! Still 4 days before they would remove the sutures from my hard head!

It was times like this that I wished I had a sailing companion!

At 6am I woke up feeling somewhat better and prepared some coffee, oatmeal and toast and cleaned up the cookware and dishes around 7am. The radio told me that rain was on the way. Feeling better prompted me to head into town and stock up on a few things. Since I was still weak from being sick, a taxi was the best choice. The driver was friendly and very informative and knew where every store of every kind was located. He knew my situation and said that he would be on call if I asked for his car number which was 3. A small taxi company? Well I assumed that they did have at least 3 taxi cabs!

My first stop was a newly opened K-Mart store that was a huge building that housed about anything you could possible think of! They even sold aluminum Jon boats as well as semi-v bottomed boats that were also aluminum for 149.97. In this day and age that was an excellent buy but still a lot of money! The food section interested me as I found some canned bacon for $.88 per one pound can! No refrigeration necessary. I asked a person in the area if he knew anything about it and he said it was very good but extremely salty and needed to be washed with fresh water then blotted dry before cooling. I bought 6 cans, and more food items that I was low on or completely out of. Peanut butter, Spam, Oreo Cookies, tuna and sardines and a box of saltine crackers was about the extent of the grocery line.

The magazine rack sported a good selection of sailing magazines so I grabbed a couple, and then spent a good hour browsing each aisle. I was impressed with the variety of items they had in stock and even more impressed with their sporting goods department. I was able to restock some badly needed hooks and sinkers and a spool of 35 pound test braided line for my tackle and a box of .38 Special ammo for my revolver. That was to ward off those pesky wild pigs that occasionally harassed me while visiting certain islands and beaches.

The cab company sent the same driver. I asked for #3 the yellow taxi had me back at my mooring within minutes. A small grocery store was within walking distance near the clinic and the driver too me there to get a quart of fresh milk, eggs, a large bag of ice and a couple of pork chops for dinner. I needed solid food and was “souped out” so to speak!

Back on board Sea Mistress my radio was fading so I replaced the 9v battery. I kept extras seal up like the batteries for my flash lights, and an extra battery for my lantern. I used candle lanterns and my little kerosene lantern primarily. The weather report was not what I wanted. Rain was on the way with winds gusting to 30mph.

The grill going on the dock and I sliced a potato thin so the slices would cook faster in a little vegetable oil. This was like making super fat potato chips but tasted great! The pork chops were tasty and I needed a decent meal. I topped this off with some Oreos and a cup of milk, a treat that was missing from my menu for a long time!

An hour before dark the clouds moved in and the wind picked up. I checked and double checked to make sure everything was in its proper place and secured. The rain came hard and fast! I was snug in my little cabin and tried to read while I listen to music. Sea Mistress rocked and rolled to the music and I almost threw up again! At times she would surge 3 feet and slam back hard! An hour went by and the storm eased up. I had to find a more suitable mooring but that would have to wait. Two more days and I get the stiches out of my head! In the mean time I’ll stay here for a while to build my strength from the other thing! It rained hard most of the night, and then eased up to give me a pleasant night’s sleep.