My tale of rough seas...

[matt_unique]

Well the Admiral and I just returned to the house after a bit of a harrowing night and day on the water. We cruised to Duck Island again yesterday (Isle of Shoals) to dive with the seals. The marine forecast was iffy and I made the mistake of trying to 'thread the needle'. The Small Craft Advisory was in effect until 2pm. We got underway at about 1:20pm. The ride North was not too bad, we had to slow a bit, but we made it to Maine's territorial waters in just under 2 hours. I had a GREAT encounter with two seals. I descended down the anchor line and sat there. Eventually the seals began to make closer and closer passes. While we were underway near a relatively shallow shoal we could see the seas begin to kick up.

We got underway at about 6:10pm. We planned to overnight at a transient slip at Cape Ann Marina on the Annasquam River. Under normal conditions, we would have made it there in about an hour. The seas had picked up to 3-5'. It was a short but confused sea state. We could comfortable fly through most of it but every few seconds we would get one of the 5 footers and got a rough bounce. I tried several speeds and settings but could not get a comfortable ride. I finally had to drop off plane and slug it out. We were heading straight into the seas and it was rough. Every few seconds we were getting hit with bone jarring waves. 2 hours later we finally made it to the north of the Annasquam River. It was of course well after dark and I had to keep a sharp eye for lobster pots and moorings in the river. We were able to get a slip, organize the cabin, take a quick shower aboard, and catch a cab into town for dinner. We had a great dinner at a place called Latitude 43. After our late dinner we returned to the marina for a much needed nights rest.

We awoke today to pouring rain and some gusty wind. We got underway at about 7:45am. Cruising from Gloucester to Salem Harbor we had "real" 4-6' steep seas with a couple of outliers (i.e. maybe a few 7' peaks). The seas were coming from our aft port quarter. I was able to make 13- 14 knots for the 1st third of the trip. We had some good rock-n-roll, but nothing crazy. Well at the 1/3 mark we had an "outlier" pick up the aft port quarter. I have never heeled so far over in a power vessel. The Admiral let out a yell and was immediately upset. I reassured her that we were OK but I had my hands full. I can admit that I was at the limit of my abilities this morning. When larger waves approached after the hair raising heel I slowed the engines and turned sharply to starboard. This allowed me to take the wave stern to. The waves were not structured such that they would crash into the cockpit and this maneuver allowed the wave to pass under (i.e. float on top like a cork). Once it passed I hit the gas and turned sharp to port to resume a south west heading. Fortunately these tall outliers were not constant. When they approached I repeated the maneuver and worked the throttles to get as far as we could until the next one.

It felt good to finally reach the protection of Salem Harbor. I punched her up to regular cruise speed (22 knots) and floated over the 3' chop to return to the dock.

So...it was a hell of a trip, particularly this morning. I made several mistakes, the first of which was to go forward with the plans when the marine forecast was iffy. It was a good experience and a good reminder to adhere to my usual safety practices. Of course I most regret exposing the Admiral to such an experience.

[Grumpy]

Matt,

That brings back memories of a similar trip from Boothbay to Portsmouth many years ago.

Shudda listened, Shudda waited. (but it still happens sometimes ).

Merv

[matt_unique]

You said it Merv....

I managed to snap one picture of the seals warming on the rocks as we were navigating out of the shoals.

[thataway]

Good job, working the throttle as well as the wheel to allow the least effect of the seas!

[Will-C]

Matt,
Lat 43 is on the old site of McT's lobster House, I thought it was in Gloucester, Mass. Glad you made it home safe and sound. I always worried about cats taking a big one on the bow at speed and digging in like a shovel.
D.D.