6th -10th May 2013 - PASSAGEMAKING - Nassau, Bahamas to Beaufort, NC, USA
Nimue
Fri 10 May 2013 20:11
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Following a 0540 departure from Nassau, we soon settled into life at sea
again, although we and David from Blue Yonder were still on a
bit of a ‘high’ from our last few days in Atlantis! We wanted to try
and make landfall in Norfolk Virginia, but within a few hours of departure, the
Grib weather files were very much suggesting big squalls around Cape Hatteras at
the time of our arrival, so we decided to ‘bite the bullet’ and make straight
for Beaufort, North Carolina. It took almost 36 hours and 180nm before we
were able to take advantage of the Gulf Stream and then our Speed over the
Ground (SOG) steadily crept up to 9.2 knots. We did end up with some wind
from the north west, making the passage up the Gulf Steam rather lumpy and as
daylight approached on the 3rd day, we could see the flashes of a thunderstorm
to the east, but well in the distance. As usual, Nimue’s sails were
constantly being reefed and ‘de-reefed’, but we continued to make good ground
and at one point on the 4th day we reached an SOG of 10.3 knots!
 As the sun rises, flashes of lightening
can be seen in the clouds
We arrived in Beaufort after 5.5 days and covered 687
nm. We headed for our usual anchorage in the Taylor River and found a good
anchoring spot and made our usual phone call to Homeland Security to advise of
our arrival in the USA. Normally they would check us in straightaway, but
we were told that as it was after 1700 on a Friday we would not be able to
check in until Monday.............you’re kidding!
David off Blue Yonder also contacted
Homeland Security and he was advised the same, but he also found out that due to
sequestration, all Homeland Security offices would be closed for the
week-end........WHAT?
Anyway, this meant we had to stay on board for the whole
weekend and wait until Monday morning to be checked in. Of course we fully
complied!? We contacted Homeland Security again on Monday morning
and two officers, wearing dark glasses came down to the dock to inspect Nimue
and review our documentation. Apart from taking a potato and agreeing I
could keep some steak, which I had originally purchased in Florida, they issued
another year’s cruising licence for Nimue and also stamped our passports for 8
months (we had requested an extra 2 months, as we were planning to head down to
Florida after the hurricane season. As our boat insurance would not allow us to
go south of Cape Hatteras before the 1st November they granted us a 2 month
extension.........very nice of them to do so!).
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