reefed in sequence, first the main then the jib. We took the main in
entirely a little later, and made the jib smaller still. We were still
making 6 to 7 knots with minimal sail area. The winds built to 20+
knots, not usually a problem, but the waves built to 6 feet or so and
became steeper. The waves began to roll us when we steered our course
to Block, so we frequently had to bear off, steering due north to keep
our footing. Later there were so many waves like this that we could
only steer north.
During the late hours of Tuesday we began to talk about what to do
about the lee shore of Long Island. The forecast had been upgraded to
10-15 from the south. Conditions steadily worsened on Wednesday
morning, and we turned the engine on at low RPMs to hellp make the
steering more respomsive. The following seas kept trying to turn the
boat sideways to the waves, causing some ugly rolls. The distance to
LI was decreasing all the time and we were locked on our course due
north. The tough thing about LI as a lee shore is that it is over a
hundred miles long with no harbors. If we didint find a solution soon
we would be sailing right up the beach.
Sleep isn't easy on a boat sailing in these conditions, but we all
managed to get an hour or so here and there. Imagine sleeping on a
roller coaster, the flesh of your body constantly shifting against
your bones as the boat lurches through the night. (To be continued)
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