Day #51: Key Stage, Titan #31, is currently cruising down the coast from Maine to North Carolina. Tonight Titan is safely ensconced in Point Judith, RI after a rough 26nm passage from Cuddyhunk Island, MA. Enroute today they saw 20kt winds and tightly spaced 4' seas--a masochist's definition of a good time! What a striking difference to Nellie's leisurely ramble north today; the biggest wave we saw was 6", and that was our wake. In cruisers' parlance, the difference in Titan's and Nellie's experiences is explained by 'outside' vs. 'inside'. Titan is cruising outside, in the open ocean, and exposed to the vagaries there of. Nellie is cruising within the confines of the ICW, or inside, and is exposed to little fetch and no ocean swell. The advantages of being inside can't be overstated--just ask Key tonight ;-) Unfortunately for Titan, the ICW starts in NJ, about 150nm southwest of where she is now.
Today's picture shows that even with storm clouds gathering the waters on the inside stayed calm. Thank goodness.
It was very much a current-assisted day as we quickly made the 42nm from Beaufort, SC to our anchorage in Church Creek, SC (which is about 10nm WSW of Charleston, SC). The new grand total for this trip is 955nm, and all but a few of those miles were on the inside. DBH.
