We pulled out of Wrightsville Beach inlet yesterday just after sun rise, and had a truly glorious day of sailing. as soon as we cleared the inlet we had sails up in the forecast northwest wind, and started making great time. Most of the day making 8 and 9 knots.

We had a 47 foot catamaran that was just in front of us out of the inlet, and by the time we rounded Cape Fear, they were almost three miles back in our wake. The sailing performance of the Amel never ceases to surprise me, in the best way.

Over night, the wind faded, again as forecast, and we fired up the Volvo to keep moving along.

Not all the boats around us were so lucky. 250 miles off shore a catamaran was taking on water, and called for a Coast Guard air evacuation. That’s past the maximum reach of the USCG Dolphin helicopters, so I am guessing they had a Jayhawk nearby with an 800 mile round trip range. Everybody was taken off and returned to land safely. This morning a sailboat entering Charleston Harbor ended up on the rock jetty at the entrance. We have no information about how that came to happen in totally benign conditions.

We are now about 50 miles from the sea buoy off of Brunswick, and should be arriving at the marina shortly after midnight.