Well, we finally did it! We cast off on our first sail of Respite.
Our son dropped us off, after a three hour drive, at Colington Harbour in Kill Devil Hills, NC late Friday night. The Admiral and I got situated and spent the night aboard. The sail plan was to cruise SW 65 nm. to Okracoke Island, spend the night and continue on about 50 nm. to New Bern on Sunday.
We got up early, after a good night's sleep, and set off heading SW with the wind about 15 knots out of the southeast. We had a great sail until we got past the new US 64 bridge at Mann's Harbor. The wind died for about an hour and then started blowing 20 to 25 knots dead on the nose. The Croatan Sound built up a nasty 2' chop. The only damage we managed to incur, was to the forward hatch which got caught by a sheet during a tack. It is busted pretty good where the port hinge 'was' mounted. It seems to be a design shortcoming (catching the sheet), any fixes from the list would be appreciated. We slogged SW until about 4:00 PM, when we gave up on reaching Okracoke Island at a reasonable hour. We tacked North and pulled into Stumpy Point having covered only about 35 nm. while sailing about 50.
The Admiral declared that now she fully comprehended why we refer to it as beating and threatened to jump ship. She does not ascribe to the theory that uncomfortable sailing builds character. There is no good anchorage at the fishing village of Stumpy Point, but we were able to tie up at a crab house, get a cold garden hose shower and cook a hot supper. We slept through the storm as a weather front moved through during the night(but now we know where all the leaks are) and Respite lived up to her name. The forecast was good for Sunday, 20 to 25 knots out of the North, and was as predicted until noon. The GPS showed 8.1 knots surfing down waves a couple of times under a full main and working jib! The Cal 27 seems as fast as everyone says it is and a joy to sail. After noon the wind eased off considerably, so we decided to make for Okracoke instead of bypassing it. The Admiral was in a much better mood after a beautiful day's sail. We left Respite there in Silver Lake harbor and rode walk-on aboard the ferry to Cedar Island. Our daughter and her boyfriend met us there with the car. We finally rolled in at home about midnight. I'm going to a meeting in Okracoke on Friday and will try to get her up to New Bern on Saturday (about 50 nm.)if I can recruit some crew to help me. Respite balances well and the helm is light, but she is a little too nimble for single-handing the way she is presently rigged, particularly if you want to cover a lot of ground. The Admiral can't join me because she would miss out on the activities surrounding our daughter's last dance recital, so I'm forming a press gang.

This was my first voyage with electronic navagation and I am hooked. It sure took away a lot of the anxiety involved with dead reckoning in rough conditions while sailing short handed. I used a Magellan XL3000 handheld unit and it definitly reduced the number of tacks and jybes my optimism usually induces. I hope that this is "continued until next week"
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Chris B.
1973 Cal 27-T2 #148
"Respite"
Farmville, NC