moved to 'stories'

[Frank]

I wrote this reply to a 'gale forcast' post in weekend sailing.....thought I should move it to 'sailing stories'. I dug up this pic...taken about 2-30 the next afternoon , 8knm out of Jacksonville. It was relatively 'calm' compared to the peak at around 3-30 am and 35knm farther out in the gulfstream......................................"Nice forcast. Back in 02, my buddy Craig and I were bringing my boat from SC to Florida off shore to save time.He had never sailed and I was doing my 1st 'offshore' passage.We were 43knm out and slightly N of the Georgia/Florida border.It had been a beautiful couple of days with sunsets and sunrises that were postcard perfect. At 5.45 that night a 'small craft advisory' came over the VHF.....very similar to what you posted only we were in the middle of the Gulf stream. It got dark at 6.45,so making a safe port was out of the question .It started about 7.30...steep waves of short duration.The boat SLAMMED down off of them...I honestly thought it may break open.The gulf stream is famous for higher than normal wave hieghts for a given wind speed.Craig became seasick and spent the rest of the night hugging the head.The wind continue'd to build. I reefed and furled a 2nd time.The waves became taller but a longer duration.The 'slamming' eased up but when the odd one caught ya, it hit HARD. I was afraid and wondered if we'd make it back. I felt guilt for having Craig out there..he was getting married in 2mths.I felt very 'responsible' and did not want to show my own fear.The sky was clear so you could see the seas in the moonlight.It kept blowing harder...the waves kept getting taller. By around 3am I had to reef/furl for a 3rd time....by now there was very little sail up.I can only discribe the sensation out there as 'VIOLANT' !  An eye was constantly looking ahead as there would be sets of taller-wider breaking waves that I would attempt to cross at their lower ends. As odd as this sounds,I remember thinking 'this is beautiful...if I die..at least I got to see it'. Wave hieghts were now in the high teens.Suddenly there was a light in the distance.I grabbed the handheld and did a 'all stations' request.It felt comforting to know someone else was out there. A very young..very professional female voice came over the handheld "this is coastguard cutter couragious..please report your situation". I'm here to tell ya that in the middle of a gulfstream gale..on a 1st offshore passage...my mothers voice would not have been more comforting.Simply knowing they were out there made it feel better. I responded 'I'd rather be having a rum at the dock...but we are presently OK'...not very professional,but I guess it was how I felt at the time.She responded that they were relieved we were OK..that they had picked us up on radar and would continue to moniter us through the night.That sounded SO good.She reported winds of sustained 34knots with gusts into the 40's.They continue'd on to other craft,leaving us alone again. The wind continued to build.The waves were now very high.The occasional series would be way taller and WAY faster than the rest.The back side of these waves were considerably longer than the others so I called them 'long backs'....they HAD to be avoided.I was constantly watching...trying to look 2,3 even 4 or 5 waves ahead for the best route through.I would point high near the crest,then fall off slightly to gain speed going down their backs to again point high near the crest...a pattern I repeated 1000's of times that night. It honestly was awesome to see...even if very unnerving.I cannot tell you how exhausting it is.I had been up since 4am the previous morning having wanted Craig to have the wheel at sunrise and watch it with him. Now 24hrs later ..8 of them intense...I was feeling fatigue.(as I type this..I realize I've never recounted this before in detail) The 'violance' continued to build. When a wave broke over the bow,the spray would continue on horizontal to the water for over 100ft before again meeting the ocean.The sound was incredible,as was the visual.It started to cloud over..I could no longer see as well. Then It started to rain. At this point I really felt 'beat-up'.When the boat got to the crest of a wave it would become very overpowered .The sound and wind was intence at the crests, but it all became much quieter in the troughs...the sails would actually luff at times there.Thats why we needed speed going down the backsides...just to make it back up the next one.  I thought about reefing/furling even more but honestly could not find the energy.It dawned on me that I had no idea where we were or what direction I should be attempting to sail in.Up to now I had been simply in survival mode.I was afraid to heave-to in these huge waves but figured I had to and get a fix and a heading.I had not yet read the Pardey's 'storm tactics'. I cannot discribe what happened after heaving-to and going below other than comparing it to going into a warm log cabin after being in a raging snow storm and closing the door. The noise was way less intense. The visual was gone and the motion considerably less violant.....WOW !!  I got my fix and coarse to attempt and went back out. Craig said he was too sick to be scared. I felt bad for him. Within 1/2 an hour the wind stabilized and actually began to slowly ease. I later read of this point in a storm...where you know the worst is over and you will be OK...it's a majical turning point that I cannot describe fully. A series of exhaustion induced poor judgement calls later ,we still managed to make Jacksonville Florida before dark that day.I had been awake for 38hrs and had 23hrs continuously at the helm. A dock and my bunk have never felt so good.When I look back on the night...although I hope never to repeat it..I am glad for the experience.Nature IS awsome !! I was glad to have witnessed it 1st hand. I have TOTAL respect for the coast guard.They showed up again in the morning and reported they had monitered us all night. They were extreemly professional in every way.Finally...I learned a lot.That would be another story in itself. I should apologize....when I read C-Pete's 'small craft warning'...the memories flooded in and I started typing...sorry for the 'ramble'  Last thought...I have always worked with my hands but never had troubles. After fighting the storm and gripping the wheel that long..I've had 'carpul tunnel syndrom' in my wrists ever since "