[Rhodes22-list] FOUR DAYS ON THE ALBEMARLE

[Bill Davenport]

Greetings!

Stan "the Man" Spitzer asked me to write up a little account and send it in so, after a little delay in getting subscribed to the Rhodes List and whatnot, here we go:

            I hadn't sailed in 18 years and had never "skippered" anything over 16'.  The sailing experience of my crew consisted of sunbathing on foredecks of LOAs undetermined.  So it was that we boarded a Rhodes 22 for four days and three nights to make our way across the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina - our first destination:  a farm on shallow water 12 miles to the South-Southeast.
 
            The conditions were mighty good.  We set off on the wind which was from the South-Southwest at an unrelentingly fresh 20 knots and we ran close-hauled for five straight hours on a starboard tack.  With 4'-6' seas rolling against our starboard bow and no let up in the forecast, we knew that tacking out a South-Southeasterly course may force us into spending the night miles from shore.  So we simply surrendered our desired heading and fell off to the Southeast hoping to buy some speed and moor ourselves for the night nearer shore!  The race was on:  a setting sun versus us holding a starboard tack for the lee shore.  When darkness fell we tossed anchor roughly 5 miles west of our intended destination but at least we were snug up against a protective shoreline.  What glorious sleep we had that night!
 
            The next morning dawned with conditions unchanged from the previous day so, we hauled anchor and began beating a West-Southwest course (paralleling the shoreline).  Eventually, the mouth of our river opened up to us and, as we slid through the channel, a school of porpoises emerged abaft our port beam and cheerfully escorted us upstream.
 
            The third day dawned as gorgeous as the first two so, after we had prepared ourselves "psychologically", we decided to make (for us anyway) the perilous run back to the north shore of the Sound.  As weather does however, the winds had shifted almost 180° and now we faced 15 knot winds from the Northeast!  Fortunately, we came through with much more time to spare than our initial crossing and, aside from a couple of skipper's errors in handling, this leg of the trip unfolded very nicely; fortunate too because as we were putting in to a marina for the evening, we were in a race with a bodacious squall line that had quietly crept up astern of us. 
 
            Much of the morning on the fourth day was spent sailing and motoring through gentle air and calm waters but all of this is to say that the Rhodes 22 is a wonderful boat.  At times it moved through water less than 3' deep and at other times it held course in stiff weather and roiling seas.  It forgives stubborn helmsmen and offers ample space and comfort for people who may develop "differences of opinion" regarding course headings, seamanship, and methods.  The galley space easily handled all of our provisions for four days and yet, thanks to the pop-top, we had plenty of room to stroll around.  The flared hull and the flat bow deck were both indispensable features while slogging through sizable swells and at night, the forward scoops felt better than air-conditioning.  The cockpit was perfect for moving around and offered spacious berthing for my contrary crew.  Owing to our lack of experience, I suppose we were somewhat apprehensive about the sail lines but we became fairly adept at handling essential settings in no time flat.  Deploying and furling the genoa was a breeze and reefing the main probably should have been done more often due to the ease of it.  And (not that we ever used it because we are sailors after all) the motor mount and automatic hoist were unbelievably handy.
 
            We loved every minute of our four days on the high seas of the Albemarle and may be alive today - dare I exaggerate - only because of the solid design and construction of the Rhodes 22.  One thing is for sure though:   we're more alive now because of it.
 

Awesome!


William M. Davenport 
L a n d s c a p e   A r c h i t e c t
___________________________________________________________________
wpl
landscape architecture | land surveying | civil engineering

242 mustang trail, suite 8 | virginia beach, va | 23452 | 757.431.1041 ext. 43 | f 757.463.1412
www.wplsite.com | bill at wplsite.com
___________________________________________________________________