We’re finally sailing South for Charleston, South Carolina! We’ve had an incredible summer in the Northeast, but fall is upon us and we have work to do down South. We’re expecting about a four-day passage. We’ll follow the continental shelf and stay out of the Gulf Stream. The trickiest part of this passage will be passing Hatteras. Hatteras is notorious for big seas, squalls and shallow water. We’re trying to time our rounding with an onshore breeze that will flow perpendicular to the current, giving us a good sailing angle while keeping the seas down. We’ll stick close to shore to avoid the current. After Hatteras we’ll continue to hug the coast a bit and then head straight for the Holy City! Wish us luck!
Once in Charleston we must get started on our refit! It’s imperative that we head into 2024 with a strong and seaworthy vessel that can efficiently and safely execute our mission and support the guests, scientists and crew members aboard. From this October through March 2024, we will be conducting our final major refit aboard sailing vessel “Resilience”. THIS IS THE BIG ONE! A whole lot of “sweat equity” (about 1000hrs worth) will make this possible along with the help of our supporters and sponsors. We’re thrilled to be collaborating with some of the best manufactures and tradespeople to complete the work needed. We have already secured important in-kind donations to our refit including haulage and storage from The Hinckley Company, Fenders from FenderTex, and sails from UK Sailmakers. We are currently negotiating with several other great companies. Click here to learn more about our refit and fundraising needs.
The plan is to complete most, if not all, of this work in Charleston. We will spend time at anchor in Charleston Harbor as well as seek out dockage in the area (if you know of an empty dock, let us know!). Six months will be just enough time to complete all of the work we have slated out. Come March, we will be staging our next passage.
Beginning in 2024, Apparent Winds will offer three types of charters. These include: Educational Charters – for high-school or college level student groups, Research Charters – for scientists wishing to use our vessel and work with our crew to conduct their own research, and Immersion Charters – for people who want to experience what it’s like to be a part of our crew, work with us in the field conducting oceanographic data collection and join us as we meet and film with cultural and environmental leaders from around the world. If you’d like to learn more about our charters now, please reach out to us via email (info@apparentwinds.org) and we’ll send you our schedule for next year and other details.
There’s plenty more to share. More to come. We’re thrilled to be here and can’t wait to keep the Apparent Winds Expedition going! Thanks for following along.