Welcome to Sali and Bills place. You can find information about our CSY44 Silent Option and a gallery of family photos.
I asked my good friend and former frogman Mark Sabino for some art we could turn into a shirt and he gave us this great picture. Of course the shirt may have to feature a brunette mermaid. For obvious reasons.
Bringing the Silent Option (ex-Nautical Star) home.
The Silent Option is a CSY 44 Walkover that we were able to rescue after Hurricane Katrina. The boat is cutter rigged and drafts 6 foot 6 inches. Our good friend Jim Dill initially got the boat right after the storm and we in turn got the boat from him. The Silent Option was moved from Key West to Marathon Florida where it remained for some months until we were able to mount an expedition of sorts to bring the boat home to Virginia Beach for refit. My Uncle, George Williams, helped move the boat north from Marathon to Charleston SC. On that first leg we enjoyed some great sailing and encountered several squalls packing high winds and lightning. During one particularly violent storm our mainsail was damaged beyond use. Then, after a short stopover in Cape Canaveral we had a battery explode due to overcharging. In spite of the problems we continued to head north under power, jib and staysail. We were able to maintain 4-6 knots most of the time though periods of no wind slowed us substantially.
Finally the decision was made to pull into Fernandina Beach Florida, the most Northern marina in Florida.
George was able to get the main picked up for repair and by sundown we were replenished and back underway with full sail.
Sadly the lack of wind caused us to finally terminate the first part of the journey and we pulled into Charleston South Carolina. I must admit I was very anxious during these first days and I really just wanted to get the boat home safely. Thanks to George I was able to finally relax somewhat and enjoy the trip for what it was, an adventure on the open ocean.
During this first leg we were visited daily by many dolphins and they provided hours of entertainment. We learned a lot about the boat and although nothing on the boat worked except the engine and sails we still had a great time.
From Charleston Sali and I sailed overnight to Southport North Carolina near Cape Fear and south of Wilmington. I have been coming through this inlet for nearly 30 years and the entrance can be very dangerous depending on conditions as it is a very narrow channel that affords numerous opportunities to run aground. Sali and I arrived at low tide just as our friend the sun was departing for the day.
As luck would have it the engine began to act up at this time and without sunlight it was nearly impossible for me to read the chart or distinguish our navigation marks among the thousands of lights in the background.
Fortunately Sali remembered she was a fighter pilot and came to our rescue. She has excellent night vision and superb sailing skills. With a 10 foot following sea she expertly navigated the long winding channel under sail. Even with our relatively deep draft she never once touched the bottom. When we finally reached the transient dock around 10pm I took over to get us pierside and promptly ran us hard aground while maneuvering to tie up.
The Silent Option stayed in Southport for a few days while we made plans to finish the trip.
Soon I was on my way with another friend. Jeff, a Corporate Pilot, and I departed Southport and made our way up the ICW, Intracoastal waterway, until we were well past Cape Fear. After we left the ICW Jeff and I had a great sail on the ocean and arrived in Morehead City late on the second night.
The next day we got underway on the ICW using power and staysail and made it all the way to Belhaven North Carolina. We were definitely going in the right direction as we had the wind at our back and were able to sail through the entire Pamlico Sound.
On what we thought might be our final day underway Jeff and I continued north on the ICW which narrows considerably. We still had deep water so grounding was never an issue and for a few hours we were able to watch some Air Force A10s working the range at Piney Island.
By late afternoon and just 13 miles from home as the crow flies a major storm appeared on the horizon. We pushed hard but it was all we could do to make Coinjock just as the storm arrived.
Torrential rain and lightning made it impossible to continue so we stopped for the night.
Fortunately Coinjock has a great restaurant.
The next morning we were once again underway early. It looked as if we would be home by late afternoon but it wasn't to be. At the Steel Bridge, one of the many drawbridges we would encounter before reaching Norfolk, the transmission catastrophically failed.
We were able to anchor out of the channel to assess the situation and before long we were underway with the dingy alongside warping us along at nearly 5 knots.
When we reached the harbor in Norfolk we were once again under full sail and with the dingy still alongside we made port around 9pm.
Christine brought Brett and one of his friends to help with lines and the Silent Option was finally safe at home.
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