A Tale of Two Chemists: Off shore passage and Rocket Launch

Off shore passage and Rocket Launch

Thursday April 22 – Friday April 23, 2021

We waited for afternoon to depart the marina at Skull Creek, partly because the strong winds following the cold front were forecast to die away by the afternoon. The other reason to leave in the late afternoon was to be entering the inlet at Winyah Bay in daylight. We untied from the dock at about 3:30 pm and got underway. In a short while, the wind was gusting to 16kts (not exactly the 5 kts of the forecast!). Those were the strongest winds we experienced on Thursday—they didn’t last long. Although clear and bright it was also very cold and we had to start pulling on more layers of clothing.

The Port Royal inlet faces south with shoals on either side of the channel. The first three hours of our trip were taking us in the wrong direction. However, sometimes you’ve just got to work with the available geography. The confused sea state in the channel was making both of us glad that we had put on the scopolamine patches before setting off.

Once we were out of the inlet channel and on the desired course, the direction of the waves was less troubling—not so much rolling side to side. Better but still causing difficulties when trying to move around below. It was soon dark, but the moon was up, casting some light. We had to add more layers of clothing. I started to find it hard to bend my arms. We took it in turns to be on watch. The off-watch person tried to nap in the cockpit. This required a sleeping bag, Brrr! By 5:30 am I could tell that the sky was getting light in the east.

We reached the outer markers of the Winyah inlet around 9:30 am. Sadly the current was flowing out of the inlet making for very slow progress. We cranked up the engine but at some points we were only able to make about 3.5 knots over the ground. By noon, we were anchoring in the Western Channel off the inlet. We had some lunch and a little rest while waiting for the current to switch. At 2:30 pm we set off for Thoroughfare Creek, a beautiful tributary that runs into the Waccamaw River. All together I think we travelled about 140 nautical miles – 100 miles offshore and the remainder getting in and out of the shipping channels. We are pretty tired (with that jet-lag feeling). It’s just after “Boaters 10 pm” (7 o’clock for the non-boaters) and I’m ready to hit the rack.

Gloria

During night passages Gloria and I switch off taking control of the boat whilst the other sleeps … or at least rests. We try and do 2 hours on-watch and 2 hours off. It was just the luck of the draw that I started a watch at 5.30 am whilst Gloria lay down in the cockpit. I got to experience one of the most amazing spectacles that I have ever seen. At 5.49 am SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket along with the Crew Dragon unit and 4 astronauts from Cape Canaveral. I looked up about two minutes later and just happened to have my camera ready in the cockpit. My camera tell me that the shots I took were between 5.52 am and 5.54 am. At first I had no idea what I was looking at and all sorts of ideas popped through my, including an alien invasion, but apparently on the previous watch Gloria heard a broadcast from the US Coast Guard announcing that there would be a rocket launch. I couldn’t see the rocket itself (even in the photos) but the vapor trails were enormous. I think that I may have also seen the 1st stage booster falling back to earth. It was very challenging to photograph because I needed to use long exposures (2-6 seconds) hand-held on a rolling boat. I was delighted that they came out as well as they did. This is the second rocket launch we have seen on this trip!

Mike

33 30.889 N, 79 08.640

The following shots are shown in the sequence in which they were taken ...

Gloria in the cockpit shortly after we cleared the Port Royal Inlet shipping channel and headed north-east

Sun setting behind the South Carolina shore. Photos rarely capture whether the sea is rough or not, but maybe from this you can tel it was still quite choppy after the high winds from the previous night.

Night life in the cockpit with Gloria resting on the bench with a sleeping bag to keep her warm. The auto-pilot steers the boat and the person on watch just has to keep an eye open for other vessels - most easily seen as AIS markers on the chart plotter or as radar blips or from navigation lights. AIS is brilliant because it shows you where the other boat is, how fast it's going and in what direction. It also gives you the boat name so you can call them directly on the VHF radio (~ 4 minute exposure, camera on tripod, lit by the moon)

Abstract taken at night in the cockpit using 17-35 mm lens , camera on a tripod and ~ 4 minute exposure constantly varying the focal length.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with Crew Dragon capsule and 4 astronauts headed for the International Space Station. The white smudge to the right of the main jets looked like a large flare and I suspect this is the first stage booster coming back to earth (17 mm lens, 6 second exposure, hand held taken at 5:51.48)