Carolina Passage
October 22, 2026
Ships pulling out
Pride of Baltimore II
Lady Maryland
1052 Underway and were filled by dolphins out of Free Mason Harbor. Into Hampton Roads under fair skies. We were blessed by a pelican. Also, cormorants joined us too. We had several naval aircraft.
We passed many naval vessels and robust marina traffic.
The afternoon found us beating north toward Mobjack. Greeted by sunset as we anchored.
Respectfully submitted by Port Watch - Joan, Dick, Doug, and Vivian
October 23, 2026
Life began with our morning muster where we all received our assignments as Starboard Watch took over. We cleaned up the galley, cleaned up the deck, and stood watch. We raised the anchor - a great workout for Carly - and it was not as easy as it sounds. The chain only tangled 3 or 4 times - with the use of a rubber mallet and a crow bar, no fingers were injured. There were sea shanties (Roll the Old Chariot Along) involved from our very creative watch leader - the best verse was “a little bit of meclizine wouldn’t do us any harm” from our watch mate Steve R. Once the anchor was up, we hoisted the sails, actually most of them, and Denis Sullivan was in her element taking to the wind and the waves. The 2-4 foot waves as the boat checkers noted, and 15-20 knot winds. We then resumed our tour of Chesapeake bay, at one point making a blistering six knots. We got a fly over from a curious sea plane at very close range complete with friendly wing waggle. We executed some successful tacks, and one that was less than successful - the seas were against us and arrested momentum as we came into irons. Ultimately, the crew persevered, and with the help of the D-sails, the tack was achieved. We returned to the friendly confines of the old Point Comfort Lighthouse, where after dropping anchor and striking sails, the captain proceeded to inform us that good judgment meant that a more extended stay in Chesapeake Bay was in order. Overall a lovely day. saw many sea birds, dolphins were reported, only a couple of us laid eyes on them.
As the sun set on our day, we were treated to a family style dinner of lasagna, brussel sprouts, homemade bread, and salad from chef Kathleen. We jammed almost the entire crew into the galley for a lovely meal together. Now, we are preparing to take our bearings as ordered, once our illustrious mate completes the anchor watch schedule. Life continues aboard the Sullivan as day two comes to a close.
-Starboard Watch, in particular Tipp, Robert, Kurt, and Annaleah
October 24, 2026
A beautiful day spent at anchor, doing chores and preparing to start out transit to Charleston tomorrow. In the spirit of the million volunteer hours that helped build the Denis Sullivan, guests and crew toiled away at various tasks and those who wished to go aloft were guided to the crosstrees by the crew. Good breakfast followed by good lunch and good dinner. Guest Fred may have been the first World Ocean School board member to reach the crosstrees! Leo enjoyed stitching a patch on the staysail. Must end here… time for evening muster!
-Port Watch, in particular Jack, Steven H, Michael, and Leo
Annaleah’s note:
Shoutout in particular to Jack and his team for a meticulous repair to our caprail, which was a victim of the East River in New York City earlier this season. They expertly cut a new piece to size, installed it, and shaped it so carefully that you can’t feel the seam between the old caprail and the new. We are truly blessed to have such skillful woodworkers in our guest crew. We would also be remiss not to mention the hefty sails folded and stowed, the lines whipped, and the new covers for the hozzes at the front of the vessel. All executed with smiles and laughter. Thank you very much for all your work! The ship feels very loved as we prepare to go into heavy seas.
October 26, 2026
It was a tale of two sea states: it was the highest of swells to the smoothest of sails. We began our journey southward from New Point Comfort Light where we had spent two joyous days learning the boat (for the guest crew); doing maintenance tasks including an amazing job by our talented guest crew and carpenter, Jack, who smoothly replaced a damaged section of railing. This “small” task took approximately 8 hours of grinding, sanding, applying “Dolphinite” and then bolting the section into place and readying it for final paint. Huge kudos are due to Jack and his assistants. Additionally, another of our guest crew, Steve R., designed and fabricated two hawse covers to help keep water off the foredeck during the high sea states that we anticipated during our traverse of Cape Hatteras.
On Sunday, we began our journey south, but because of the delay prudently dictated by our Captain due to the high sea states around the Cape, three of our guest crew needed to depart early from Norfolk, so our transit began by returning to where we started this segment and neatly dropped off three guest crew, ably managed by Second Mate Lilly in the fully burdened Zodiac, which was barely above waterline with crew and baggage. While in the Port of Norfolk, we also celebrated Jack’s brother, Dick and his eightieth birthday with a fine cake and rousing chorus of song.
From there, South we went and the seas rose to meet us. Swells of 5-7 feet (or beyond depending on who you ask) and winds gusting to 30 knots made for challenging conditions (to say the least) on and below deck. Even some of the veteran crew began to feel a bit under the weather as we battled the seas through the night and began 24 hour operation of the ship. For the crew, this means four hours of on watch time (assuming that the watch doesn’t get extended due to sail changes or other conditions requiring an all hands response) followed by eight hours of off time (again, assuming no “all hands” interruptions) to try to catch up on sleep and personal hygiene. Although the seas were rough, it was truly a sight to behold with the Sullivan under full sail in the moonlight among roiling, boiling seas. It was the stuff of sea legend and the crew looked every bit the conquering heroes.
Despite the challenging passage during the night, as we rounded Cape Hatteras and approached Cape Lookout, the sea calmed, the sun rose along with our spirits beneath a clear blue sky, light winds and a following sea. The water even warmed (as we read it from our fish thermometer) and many of the crew took to the deck to enjoy the brisk refreshment of a sea water bucket shower. It was truly picture perfect; the stuff of which sailing dreams are made. As we closed the day, the ship smoothly continued Southbound toward Charleston and the crew enjoyed another wonderful meal from our on-board chef, Kathleen and watched both the sun set (Captain said he saw the green flash) and the moon rise on a relatively balmy evening. It was absolutely stellar sailing conditions and a marked contrast to those under which we started this segment of our passage. It was indeed the tale of two sea states–one significantly more enjoyable than the other!
