On Saturday, the weather forecast was for 20-25 knot winds out of the North. We imagined that we would scream down the river, wing on wing, at unheard of speeds. Reality set in after we turned the corner at the 528 bridge. The wind was flukey to say the least. The wind varied from 6 knots to 20 knots, and changed directions from West to North East. We set our sails to run down the river and ended up back winding the main a few times. A preventer was definitely in order. At Eau Gallie we ducked in to pick up a passenger. After that we didn’t even raise our mainsail – just motorsailed with the headsail. Most of the way I caught myself humming Eileen Quinn's song "wing and wing, is a tricky point of sail. I try to balance my boat, but I always fail."
We arrived at the anchorage at about 2:00. The weather had kept the boats away – there were only 8 ECSA boats total that showed up. We anchored in the lee of the second island, and onshore, you wouldn’t even have known it was a windy day. We pulled our chairs over to the sunny side of the island and enjoyed the company of the ECSA members that braved the conditions.
Sunday the wind was coming directly out of the north (of course it was – that’s the direction we were all headed). Wind was blowing consistently at 20 knots with gusts at 25. Thank goodness for the dodger and screens. We were perfectly comfortable tucked under our canvas. We needed to put the hours on the iron genny anyway, as the mechanic owes us a 50 hour inspection/maintenance. We motored at 6.5 knots most of the way – despite the head wind. A big motor is a good thing when you are beating into the wind.
We arrived at the anchorage at about 2:00. The weather had kept the boats away – there were only 8 ECSA boats total that showed up. We anchored in the lee of the second island, and onshore, you wouldn’t even have known it was a windy day. We pulled our chairs over to the sunny side of the island and enjoyed the company of the ECSA members that braved the conditions.
Sunday the wind was coming directly out of the north (of course it was – that’s the direction we were all headed). Wind was blowing consistently at 20 knots with gusts at 25. Thank goodness for the dodger and screens. We were perfectly comfortable tucked under our canvas. We needed to put the hours on the iron genny anyway, as the mechanic owes us a 50 hour inspection/maintenance. We motored at 6.5 knots most of the way – despite the head wind. A big motor is a good thing when you are beating into the wind.
1 comment:
She is such a beauty! Someone took excellent care of her, just as you guys are. Hope to see you this weekend. We are counting the days until we leave for the Bahamas. Looking forward to spending time with you guys!
Hey, show we how to get the "Links" on my blog page.
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