nothing lasts forever

Arrived in Ewell to find Ruke's is closed for good. They had the best crab cakes on the bay. Made with love, said the woman who told me about it. I might hang around Smith Island and try the Drum Point Market in Tylerton tomorrow. I recall some good crab cakes there.

mornings like this

Mornings like this, with a fresh breeze, clear skies and the water wide open ahead, remind me why I sail.

checklist, weather, tracking map

The checklist is checked, boat loaded and jeep packed.  I think we (we being SPARTINA and myself) are ready to go.

The weather forecast seems to be improving.  Over the first four or five days of the trip there should be wind from a variety of directions and speeds from 5 to 20 mph.  Some sunshine, some clouds, not much in the of rain.

Here's the tracking map.  Or you can copy and paste the url below.  It should go live mid-morning tomorrow. 

https://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0JPDqxA4Ln2kgAnlVGkFVHAji21Fr0M76

about that boat from Gibraltar

I mentioned in my post about sailing last Thursday evening that I came across a boat anchored in Craford Bay from Gibraltar.  This was a first for me and it caught my attention.  We shared just a brief shouted greeting on that breezy evening, and I figured that was that.

Saturday we cross paths again on the water, Steffan and Jo from RADIANT SPIRIT, headed into the docks on their dinghy.  Then Steffan joins me on SPARTINA for a sail just as the wind fills in around noon (photo below by Jo).  And the next day the three of us go to the Tidewater Wooden Boat Workshop annual open house - a really fun affair promoting a great program for kids.  This morning we meet for a cup of tea and to say goodbye.  Soon I'm headed for the cruise on Tangier Sound and they will be on there way up the western shore of the Bay. 

I must lament once again my failed plan to build a boat and get away from everyone.  Instead I continue to meet fine and interesting people on the water, many of them who go on to become my best and truest friends.  Go figure.

The forecast as of now:  Sunny to start the trip and then some moisture moving in.  Steady winds and a little bit of everything from rain to shine the following week.  I can't wait.

packing for the spring trip

Packing for the spring trip on Tangier Sound.

Tracking map should go live Friday.

Soft shell crabs on Tangier,

crab cakes on Smith Island,

and a lot of good sailing.

evening

A breezy double-reefed sail this evening.  About a dozen snow birds in Craford Bay.  Boats from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and (a first for me) Gibraltar.  Is there anything better that a sunset sail with Buena Vista Social Club on the blue tooth speaker?

Just before sunset the wind dropped and full sail.  A fine way to end the day.  Photo at the top from friends on the tall ship American Rover.

sunset sail

with a reef tucked in....

hovering

As the osprey hovers over a next on Currituck Sound, a high pressure system hovers over the Atlantic about 500 miles east of South Carolina.  That is bringing us day after day of warm temperatures and southwest winds.  Summer has arrived.  (Could it be that  spring arrived Saturday and departed Sunday?)  

I have left SPARTINA in a slip on the river.  A beautiful sail yesterday evening, hopefully another one this afternoon as soon as I sneak out of work.  And maybe again tomorrow evening.

Currituck Sound

spring light and shadow

I love the light this time of year.