FIRST LIGHT and SPARTINA

36 seconds off Tilghman Point

Starting to sort through the photographs and found this sequence, shot in a 36-second time frame, sailing in a small craft advisory just off Tilghman Point on day two of the fall sail.  If I ever doubt the Pathfinder's stability I will go back and look at these pictures. 

snow birds, schooners and the last 294

The cool dry air felt good Sunday morning.  Blue skies and a decent breeze, both unexpected.  Snowbirds heading south on the ICW. 

And schooners too.  The fleet from the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race was tied up on the Portsmouth waterfront, including the winner - still can't quite get over that - Sultana, above out of Chestertown, Maryland.  Good for them.

Morning had the breeze and the sun.  By midday the forecasted clouds arrived just as the wind slipped away.  No complaints, there will be a lot of fine fall sailing coming our way.

I'm just getting caught up on stowing my cruising gear.  I have not even looked at the log and only scrolled through the photos one time.  I hope to start with the daily logs later this week or early next.  I have decided to call the sail "the last 294," 294 being the number of miles sailed between Cambridge and St. Michaels and "the last" referring to the fact that this will be my last Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival for a while.  I've been to the gathering three years in a row now (four if you count the 2015 event that was canceled an hour or two after I got in from a long sail from Cape Charles) and I am ready for a break.  I expect I will be back again someday, but not for a few years at least.  This year's gathering was perfect and I will cling to that memory for some time to come.

the last 294 sailing track

The fall sailing track from Cambridge on the Choptank River to the south to the Bohemia River at the north then ending at St. Michaels, just shy of 300 miles of great sailing.

a few photographs

by accident (and not very exciting)

I typically have the GoPro camera programmed to shoot still images at two-second intervalsl.  I thought that was the way it was set sailing from Tilghman Island to just south of Kent Narrows on day two of the fall sail.  Instead it shot some video.  It is not very exciting.  But if you wonder what SPARTINA looks and feels like sailing into the wind this will give you some idea.  Off to the right is Tilghman Point, the thin line of land forward is Kent Island.

I hope to have some stills edited to publish this evening or tomorrow morning.

a Pathfinder parade

dinner

Softshells...

St Michaels

across the Chester River

In Queenstown for a late lunch/early dinner. Calm, peaceful sail on the creek this morning then a breezy ride across the Chester River.