An easy morning, I'm in no rush. Breakfast bagel and iced tea at The Bean. Cast off with a strong southwest wind at 9:00, strong enough that I get a man on shore to help push the bow out away from the sea wall. 9:10 full sail outside the Oriental breakwater.
Making 4.1 with wind on the stern, the main blankets the jib but still making good time so I don't worry about it. 10:00 jibe to the north, blue skies white puffy clouds and a comfortable temperature. Easy sailing, SPARTINA rolling gently on the swells. 10:30 jibe, 11:00 jibe and then jibe again at 11:10 to round Lighthouse Shoals. 12:10 off Swan Island, 3.6. 12:15 jibe away from shore.
12:40 jibe north, 3.9. 1:05 off Maw Point, 4.5. 1:20 crossing the choppy mouth of Bay River, tug pushing a barge down the ICW, close enough to pay attention, far enough away to be safe. 1:25 jibe to round Bay Point, making the point at 1:35 in building wind. 1:50 round up to bring down the main, afternoon gusts filling in and making 4.2 to Sow Island Point. Make the point at 2:10, choppy water and waves rolling up from the south. Calmer once around the point, 4.4 on smooth water.
2:35 rough crossing the mouth of Middle Bay, round Middle Bay Point and then at 2:50 round Big Porpoise Point doing from 3.5 to 4.6 in the gusts. Around the point calmer again and doing 5.2. Clouds building to the west.
3:10 round Little Porpoise Point, wind builds suddenly. I realize these are not afternoon gusts, this is the outflow from an approaching thunderstorm. Round the point in to Mouse Harbor, gusts blasting across the shallow water, just mizzen and jib and it is a pounding, wet ride with the wind on the beam.
We make our way across the harbor to Hogpen Point, rough all the way across, round up into the wind.
I need to get the jib down with the bow bouncing up and down in the chop. I go forward and clip into the short safety line that is tied around the mast, kneel up on the foredeck to bring down the sail and tie it in place. Wind is howling as I crank up the outboard. I need to throttle up to make progress into the chop and wind, dark skies and rain to the west and northwest.
It is a battering run powering into the chop, I want to get to Cedar Creek hoping I find calmer water there. Anchor down in the creek at 3:50, quickly set up the boom tent expecting heavy rain. The storm slides by just to the north. Windy and rough through the evening.
27.99 nautical miles
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