I had thought I might get a slow drift in this morning. Down at the waterfront there was a heavy overcast and not enough wind to even ruffle the surface of the river. So instead I ran some errands. Back just after noon I found clear skies and the wind beginning to fill in. It was a northeast wind which meant ithe breeze passed through the tall buildings downtown and swirled out over the river. Fun, easy sailing with the gusts changing directions by 90 degrees at times. Plus the Sturgeon Moon, a full moon from a few nights ago, left us with an extremely high tide and a strong current as the water rushed out of the river. A perfect way to end the summer sailing season.
SPARTINA danced in the wind and I was reminded of how much lighter she is for day sailing. When cruising there is much more on board in the way of gear and food and she feels more solid with the extra weight. (I'm curious to know how much extra weight is on board while cruising, I might try to weigh the gear as I load up in a few weeks.). I prefer the lighter boat for day sailing, and the heavier, more solid boat for cruising.
A special delight was seeing a schooner come out of the southern branch and turn west onto the main branch of the Elizabeth River. Those two masts looked familiar and as she turned towards me I recognized her as the scow schooner NINA out of Baltimore. (You can read about this interesting vessel here at TownDock.) We sailed along side each other for a while, each boat taking photographs of the other. Compliments were exchanged and I reminded the couple on board that we had passed each other on a canal in North Carolina a couple of years ago. "I remember that!" said the woman on board. I wished them a safe journey as they headed downriver.
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