day twelve - the cold front brings wind

Mild cold front rolls through overnight.  Wind and rain, much cooler in the early morning hours.  Very comfortable in my thermals and 30 degree sleeping bag.  Wake later than usual to bright sunshine and strong gusts.  Decide to wait out the wind.  Vanilla almond RxBar and a beef stick for breakfast.

Under power at 10:30, mizzen raised as we head into the strong west wind.  10:15 double reefed main and jib raised, making 4.3 tacking out to Chesapeake Bay.  11:05 tack under a broken overcast sky.  It is chilly, glad I on the drysuit over my thermals.  11:15 choppy water on a starboard tack. 

Shake out the second reef 11:35.  Tack at the edge of the shipping channel 11:45.  Making 4.0 in gusts with a track north to Howell Point.  12:15 past Worton Point and I smile as it has been almost two hours since I raised anchor and can still look east to see the entrance channel to Worton Creek.  Making 3.8 and skies beginning to clear.  

A couple of strong gusts out of the west at 1:25, then less wind.  Getting warmer now.  Out in the shipping channel is a cat ketch with tanbark sails and a junk rig.  Interesting.  Passing Still Pond to the east.   Clouds come over and cool once again.  Back and forth between 4.5 and 1.5 knots as gusts come and go.  

Wind swinging to southwest at 1:30, now coming over the port quarter.  Shake out the first reef at 1:40, full sail.  Round Howell Point at 2:15 and turn to the east.  Wind swings back to the west at 3:15 and pushes us up the Sassafras River.  Easy sailing.  

Inside red marker "2" at 3:45.  It has been a few years since I have sailed the Sassafras and surprised I no longer have to round Ordinary Point, it is almost a straight shot up the channel with wind and tide helping us along the way.  

Jibe inside of Ordinary Point at 4:00, now on calm water and with gusts on the stern doing 5.4 knots.  Call Sail Associates and ask for a slip for two nights.  They text a receipt and a dock map showing my slip.  Farther up the Sassafras and with no markers in sight the centerboard and rudder touch a shoal.  I raise the cb and reset the rudder.  

Making 5.1 with the marina in sight.  Round the bent and lose the wind, 2.3 on the final stretch.  Docked Sail Associates 5:10.

 22.57 NM for the day.  Dinner at the Fish Whistle.