sailing fun

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A Walk in the Park

Coast Guard buoy tender moving buoys in the Bay near Annapolis

Coast Guard buoy tender moving buoys in the Bay near Annapolis

But first, a brisk sail 22nm down to South River where we’d stop at Liberty Marina to drop off our screecher and jib for their get well treatment. Warrior Yachting would take those white hankies and in a few days, return them all re-stitched, head webbing replaced and capped on screecher, etc- adding up to a few not unreasonable shekels.

A coastal low, the remnants of TS Karen from the Gulf of Mexico would push its way to shore, stall a bit and make sure we paid dearly for the beautiful warm weather it would replace. Ok, so now I AM glad to have those cold weather, no grill required meals on board.

The Captain outdid himself by finding Harness Creek. A tall tree-lined bank provided complete protection from the NE winds. A dock provided access to Quiet Waters, a 346-acre park with six miles of paved trails, picnic areas, playgrounds, an art gallery, gardens, an ice rink and at the creek, Paddle or Pedal who owns the dock and operates a small-boat and bike rental. Yahoo! Finally we could touch land after nine days.

Entrance to Harness Creek- park overlooks and gazebo

Entrance to Harness Creek- park overlooks and gazebo

The walk through the park was lovely and we came upon joggers, walkers, moms with strollers as we made our way to the entrance and then a couple more blocks to the Main Ingredient where we’d feast on a fabulous breakfast.

Our delicious gourmet breakfast- I was stuffed all day

Our delicious gourmet breakfast- I was stuffed all day

I ordered tea presented in a wooden box for my choosing; the pot was stylish and the loose tea sat in a strainer under the lid.  Divine. With an eye on the approaching rain we pulled our stuffed-selves away from the table and walked to the Giant grocery (picture Stop&Shop) for as much as we could comfortably carry. Local boaters offered a ride but we were headed in the opposite direction. The walk was easily close to two miles; my right knee complained the next day. Sigh.

The rain approached at a turtle crawl which allowed for another brilliant sunset.

Sunset looking at the shore of the creek opposite the park

Sunset looking at the shore of the creek opposite the park

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Eleuthera Bound

For the past few days a shoot had been growing up from the tops leaves of a succulent in my two and a half-year old cactus garden. This morning we saw the result- more yellow – a flower! In fact, a cluster. The flower dies each night and two days later another one opens. I was thrilled.

A Lovely First Flower

A Lovely First Flower

Tues or Wed, Wed or Tues; which day to head out for Eleuthera’s Rock Sound Harbor. Tuesday, our sources agreed, was looking to be the day most likely to sail well and Wed not so much so but the seas would have calmed down more. Oh, let’s go and get there, we are the “big cat” after all, no? The cut was swelly (a new nautical term), the tide still going out and us with it; the wind on our stern quarter. Russ was likin’ it and I found a positive thought in that we’d arrive sooner than planned. After a few hours, the wind backed down a bit and the waves with it- ah- at this point any improvement was appreciated.

Within minutes of this thought, Russ looks to starboard and says, “big one coming.” While I believed him, the Captain does tend to exaggerate at times, but NOT this time. The swells had been about 5-6 footers and this one (and only one, thankfully) must have been nearly 10. I heard crashing in the cockpit, where I was of course, and as I looked toward the stern, the wave top hit all the way across to the grill on the port side. I quickly saw that the crash noise was only the box of fishing gear flying off the side bench seat, along with everything else. A few things on the bathroom counter ended up on the floor; nothing broke but we did notice the door frame no longer is sealed well to the fiberglass wall. I guess that guy didn’t get the calm down memo.
Not long after we began the 10 mile approach into Rock Sound Harbor, our angle to the wind crapped out with each course change until the main came down and we began to use those often inactive engines. The southern end of Eleuthera is a perfect whale’s tail that waves to greet all who pass by. As we turned east in Davis Channel, passing the shallows of the Bight and the huge shifting sand bars off our starboard, turquoise and indigo blues surrounded us; we never tire of that view.

Very large sand bar marked with a stone beacon.

Very large sand bar marked with a stone beacon.

Not surprisingly, we found 12 boats in the harbor. One had come in ahead of us, but the rest must have sat out the front here. The harbor has protection from west wind and so is one of the few.

Ortolan resting peacefully in Rock Sound Harbor

Ortolan resting peacefully in Rock Sound Harbor