Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Speedy Cut

At Rock Sound, we were fortunate to get reacquainted with Greg and Lyn on 'Paperbird,' a Pearson 422, having met them years ago at Elizabeth City, NC. After attending church together, we were all set to enjoy a praise competition with many of the local churches represented. But alas, a 3 pm start time translated into after 6 pm in island time, and we were forced to enjoy the music from our separate boats. One can only stand around in the heat for so long.

We said our goodbyes to all our dear friends and loved ones in Rock Sound. It is difficult to leave.

Today felt like a lazy downwind sail. It was a bit rough for the first few hours. Even though we were on the banks, we had quite a bit of fetch. The wind must have been gusting to 20 knots, requiring us to double reef the main and significantly reef the jib to keep Hold Fast under 7 knots. As the wind continued to clock around behind us, we unreefed the jib over several hours, until finally it was flying full. We could not make slack tide for Current Cut, so we made sure we were somewhere in the outgoing tide. That 'somewhere' ended up being 10 minutes after mid-tide, the strongest flow. Myron negotiated the transit next to the rocks just fine, then made that hard left turn, and Hold Fast screamed through the cut at 11.2 knots! That cut spit us out like you know what out of a goose! Then it was simply a quick right turn and anchor down at one of our favorite spots. We are watching weather for our next move.

Love to all,
Dena

{GMST}25°24.75'N|076°47.37'W|6:48 PM|{GEND}

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