If I was out on Puget Sound, sunny and windy would sound exhilarating. Maybe it should sound that way here too, but instead it felt challenging. We woke to 32 knot gusts, with the wind generator having a conniption, screaming away hour after hour in the predawn hours before the sun came up. The boat was rocking about and various lines, buckets, and paddle boards were banging away to raise the dead. I checked the anchor alarm on my phone periodically to make sure we weren't going anywhere and then snuggled into my bag to defy the chaos and get a few more minutes of sleep. As if.
At 8 am there was no wind at all. The anchorage was like glass, so we ate some breakfast and pulled anchor. Part way toward the next stop, the wind picked up again and started blowing with its previous fury. First it blew from the bow, then from behind. One minute it was thirty knots, the next three. I've experienced abrupt wind changes, but none so continually abrupt. As I said to Kay: I wouldn't want to have to race in these conditions.
It was only a couple hours to the next anchorage, so I never did feel comfortable enough to break out the sails. Patar accused me of being a caravan sailor. Caravan is the European word for camper or RV. I had to agree: I'm more cruiser than racer, especially in those conditions.
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Sounds smart to pay attention to the conditions instead of taking chances with the boat and the crew. You all aren't there to prove something! A safe pleasant journey sounds grand. I know that I much prefer my "caravan" style travels now more than the style of the earlier years of roughing it. Done that - time for relaxing and comfort.
ReplyDeleteSafety beats speedy, Rod, and you've always been a captain I could trust to err on the side of safety, which is why I trust you implicitly (though I'll still discuss things when I have a differing point of view :)
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