On our way through the Cape Florida channel coming in Thurs. night we had a "Nantucket sleigh ride" with the building following seas tossing us all over the place as we tried to navigate the not-to-wide channel. This morning was the opposite- we were again, heading into the rolling seas, but at least the winds hadn't build up.. yet.
Mindfulness pulled up her main and forced her way through while Sea Fever relied on the engine- then hoisted the main once we were safely through the cut... couldn't rely on 'auto' to safely steer through the seas while I went forward to pull up the sail until we were in wider territory.
Bill called it again... we had E winds, 15-20 mph which pushed us straight up the Miami coast on a single NE tack-- never had to change the sails. Sea Fever had both sails flying and engine off for over half the trip, but as we approached Baker's haulover inlet and Mindfulness became smaller and smaller on the horizon, and Sea Fever's speed dropped from a steady 5.2-6 knots with lighter winds to about 4 knots, the old reliable engine had to kick in to give us a chance to catch up. With the sails and the engine we were able close in, a bit... again.. Mindfulness is one FAST boat!
No comments:
Post a Comment