Stuart Portoghese

We woke up to a beautiful day at anchor. The winds had shifted so we ended up with more wave action than we would have liked overnight. Our sleep was interrupted at times and it took longer to go asleep once awake. After breakfast we had a quiet sail until we neared Bayfield when the winds quieted down so much we motor sailed home. Stuart docked the boat like a champ and we ended a great trip.

Even though winds were lessor than yesterday, both Stuart and I got seasick. Funny, since we were fine yesterday when there were bigger waves and faster winds. But today, we were beating into the wind rather than reaching downwind, so maybe the higher frequency of the waves hitting the bow did us in. Jeff was very positive and chipper while Stuart and I were feeling down. It was a nice expression of teamwork. We had a lovely lunch anchored at Cat Island. By the time we were done, Stuart and I were ready to sail again. The sail back to Stockton Island was lovely. Winds were brisk but tame compared to the morning and we made good time. There were many more fishing buoys to avoid than we have seen in the past but it kept us entertained and on the lookout. Seven boats were awaiting us a Julian Bay and we had plenty of room to for in between. We had an appetizer of crackers, smoked salmon, and aged cheddar while Stuart prepped the steaks.

It was the windiest I’ve seen it in the marina. Even our training captain was surprised at how much wind was coming through. It was so windy we didn’t practice docking and was simply told to call for help in this situation and make any easier dock at the fuel dock. We had good winds to practice reefing and managed to find a quiet place to practice anchoring. She was worried about sending us out in these winds but by the time we were done for the day they had subsided. While we were waiting for the winds to subside we had a lunch of duck pastrami Reuben sandwiches. We had a vigorous sailing downwind and elected to sail with our motor and just the jib. With the waves going faster than we were it was a gentle rolling voyage to our anchor. Because of the downwind sail it didn’t seem as strong as it would have been if we had been sailing upwind. We anchored in the rain and didn’t feel like our original plan of steaks on the grill so we had pasta with Susan’s home grown tomatoes made into sauce. All during the evening the winds roared through the shrouds and had some pretty active waves while sleeping. But the anchor held fast and we all slept well enough.