Wednesday, June 20, 2012

"Let the wind take her"

The plan for last weekend was simple: If the wind was from this way, go to Gloucester; if it's from that way, go to Scituate. Well, with Saturday's wind from the Northeast, in the teens, I suppose, Scituate it was. We sailed with the tide, put a reef in the main, beat through Dorchester Bay, beat to Peddocks Island, wind from the Northeast but shifting to the East. The sailing was great, the boat was happy, the rail was in the water... but two hours into it Boston Light remained miles ahead and dead upwind.

With the prospect of beating out of Boston Harbor and then sailing close hauled to Scituate in lumpy seas, a run back to Marina Bay and staying over there seemed a prudent option. We were back in an hour, walked the boardwalk a bit, had dinner on board (salad, pasta with marinara sauce) and spent the night in the slip. Sunday morning, Fathers Day, I walked Bear early, came back to make coffee and pancakes for breakfast and pondered the rest of the day. 


The wind was from the East on Sunday, about 10 knots, high tide was just after 10 and so off we went. Same route as the day before but easier sailing and East vs. Northeast made a difference, too. We dropped the hook at Peddocks, in Portuguese Cove, had lunch, walked the beach a bit and relaxed on board.


With the wind still from the East, we took the long way home, between Georges and Gallops into The Narrows, then back home through President Roads and Dorchester Bay, running and reaching pretty much the whole way.


We didn't make it to Gloucester or Scituate. I'm not seeing that as a problem.