Good wind and sunshine. Nice to have both.
postcard from the road
Auxiliary Fo’c’s’le
Fierce headwinds on the nose all day and night, with more and stronger expected the next day. Fun sailing, at nearly top speed, for hours on end. You cover a lot of ground quickly. Unfortunately, none of it gets you much closer to your destination. Progress is verrrry slow.
Taking the Land Route
Beating into the wind for 24 hours. Stronger headwinds expected.
Fun, but slow progress. Too slow for many to reach the finish by the deadline, even under power. Will dock I Solomons, drive to Portsmouth, and return to ride the wind in the other direction.
postcard from the road
Race Start
Rain and fog at start. Then sun.
Good wind.
Lightning show to the west.
First watch.
postcard from the road
Inner Harbor
postcard from the road
Raining On Our Parade
Wet sails, but big spirits.
postcard from the road
Quintessence of Serendipity
The schooner “Quintessence” in the foreground during
the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race in 2007
Winds are fluky. No wind. Some wind. Takes you one direction, then another. Never know where you’ll end up. Sometimes it can be a very pleasant surprise.
A few weeks ago an email landed in my inbox from a Traditional Small Craft group I belong to. Someone needed a few more hands to help crew a schooner down from New Jersey and back. Sounded interesting, and it appears I have some free time on my hands at the moment. Hmmm.