LONG KEY TO SHARK RIVER
19 May 2017 | SHARK RIVER IN THE EVERGLADES
KRIS/ BALMY AND BREEZY
Shark River is one of the few places where the internet or cell service cannot touch us. Fortunately we can get VHF radio communication and SSB radio for emergency information. There is no emergency. After a 7 hour sail it is good to be in quiet flat water with light winds.
After spending the early evening watching rainstorms pop up and dissipate on the radar, we fell into a comfortable complacent sleep. This was interrupted with a loud whoosh of wind just after midnight which signaled a gusty squall. It didn’t last long, just enough for me to be wide awake for several hours. I finally fell back to sleep when the anchor alarm went off. This could indicate that the anchor is dragging or that we just set it so that the boat swinging set it off. Fortunately the boat was just swinging in the wind and once again I fell back into a fitful sleep. I was a bit cranky this morning until I had my coffee.
Today’s sail was a mixed (wind) bag of sailing conditions. We were able to shut off the motor and sail for several hours which was a delight. Sometimes a downwind sail can be a trial when the sail cannot figure which side to stay on and wants to switch sides with a Ka-whomp. This is called a Gibe and is a common mistake with rookie sailors, usually knocking an unwilling passenger on the head or into the water. We experienced sailors should not allow this to happen, or at least use our skill and lines to make a gentler whomp. The wind and waves do take on a mind of their own and we try to outsmart nature. HA! Jack rigged up a preventer, which is a rope with pulleys, one end attached to the back end of the boom and the other to a fitting on the deck to keep it on the side chosen by the captain. He did this with the main sail (the one in the middle) and the mizzen (the one in the back). He put one sail sticking out on either side of the boat, a sail formation called wing and wing. It looks a bit awkward but we got great performance on a long downwind leg. We added the Jib when when the wind switched a few degrees in a more favorable direction and added a knot to our speed. In a long sail every knot of speed counts (or discounts). Wyvern won the race today but figuring our handicap it was really a tie.
Phyllis invited us over for a dinner of Spanish Mackerel, the bounty of their fishing activities on the trip back from Nassau to Gun Cay. We don’t bother to fish so it is a nice treat.
Since I don’t have any internet or cell service, by the time you read this we will be nearly home, safe and sound, but for tonight peace and tranquility, unless it rains!!!!