Swells and waves
08 April 2008 | Linyard Cay, Abacos
Mike
April 5th...Current Cut to Linyard Cay
After listening to the weather, which called for 20 knot winds from the south east and 6 foot swells from the east, we left our anchorage in the company Tilt and Restless. We knew that it was going to be a long day. The first leg was down wind so we poled out the headsail and spent an hour or so wing on wing at about 5.5 knots. Once through the Egg Island Cut we turned north put out the fishing lines and sailed on a beam reach for about two hours.
When we were out of the protection of Eleuthera and associated islands, the swells which averaged about 6 feet (some as high as 10) began to pick up. Their size was not all that bad but the frequency was not the advertised 9 seconds but closer to 5. So we had 6 foot swells from the east every 5 or 6 seconds from the east and 6 foot wave chop from the south. Although not dangerous, it was not a pleasant day.
Steve on "Restless" and "Susan" on Night Hawk each caught Mahi-mahi. We had a hit that set the drag screaming, but came up empty for the day except for a 3 inch flying fish that landed on our decks.
Now that we're back in the Abacos we should be able to have better communication.