Downwind back home
We had good rain overnight. Pitter Patter above our head. I got up so quickly and found my laptop bag and grabbed it like it was my baby to make sure it wasn’t in a place that might leak. I was super happy to find that ALL our leaks have been addressed and we survived the night completely dry inside! A combination of Captains repairs and the wood having enough time to expand after winter storage.
The rain continued into the early morning and we let ourselves sleep in. Around 9am we were up and readying Ciara for a long day sail. Winds were forecasted to be perfect. 7-9 knots downwind which would have been a very comfortable and nice speed sail.
I blew the conch shell as we disembarked, getting waves from Dean on the next slip and “Bon Voyages!” from the park staff working way up on the hill. We will miss it here, as always.
Once I had the lines and fenders put away, we raised sails just as we left Snail Shell Harbor.
Sadly, the winds were rather calm. We sailed it for about 2 hours really slow and then finally caught some nice wind. We were moving at a nice 6.5 knots for about half an hour and then the winds just died. The water turned to glass and we had to motor sail the rest of the way.
Not long into our sail, Captains phone rang. He was surprised to hear our marina in Cedar River on the other side. They were calling to let us know that our car (which they were kindly keeping an eye on for us) had a flat tire. Sigh. At least we know before we try and drive home tomorrow.
When we have no wind it is easier for me to do other things so I got to read underway today which was nice. We sunbathed and chilled. Sometimes I really really wish we had autopilot and some cockpit shade. About two hours out of Cedar River we saw a small boat on the horizon. It was our friend Don Sanford from our days working Betty Lou in Madison. Captain was aware they were headed our way via texts. He and his wife were on their way from Cedar River to Fayette. He came around us as we passed and we chatted for a long time. I still find it crazy how there are hardly any boats out here and when we see one, there is a good chance we know them!
Since we had motor sailed, we ended up making it back to Cedar River around 4:30, only losing about an hours’ time to our slow sail.
We stopped at the fuel dock and got our waste tanks emptied and filled up our diesel. We have been out so far for nearly a month; we spent $51 on fuel. That is also our fuel for heating and cooking. Not too bad. We made up the savings in merriment ashore, I’m sure.
I had grand plans of doing laundry, taking a shower and getting chores done once we got to shore. Captain had grand plans of going to the Halfway Bar for “Thirsty Thursday.” Dinner won out. After we walked Kona and quickly verified that, yes, our tire was flat we headed out for dinner. It is a small town and even with the lot full of 10 cars we were greeted by the owner and bartender. We sat at the bar and chatted with them while I devoured my dinner.
Back on Ciara we settled into the evening. I tried to make a dirty martini with some blue cheese I got at the Halfway. I have a lot to learn. I seriously need a new drink as my two go to drinks are getting old. There were a ton of mosquitos at sunset so we batten down everything and headed to bed with our bug light sapping them every few minutes until they were mostly gone and we fell asleep.
Tomorrow we will get up and fix that tire and head home for the weekend. One kiddo finishing camp, another one starting. It will be a few days of chores and crazy, but glad to be home to see my kids and my parents for a short bit.
