Tuesday 4/22/14
For those who know me, it’s rare that I’m awake to take a
sunrise photo – but it does happen.
When everybody is awake we noticed in the distance several
men and women out on the flats oystering. As it’s a park they must have been permitted
but they seemed invasive, especially with rock music blaring over a mile.
But all that fell astern while we enjoyed a beautiful off
wind sail towards Carrabelle; clear skies, west wind five to ten knots. I jibed
over from sailing wing and wing to pass an old oyster boat, anchored, rigs set,
but nobody to be seen, an unknown calamity.
 |
| that's Coot in the rigging |
But our own calamity lay ahead. The wind picked up, way up, and the waves too. I had my full main and biggest jib set wing and wing but it was getting hard to steer, my GPS pegged at 7.2-knots, and Hobbes’s centerboard was humming (at least I HAD a centerboard). It was fun while still under control, but barely, so it was time to reduce sail and simplest was to pull down the jib (with a line from the cockpit). I was still flying along but as the Carrabelle channel entrance was only a couple of miles off it didn’t seem necessary to take a reef in the main. Dan, a short distance off my port side, had all sail down. I radioed to check and he’d hit nine knots off a wave and got pooped by another!
While a large shrimp boat was heading out, the channel took
a port which gave me a fast beam reach but Coot rolled in the chop. Steve, who
we had lost sight of, radioed in that he was not far out and motoring as well.
After we got settled at the marina we got the story from Steve.
It seems his centerboard pivot bolt had worked loose (he’ll have to tell you
why), allowing the lead-encased board to drop to the bottom of the bay!
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