Wind 7-9-10 SW, 10-15 S km/h; Coastal flood warnings; Full-tide-moon still in effect; Temp 79; 16% chance of rain; Next high tide 2pm, at the Sagamore Bridge.
Maybe today, maybe tomorrow we’ll head out early S-SW, down the elbow to the canal. Hope to hit Point Independence Yacht Club in Onset Bay (41.73995 -70.64929) as we begin again. Rains are coming. So, we’ll soon turn in. The Atlantic can wait…
We left Wellfleet at 12pm, timing our passage to a fair or a slack tide and created a fail safe plan, in case the winds got moody. Knowledge is the being of nature. At 5:30 we entered the canal, spilled into Buzzards Bay an hour later, then returned to the Onset Marina to pick up a mooring. We settled in at 7:30pm.
The weather truly is a circular affair. I am so completely humbled by the sea and the hemisphere, ontrolled by these same great forces of variable fronts and masses. The life of a sailor is so in tune with all of these. We feel the full moon tides, tick or thin air, storms, rain, heat, dew, fog, dampness, gusts…
The winds turned favorable upon us and positioned us for a beam reach as we sail west, across the bay. A SE blew us 6-7 kn/h. The atmosphere contracts and expands. The air gets thin-to-thick then thick-to-thin. All afternoon. In thinning air the clouds lift, still crowning shades of gray. At times, embers of pale yellow light staged next, right behind them. Clouds descend. They lift again. Always offering a hoax of sun or rain… The sky is a lighter shade of denim blue. The sea reflects a lighter green. It’s turned out to be a gorgeous sailing day. Hooray for the Sailing!
When we entered the channel we heard a really loud toot that alarmed us. It was merely signaling the passage of a fantastic train, quickly chugging through, along the banks of the canal. Twenty minutes or so later, we saw the flashing blue lights of a police boat. Then learned it was there to block to our passage under the bridge. The bridge lifted. The flashing blues stopped. We moved forward. This bridge is manned by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Cape Cod Canal. We had called them before we passed through the first time. They are very nice and responsive. It’s a marvelous testament of engineering and looks a lot like a London bridge.
Before we headed out today we studied the course and weather patterns. Since rain is on the horizon it only made sense to begin the journey home. First we’ll harbor hop around Buzzards Bay.
You must be logged in to post a comment.