Up the coast

Cool, wet weather with a chance of thunderstorms . . . and possible tornadoes.

I woke up Thursday morning to a cold cloudy day. It was very tempting to just slide back under the covers and wait out the bad weather. That wouldn't have been a bad plan. The bayou was a protected anchorage.

However, we did get a sailboat to go sailing. So we bundled ourselves up, lifted anchor, and headed out. It was rough getting out of the channel. Wind and waves had all of Charlotte Harbor to build up. Our little outboard barely made progress against the wind and waves. Once we got out into the ICW (Intra Coastal Waterway) we had just enough of an angle to the wind that we could raise sail. Good thing our boat can sail pretty close to the wind.

One of my worries along the route was the Boca Grande Causeway swing bridge. It's under construction, there's shoaling near it, and if we missed an opening we'd have to somehow hold position for a half hour until the next opening. Luck was with us and our timing was perfect. It was with some considerable relief that we were able to put that bridge behind us.

Once past the bridge, the waterway narrows and passes houses and condos. They wind lessened, but we were able to remain under sail. We only had to fire up the outboard at the channel to the marina. Cape Haze Marina is tucked in the mangroves and is well protected. They are very full, but by not needing shore power they were able to tuck us into a little slip. Looks like a good place to wait out the weather.

It wasn't a long sail, but it was a good sail. Here's a photo of us gliding past all the houses on shore.



-Sixbears