More tide than wind
Scot Free III
Frank & Anne
Sat 13 Jul 2019 20:37
Torrential rain yesterday. One window leak fixed, two more appeared!
F donned swimming shorts plus waterproof jacket to let the bung out of the dinghy, which was half full of water and to tie down the corner of the bimini, as that too always fills. Shame, he got doused in the process but he was dressed for it!
Woke to a flat calm and swarms of midges. Just like Scotland.
Set off down the channel and encountered fog. Had to hoist the radar reflector. Turned out that our metal boat is not very visible to others, hence the reflector.
The tides are huge here, as are the tidal currents so really essential to benefit from them. Motored through the Schooner Passage - a well buoyed channel between the islands with lots of overfalls and tidal races. Sometimes swept sideways, most of the time with 2 or 3 knots of tide with us. At one stage doing 9.1 knots over the ground. Just like the Gulf Stream without the thunder storms! Again reminiscent of sailing in The Hebrides, particularly the Sound of Islay. Very little wind, tried to sail briefly but tide was likely to turn before we got there. Engine on again
What wind we’ve had since we have been back, would have have been perfect for the cruising chute. Sadly in The Turks and Caicos it shredded and we took it to the sailmaker in Maine for repair. As it turned out, no one was to blame for the disaster as the nylon had rotted! Phew! It wasn’t worth repairing so one sail down.
Careful navigation through fog, which kept coming and going, brought us safely to the very calm anchorage.
Midges are back so coil burning at our feet. Hope it makes them cough as much as us!
