Saturday, July 5, 2008

2ND 2008 SHAKEDOWN MINI CRUISE (SOLOMONS TO HUDSON CREEK)

MAY 31, 2008

Storms were predicted but we headed out anyway. We were anxious to get going and the Chesapeake is full of gunkholes that one can duck into.



I included the photo of a horn buoy for those of you who have never seen one. As the heavy buoy bounces up and down in the swell, air is pushed through a vertical pipe which causes the horn to blow.



We sailed north on the bay and finally turned into the Little Choptank and Hudson Creek when we saw serious storms approaching. We pulled down our sails just as the storms overtook us. We clocked wind speeds of 45 - 50, along with heavy rain and hail, during the storm which lasted 30 - 60 minutes. It was fun and a good learning experience. It was the first time that we had been out (not anchored) during such strong winds. We got to see how the boat handled the weather. It was surprising how much the heavy displacement boat heeled over when broadside to the wind.



After the storm passed we had a very pretty sunset to go along with our sundowners.

27.1 NM