Wood Island Harbor

Today started with rough 5’ seas but soon we would be begging for such easy conditions. Weather reported a chance of scattered thunder storms and we ended up right in the teeth of some. We debated whether we could change course and outrun them, but top speed being 8kts, we quickly eliminated that option. We thought about a U-turn, but realized we were surrounded at that point. The choice was to pick a tack we thought would give us the least time in the churn; not an easy decision. We looked at radar images and it looked like the storms were moving NW to SE so we opted to head into the storm at an angle we thought would minimize our time in the mix. Admittedly I was a bit concerned as I watched the seas rise, winds kick up to 30kts, and huge lightning bolts strike the sea within a short distance of the boat. The rain was hard and sideways, and I pulled out my lanyard for the first time and locked in. It was amazing to watch the bow of the boat ride to the top of a wave and then bury into the ocean on the downside! It was my watch and I convinced Lisa to go below for the ride. This is what a sailor wants, the opportunity to be challenged by the elements and come through, and come through we did! We apparently picked the right tack as we only had the worst of it for less than an hour and eventually, as we approached our destination, the seas calmed and we made our mooring in Biddeford Pool. As the following pic shows we again found our sunset.Read more