We planned out another easy day passage of 49 nautical miles. Lisa and I woke up without an alarm and enjoyed a light breakfast and tea. We watched the sunrise before we started preparing Unwritten Timeline for the days' passage. The weather system that had allowed us to sail to Cayo Puerca had mostly passed and the tradewinds were blowing from the East again. It would be a tough day to sail. While normally a straight line is the fastest way to get from point to point, that’s not always the case with a sailboat. Especially if you want to actually sail your sailboat. The most direct path was on a 080 heading taking us nearly directly into the trade winds. We modified our route so we could motor almost directly east for the first part of the trip. After a few hours we would be miles offshore in the Caribbean Sea. We motored until our direct course to our destination was about 45 degrees from the wind. Once this course was reached we turned to our new anchorage and hoisted the sails. The winds filled our genoa and mainsail nicely as we trimmed to a close haul. This starboard tack would take us directly into the anchorage.
Sailing makes you a more patient person. There is no fighting the wind if you want to sail. It is what it is. You have to learn to wait for the right weather conditions. You can only put yourself in the best position to take advantage of the wind provided. Our actual course may have added more than a few miles to the trip but it allowed us to actually sail. We could have chosen to sail almost the entire way tacking back and forth against the easterly trades but that would have added many, many more miles. Our day trip would have turned into a two-day trip. A half motor, half sail seemed like a good compromise trying to go East in the Caribbean.
When we finally coasted into the anchorage at Green Beach we were met with a stunning rocky and sandy beach. The landscape was glowing in perfect hues of yellow and orange in the setting sun. The rattle of the chain and anchor sliding over the bow roller was soon eclipsed by the sounds of crashing waves on the beach. We were safe and secure in a new anchorage with a perfect view of the setting sun.
Check back next week when Lisa can’t quench her thirst no matter how much water she drinks.
Sailing makes you a more patient person. There is no fighting the wind if you want to sail. It is what it is. You have to learn to wait for the right weather conditions. You can only put yourself in the best position to take advantage of the wind provided. Our actual course may have added more than a few miles to the trip but it allowed us to actually sail. We could have chosen to sail almost the entire way tacking back and forth against the easterly trades but that would have added many, many more miles. Our day trip would have turned into a two-day trip. A half motor, half sail seemed like a good compromise trying to go East in the Caribbean.
When we finally coasted into the anchorage at Green Beach we were met with a stunning rocky and sandy beach. The landscape was glowing in perfect hues of yellow and orange in the setting sun. The rattle of the chain and anchor sliding over the bow roller was soon eclipsed by the sounds of crashing waves on the beach. We were safe and secure in a new anchorage with a perfect view of the setting sun.
Check back next week when Lisa can’t quench her thirst no matter how much water she drinks.