Fabulous Fall!

With temps nearing 70F and plenty of wind in the forecast, we had to get underway!  We decided to head to a new anchorage in Whithall Bay outside of Annapolis.  After a great start, it got super gusty at the mouth of the Severn and we got to experience our first round-up!  I lost some skin on my hand while trying to ease the mainsheet, but otherwise we did well.  We even saw 8kts through the water under reefed sails!  Woo hoo!  😬

We took the tight entrance to Whitehall Creek very slowly and toured past the marina before turning around and settling on a spot in Ridout Creek for the night.  It was a really great spot that afforded us opportunities for paddling and dinghy rides.

Today brought more adventurous sailing! After a peaceful morning we got underway and got to see our first 25kt gusts again at the mouth of the Severn.  With a scrap of genoa up we managed to make between 5 and 6 kts the whole way back.  The timing put us back home with only a +0.25' tide.  That, combined with the stiff breeze on the beam, led us to decide to drop the hook outside the marina while we wait for the tide to come up a little.  We will get underway shortly, and return home to clean the mud and salt off the boat and carve pumpkins!