25 December 2011, MY LAST CHANCE FOR WINTER CRABBING
The last weather report I heard from KIRO-TV for Sunday, Christmas Day, was “breezy”.
Well here I am at anchor in the lee of Gedney Island at 1358 with two crab pots down awaiting the 1600 slack tide. I cleared the Gedney Island buoy on the SE corner at 1252 after an exciting ride.
With little fear of “breezy” conditions I left Lake Union at 0900 hours and cleared the
locks in Ballard by 0945. After pumping-out Whisper’s holding tank at Shilshole in driving rain, “we” (Whisper & I) cleared the north end of the breakwater to find 16 knots of southerly “breeze” around Meadow Point. Turning 2800R RPMs we were making 7.5 knots SOG. One hour later we were between Point Wells and Edmonds where we had to slow down to clear the westbound ferry in gusts to 32 knots.
By this time the seas had built to 4 feet right on the stern and we were surfing. With the ferry out of the way, the winds built to the mid to upper 30s with the highest gust I saw at 46.9 kts. Hitting a high speed of 9.1 kts, six tons of sailboat is a handful!
Surfing down the face of 6’ waves with winds in the 40’s, the side dodger curtains
released their snaps and were flapping in the “breeze”. I managed to wedge the starboard curtain on top of the dodger, under the cockpit cover (bimini). I was
hopeful that I could make the lee of Gedney Island to reassemble the dodger before
some of its parts became jetsam.
As we sit at anchor in the lee of Gedney, all parts are secure, including the skipper. When i have the chance, I resolve to change-out the dodger curtain snaps for twist lock fittings.
With the trusty Ardic diesel heater warming the cabin, it is time for some nourishment and reading until it is time for retrieve the crab pots.
More to come...
The last weather report I heard from KIRO-TV for Sunday, Christmas Day, was “breezy”.
Well here I am at anchor in the lee of Gedney Island at 1358 with two crab pots down awaiting the 1600 slack tide. I cleared the Gedney Island buoy on the SE corner at 1252 after an exciting ride.
With little fear of “breezy” conditions I left Lake Union at 0900 hours and cleared the
locks in Ballard by 0945. After pumping-out Whisper’s holding tank at Shilshole in driving rain, “we” (Whisper & I) cleared the north end of the breakwater to find 16 knots of southerly “breeze” around Meadow Point. Turning 2800R RPMs we were making 7.5 knots SOG. One hour later we were between Point Wells and Edmonds where we had to slow down to clear the westbound ferry in gusts to 32 knots.
By this time the seas had built to 4 feet right on the stern and we were surfing. With the ferry out of the way, the winds built to the mid to upper 30s with the highest gust I saw at 46.9 kts. Hitting a high speed of 9.1 kts, six tons of sailboat is a handful!
Surfing down the face of 6’ waves with winds in the 40’s, the side dodger curtains
released their snaps and were flapping in the “breeze”. I managed to wedge the starboard curtain on top of the dodger, under the cockpit cover (bimini). I was
hopeful that I could make the lee of Gedney Island to reassemble the dodger before
some of its parts became jetsam.
As we sit at anchor in the lee of Gedney, all parts are secure, including the skipper. When i have the chance, I resolve to change-out the dodger curtain snaps for twist lock fittings.
With the trusty Ardic diesel heater warming the cabin, it is time for some nourishment and reading until it is time for retrieve the crab pots.
More to come...
