Temps in the high-80s, west wind at 6-12mph...

... at least, that was the forecast. With committments that will preclude sailing for the next two weekends, it seemed like the perfect day to play hookey from work. I told the boss the day before that I would be gone, we got the gear loaded the night before, and the provisions were ready to pack into the cooler in the morning. We awoke to sun, warmth, and no wind. Hmmmm... we'd seen this before. The marine weather forecast was still for 6-12mph of wind from the west, so there was hope for some sailing.

We decided to motor north from the marina, find a beach to play on, then sail back when the wind picked up. We had a fun trip north, with very few other boats out on a Thursday morning. We found goose island still partially submerged by the high water, so we continued north past the railroad swing bridge to Shell Island, so named by the kids for the abundance of shells on the beach.

I had learned a lesson from our last time on the island. Powerboats entering the no-wake zone just north of the swing bridge will not slow down until the last second, waking the boats on our stretch of beach. We had to put a second anchor on the beach cleated to the stern to keep the boat from being pushed around. This time, I located the main anchor off to one side, and the secondary to the other, both cleated to the stern. This kept the boat in position much better.

Mr. Crayfish	Dan watches Mr. Crayfish in the maze

We setup the beach chairs and umbrella, and the kids began playing in the sand. Julie read for a while while I just sat and enjoyed not being at work on such a nice day. I spotted a crayfish by the water and pointed it out. Before he knew what was happening, Mr. Crayfish was in a sand and water maze being dug by the kids. He eventually got out, but was the center of attention for a bit. While he was entertaining the kids, Julie and I walked to the other side of the island in search of wood for a fire she wanted to build. We found a few bits, and discovered a small bay on the west side. A 35-40 foot Fountain boat was anchored there, with a couple swimming nearby.

Our little patch of relaxation

The Potter wannabe motors away

After we returned to the boat, Dan wanted me to take him back to the bay to explore, so we went off and found some fish smaller than fingerlings. He tried to catch them, but they were too fast. We returned to see a few more boats staking out a patch of beach nearby, mostly young couples with open-bow runabouts. An older couple who had been just east of us on a pontoon boat got tired of the noise and left. I broke out the grill and mounted it on the pulpit rail. We had chips and salsa as the bratwurst cooked. Some jell-o cups followed the brats before the kids went back to playing. We took a few more trips to the other side of the island so the kids could try and catch the small fry. Julie built a little fire while I stowed the gear, and we sat in the sand a bit as it burned and made little shards of glass out of the melting sand.

Eventually, it was time to leave. The wind had come up while we were eating, but had died again, so we resigned ourselves to motoring back. I broke out the Magma boat umbrella to provide some cockpit shade, then stowed the backup anchor and rode. While I was working, we were hailed by the skipper of a pontoon boat motoring next to us through the swing bridge.

"Is that a West Wight Potter?" he asked.

"Sure is," I replied. He asked how long I'd had it. I told him almost three years. Then he asked if I wanted to sell it! He said he'd been looking for one for quite a while, but couldn't find any for sale in the area. I told him that we'd bought new for the same reason.

He thanked us, waved, and throttled up a bit while I finished stowing the gear. The kids were sprawled on the cockpit seats, worn out from too much fun. Julie steered us back, and I decided to rig the reefing lines on the way. Usually, I do this before the first sail, but I got new rope this year and just didn't get it done. We listened to music and the others enjoyed the shade of the umbrella while I sweated on the cabin top rigging the lines.

Julie enjoys the shade of the umbrella	Mandy chills out on the way back

Back at the marina, I put the new cover on the mainsail and we put the boat away for the next couple of weeks. I tied the boom off to the side to reduce shadowing of the solar panel; it has not kept the battery quite as charged as I would like. I also rasied the main and boom up higher by tying the halyard around the boom and lifting it up. We ordered pizza on the cell phone enroute to our house, and got acquainted with our sunburns. All in all, a fine day.

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