Morning came with a pretty calm start. Enough so that Jack and I took the dinghy for some fishing. Getting out to the edge of the anchorage we found good sized rolling waves which forced Jack to the floor of the dinghy and required an adjustment of plans. We turned around and attempted to troll for fish in a less than ideal area. We hooked a pufferfish (which was let go) and otherwise just made for a dinghy ride around the anchorage. Since it was low tide (down about 8 feet) we attempted to dig for clams but failed. The wind then gusted up so we called off the fishing trip and made our way back to Strikhedonia.
The morning was just the start with each minute the wind built. About the time we watch spray erupt from the stern of a nearby monohull’s we realized we had something special. Turning on the instruments we found 34 knots of wind. This lasted hours before getting back below 25 knots with a peak of 40 knots (others recorded 45 knots). Geez, this is fun.
By mid-afternoon we were in the 15 knot range and our legs were begging for some exercise. We met up with Scott (SV Malika) to hike to a nearby beach about a mile away. We should have followed the wash but instead hike up over and back down a few bluffs before reaching a cool little slot canyon. Eventually we were dumped out on a salt pond. The pink sand left us wondering what died to give it color, my guess being krill. Another group followed our lead and joined us for a short distance to the rocky beach. On the trip back we had a better idea where to go and made for direct shot.
A mellow evening played out with light winds, whew. We capped off the day with an episode of Black Mirror before getting a good night’s sleep.
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