More to come on the boat work… For now, I’m picking up with our departure from Penasco.
We caught a good weather window for mellow conditions on the passage down to Refugio. After an early dinner at Pedro’s, it was straight to bed ahead of our midnight departure.
I heard Jack rumbling around before my alarm went off. It was a quick prep and we were off in zero wind. Navigating out of the harbor took close attention before we turned south to dodge our first obstacle, an unlit buoy. With the radar on, it was an easy miss and thankfully, it was actually marked correctly on the charts. A helpful current pushed us along at a steady 6.8 knots to start the trip.
Jack headed to his bunk while I took the first watch. We handed off at 4:00 AM; it was smooth sailing with zero wind and calm seas.
Around 10:00 AM, the current really started fighting us. For most of the day, our speed over ground dropped to a sluggish 4.5–4.8 knots. Blerg. At least it was comfortable. I’ve arrived in Refugio at night before, so I wasn’t stressed, just bummed. Around 4:00 PM, the wind finally filled in, letting us raise the sail and push back above six knots. Whew.
That breeze carried us right past the islands just after sunset. Having a little light to drop the sails was a relief, though it was pitch black by the time we motored into the anchorage. I dropped the hook right where I’d anchored back in the spring. After a well earned passage beer, it was straight to bed for this exhausted sailor.
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