Georgetown and Beyond

You know how I said in the last post we were anchored in Georgetown, only a few yards from the dinghy dock? Well, later in that same day, we ended up anchored so close we didn't even need the dinghy. Well, of course there's a bit of a story behind it...

After getting highly caffeinated at the coffee shop while writing that post and doing various other internet researches, we returned to the boat with the intention of gathering our laundry and heading up to the laundromat. We had made it about 50 feet down the boardwalk when it was decided I was going to stay with the boat, as the wind was already twice its forecasted speed and only getting stronger. So, I rowed back to the boat, and tried to get some work done. About 45 minutes later, the people anchored directly in front of us drug anchor (it was blowing about 25-30 knots then, with gusts over 40). They managed to get the engine started and motor away, did about four rounds of the very crowded anchorage trying to reset the hook, then finally gave up and tied up to the town day dock. Just then, WE started to drag. The wind direction already had us as close as possible to the day dock, but when the anchor dragged, we came within 20 feet before it reset. Only about 10 feet from the boat that had just tied up. So, now I had to decide whether it would hold until Darcy returned from the laundromat and could aid me, or to try and pull up the anchor and dock us myself. Normally I would have no problems with this, but in a crowded anchorage and strong winds, it was not my preference. Anyway, we dragged back about 3 more feet, so it was decided for me. It went far more smoothly than I could have anticipated, but I will admit sprinting the length of the deck half a dozen times and hauling in over 200 pounds of ground tackle in two minutes is by FAR the best workout I've had in a while. J.J and Anne (the people who had dragged in front of us) were standing on the dock to assist me with lines, and soon we were tied nicely to something we knew couldn't drag. We spent the night at the dock (they don't bother you if it's blowing that hard), taking notes from J.J. and Anne on their travels and recommendations.

In the meantime, we've been enjoying the sights in town and along the way:

Some shots from Georgetown

How would you like this barreling at you?  He didn't slow down.  We found out what wasn't properly stowed.

Low tide - it is apparently NOT safe to go near the markers.

The wind is against us, every day.  This day, we didn't meet a single sailboat that didn't have a jib out.

Sunset through the storm.  The sunsets make the long days worth it.

You might need a bigger boat house...

It's easy to power a ship that size when you're going downhill.

Once again, low tide is no one's friend.