Weather: Winds from 3 knots to gusts of 25 knots, snow, rain showers and sun.
The boat, Cygnet. Mark Welpman Skipper. Crew of Will Delony.
The Cygnet slipped lines at 1030 hours, heading out to join the SSSS Cruise to Squaxin Island. After a quick stop at the poop dock we crossed Channel Markers 2 and 3. Having only had the Cygnet a few months Will and I decided that we would just fly the jib and see what she could do. The weather as all you fair weather sailors know called for wind, snow and rain. Wind was blowing at 10 to 12 knots as we entered bay.
The winds were building as we ran down Budd Inlet. As we neared Olympia Shoal the Cygnet was making 6.2 kts by log and 7 kts by GPS. There was a Catalina 34/36 flying main and jib with a crew of 6. She was up wind near Boston Harbor beating her way back to Olympia. As we breasted Gull Harbor we crossed paths. We swung the Cygnet around as we passed astern of her and gave chase. Now for the disclaimer, I am NOT a racer, nor do I really want to be. But it is fun to see if you can chase down a racer. We made a clean tack and ran about 200 yards astern of the Catalina. We quickly started to gain and closed within 100 feet when she tacked. We quickly made preparations to tack. Our tack was not nearly as clean as his. We stalled to 1.5 knots. Okay we stalled. Will said that he was not used to grinding so much. I told him to quit whining and keep pulling.
The Catalina walked away from us and had a substantial lead. Will trimmed the sail and the Cygnet started to make gains. At this point the wind was gusting to 25 knots. The Catalina kept rounding into the wind with each gust, allowing us to close. At one point we were make 8 knots by log on just the jib. I was fighting the gusts to keep from rounding up. This put the rail in the water. Yahoo! No I don’t want to race, just chase. We ran abreast of her and she tacked and we jibed. We succeeded in catching the Catalina. She headed home and we turned back to run for Squaxin Island.
Winds blowing from the south, we ran down wind making 6 knots good. About thirty minutes later we rounded Tucksel Point on the south point on Squaxin Island. We rounded the point expecting to see a couple of mast at the rendezvous, and to our dismay, not a boat on a hook anywhere. I hailed for South Sounders on VHF radio. All I picked up was snow. Speaking of which, it was really snowing and starting to pile up on deck. Now I remember at the last Meeting that someone said winter Cruises were a great opportunity to sail in bad weather and hang out with other boats. So much for that! We circled a bit and figured that no one wanted to sail in the weather.
So we wanted to keep sailing. We decided that we would make for Jarrell Cove. The front had moved through and the winds became light. The sail to Jarrell Cove was slow and wet. We arrived at Jarrell Cove and put down lines at 1630. We settled in for the night and enjoyed a spaghetti dinner. Card games and hot toddies for all was the order of evening.
Day two:
Morning started for me at 0830. Walking topside the dock was white with frost. The tide was extremely high. Coffee, bacon and eggs, the big boat breakfast. We lounged around to noon not being in a particular hurry. At 1300 we backed away from the dock and headed out. The winds were light exiting Pickering Passage heading to Case Inlet. As we rounded Dougall Point the winds were blowing from the south by southwest at about 10 kts. We doused the diesel and flew the jib. We cruised at 6 kts. The sail home was not notable other then it being a clear sunny winter day. We felt the warmth of the sun on our faces all the way home. I believe this is the day we were supposed to have the day before.
It’s too bad the fleet was sunk in the storm; I know they would have loved the sail home on Sunday. So fair winds and following seas from the Cygnet.
Mark Welpman, Cygnet
SSSS Squaxin Island Cruise Report, with photos.