We left Castine on Tuesday morning under sunny skies with winds out of the Southwest at 15 knots. The fleet enjoyed some excellent sailing at speeds up 9 knots, mixed with occasional weak wind patches that disappeared as inexplicably as they had appeared. However, the marine forecast warned of an impending gale making its way up the coast, with a predicted arrival by Wednesday morning of 40+ winds and perhaps thunderstorms. We decided to detour the trip to a "hurricane hole", Bucks Harbor, that offered excellent shelter from the storm.
The "Fiona Rios" and "Fascination" took turns at the lead, with the Fiona Rios making Head of Cape point first, and so they won a bottle of Root Beer as their prize from Fascination. Cathy "Root Beer" Brillhart consumed the trophy on behalf of the Fiona Rios.
We arrived at Bucks Harbor by mid-afternoon. The crew went ashore for showers, groceries, and some sight seeing. A couple of schooners arrived and set anchor near us. But by sun down, there still was no sign of the storm.