June 19, 2004
Hoebucken

With our six day long Ocean passage deeply engraved in my memory I was ready to do some old fashioned day sailing. Do your average forty miles, drop the hook, cook some dinner and enjoy the sunset kind of a deal. Since on my way South with Johannes I have already seen the Virginia Cut I opted for recommended by other cruisers scenic Dismal swamp route, which was unavailable to us before due to low water levels. But before we got there we had a small adventure awaiting us in the sound.

After leaving Oriental we came across dozens of sailboats participating in the regatta. Tobi was at the tiller when I noticed all those sailboats doing sudden bow, leaning in unison on one side. I quickly realized what that meant and yanked all my sails down in a hurry. A massive squall hit us in seconds with sheets of rain and impossible wind gusts...

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(M)