Mar. 27 Bayport to Homosassa

Most cold fronts are led by a line of rain and wind. That was what hit last evening, and we assumed that was all the rough weather we'd get. But shortly after midnight the boat shook from very strong wind and sheets of rain. It heeled the boat over 15 degrees and kept up a noisy blast for a long while. By morning it was sunny and calm, and the only storm damage was some fraying on the main halyard where it had chafed on a shroud. After breakfast we carefully picked our way out the shallow channel- so long the markers ahead disappeared over the horizon. That's it for us and Bayport. Few boats go there and we've done it twice now. Enough. Once outside the river in the channel, the wind picked up to 15 kts from the west, on our nose. But when we finally reached the end of the channel and turned NW, we had a great sail under working jib and reefed main to the outer channel leading into the Homosassa River. As we turned into that channel it started to rain and didn't stop for the next five hours. Although the temp was above 70, the wind and wet made for chilly sailing. Below, all the latent opportunities for water to find its way in revealed themselves. Now I have a to-do list again. The beautiful, winding Homosassa River is tricky navigation, but nothing difficult compared with Bayport. We docked at Riverhaven Marina, where we'd been before, where we restored our spirits, consumed some too, ate dinner aboard, showered ashore, and did what we could to dry out. The weather forecast is for no rain but strong wind tonight and tomorrow morning. We'll get an early start and head for Cedar Key unless it looks too rough, in which case we'll probably anchor near the mouth of the Homosassa and make a new plan.
Highlight of the day: marina owner said, "That's a BEAUTIFUL boat. And she only charged 75 cts per foot.