Dinghy Cruise-In

Today was the day we finally got to sail down to the Abaco Inn in White Sound for the annual Abaco Dinghy Cruise-In. Six boats went down including a very enthusiastic and devoted 16 year old sailor. When we first started out, the wind was lighter than predicted, and we wondered if we had made the right decision to go. Dave kept looking back towards the harbor, where we had luckily received a tow out through the narrow channel...

Then the breeze filled in a little, sometimes more than others, and sometimes there was no wind at all. All you can do is laugh about it, and get the paddles ready. We did have a chase boat following the group, in case we got into a jam.

Everyone caught up to us and we made it to the restaurant for lunch.

The Abaco Inn is on a little spit of land between the Sea of Abaco and the Atlantic Ocean. The Sea of Abaco side has a perfect little beach to land and anchor the dinghies. The ocean side is known for its waves and surfing. We had our Commodore's Dinner here just a few nights ago.

As we sat down to order our meal, we were told that coincidentally, the sister of Winer Malone, who made all our dinghies (now deceased), was having lunch there too and saw us all sail in! What an honor for us to be there. Afterwards, we took off out the channel and what a fantastic sight.

We all stayed pretty close on the trip back to Hope Town and the wind was fluky, but at least there was more of it...plus more clouds for shade. Ahhhhh!

That is 16 year old Luca sailing his great Aunt Mary's dinghy Peace 'N' Rice. He is an avid sailor and racer in his home town in Minnesota. He said that he even has experience working on wooden boats.

We needed a little push from the chase boat getting through the choke point of the channel into the harbor (an inflatable so it wouldn't mark up the boats), especially with all the boat traffic today. With the beautiful calm weather, everyone was out on the water. It was definitely a monumental day sailing in Dandy!

(Thank you Jacqueline for the pictures taken from the beach.)