After years of sailing in October on the coast of Maine, I find the weather more reliable than June. Storms and wind are what you have to worry about.

This sail yesterday on the way home, with good seas from a southerly blow the day before, meeting good winds from the north the first of November, made things a little bumpy.

I heard a bouy thump the bottom a couple times and I waited to see it pop up in my wake(as it always does, almost). I waited,...and waited,...then watched the knot log go from 6 knots, to 4 knots.

It happens so rarely, I'm always surprised. I could see the buoy under water behind the stern following at 4 knots. I rolled the genoa, dropped the main and mizzen and could see the warp was still attached to the boat skidding to leeward.

As I was sailing, I knew I had a loop around one blade but the wind, about 20 knots had us pinned on a starboard tack even with the sails dropped. I could see it on the prop as the stern lifted and fell, with a crash, several feet on each wave.

After some work to clear it as it pinned to th rigging, I raised the mizzen and pulled it to windward until it filled onto a port tack. That was enough to jibe the stern, the warp slipped off, and we were on our way.