An overnight to escape the sweltering heat!

I never tire of a beautiful cool ride on a 5 to 10 knot Southwesterly. Like a dip in a mountain lake.

Ample time to raise the bimini as storms marched toward us from the Southwest.

The dog and I had coffee at 5:30 am. Complete quiet. The sights and sounds of dawn on the water are riveting. The heat in the pre dawn light promised another scorcher of a day.

The end of beautiful sunrise in a snug harbor. Soon I would realize we were nicely aground. So gentle was our grounding, I never realized it until sounding with an oar showed we had 6" of long keel in the mud. Perfect anchor placement.

Then a mid-day departure under completely different conditions: 1 to 4 knot Easterly wind. We needed all our sails up not only for a couple knots propulsion, but to shade us from the brutal noon sun. With AP steering, we dragged our toes through the cool ocean water for a few miles.

Our biggest mistake(mine in fact): We left too early. It was so hot in Rockport Harbor, we raised the bimini again, hung on the mooring - swam a bit, and had an early dinner onboard.

CHRISTMAS's stern swung to the South in the light Northerly wind. That allowed us a view of a race approaching us from the East, all running downwind - toward us - under spinnakers. Searing heat causes strange winds on the bay. Upon arriving home we turned the AC on full blast.