Reefed

We toyed with the idea of staying in Melanie Cove for a second night because it's such a lovely anchorage, but eventually decided to move on to Squirrel Cove, where we are now. We were hoping to do some sailing today, but the winds were pretty fluky. It blew at 18 knots one moment and then die down to 3 knots the next. The wind direction changed so often the compass was spinning. That weather was possessed.  We weren't very interested in trying to keep up with it, so at first we just motored. Then with roughly half an hour to go before arriving at the anchorage, the wind started blowing at a steady 15 knots from a constant direction. Quijote gets a little over-powered in 15 knots under full sail, because she has a large Genoa. So Matt and I hoisted the sail with a couple of reefs in right from the start. It was well that we did because we no sooner got the sails up when it started to blow harder. Eighteen, then twenty and twenty-two. The boat shot to 6.5 briefly before the wind backed off and we settle into a five knot final romp on a clear, sunny day. 

Now it's a clear, calm evening. Dinner has come and gone, The crew rowed to shore to explore, while Kevin and I stayed behind to take care of business. 

Whenever I do these trips, my hands get covered in sores that look a lot like blisters. They go away after a few days, but they're usually quite painful. I've observed the water is teeming with jelly fish, so I wonder: are the younger jellyfish traveling up the faucet hoses and stinging my hands as I wash dishes? I've been careful to keep my hands out of the saltwater and they appear to be healing.