Day2

Sunday morning SandyBottom left CP1 refreshed and with all gear functioning properly.

[SB pretending to be on Team RAF]

She called at 8:00 am as soon as she had cleared CP1 and was in open water.

She was heading south out of Placida Harbor (Gasparilla Sound) toward the six-mile wide crossing of Charlotte Harbor down to Pine Island Sound. Winds were favorable, flowing out of the North at 10 knots.

At 2:00 pm SandyBottom called in from the Sanibel Causeway Bridge. (N26°27.836' W82°1.912') She was stopping at a beach park on the southern foot of the bridge just long enough to put on warmer clothes, warm up, and eat lunch. She said that sailing 5.5 - 7.0 mph from 8am to 2pm had been wet, cold and taxing.

At 3pm she called in again out on the water a mile SE of the bridge to report that she was feeling good and had spotted the two boats of Team RAF sailing nearby. (Perhaps they will sail together for a bit?)

She didn't mention seeing KiwiBird but Fly's report put KiwiBird in the neighborhood too.

SandyBottom called in again at 7:36 pm from a campsite inside Wiggins Pass. She said the weather was bigger than forecast, perhaps a small front coming through. Strong NW wind was bringing in following seas of 6' from the Gulf. The forecast is for a cold night. Winds are predicted to be more North tomorrow, which should be more favorable. She decided to come in through Wiggins Pass and camp.

Also at the campsite are Kristin and NatureCalls. Other reports put ThereAndBackAgain also camping at Wiggins Pass.

Earlier in the day she had paddled for about an hour with the Team RAF boats when the wind had been flat. They were using VHF channel 73 to chat. She did not reach them on that channel to tell them that she was getting off the water for the night, so DWSB will relay the message when Team RAF calls in again.

[DancesWithSandyBottom reporting]