⌛ A new member sailing in

I am a new member. To introduce myself, here's how I spent Sunday afternoon. Sailing notes.

Sunday Beach Picnic and sailing.
Sep 9 2007 Sea and Sailing conditions at Cangmating beach, Sibulan, Neg. Or. At roughly the narrowest point in the neck of the Tanon Straits between the islands of Cebu and Negros.

high tide 9:28 am 1.62 meters, light breeze from between Siquijr and Bohol at 10:oo am becoming steady and strengthening from about 11:00 am to near 1:00 PM.

At 10:00 am, when I waded off the beach, there was a distinct current running eastward along the beach at waist depth. Between 12 and 1:00 all the local fishing boats were under sail - triangular Layag - hauling @ss toward north Sibulan and San Jose. In a matter of about 10 minutes the ENE wind dropped and became weak and fitful. I began to think about that current and how local fishermen probably know something I ought to know.

With wind almost gone, I managed to work from the center of the channel to near the beach - between 100 to 400 meters offshore and found the current had become a full strength max ebb current running strongly eastward along the shore: I had edged about 200 meters north west, past the Cangmating marine sanctuary on the dying east wind. the bouys marking the sanctuary were streaming strongly eastward. Progess back toward our picnicing place on the beach stopped with the sail drawing though not strongly but with adequate steerage speed. Sailing thus, as I tried to go west in the eastern neck of the straits, I was swept rapidly east back past the marine sanctuary.

Finally I gave up trying to find zephyrs and sail-paddled for the beach. By 1:45 pm I was wading in about a foot and a half of water, no surf no swell, over smooth sand footing towing my boat behind me like a shopping cart. I had about a mile and a half to go to get back to the picnic.

An occasional hint of a breeze got me to step aboard the boat, bear off, trim the main and give it try. Mostly I then retraced the section of beach I had just walked. But it was nice day and I was simply messin' about in a boat.

About 2:00 pm my brother-in-law arrived and took charge. Telling me with hand motions to steer he paddled us back up the beach against the current. From 2:00 pm, the breeze had been fitful. First from the east then it seemed from the northwest. We got back to the picnic at 2:30. By 3:30 the breeze had become a steady 4 to 6 miles per hour from the northwest. Low tide was at 5:05 pm -0.01 meters.

 

hi sibulano, welcome to the Forum.
Hope you did not get sea-sick