We missed our group but had a lot to do. We started the day listening to the forecast from Chris Parker. There is a weather system in the Gulf of Mexico that is supposed to bring the highest winds of the trip and from the west. Squalls with winds 40-50 mph were predicted. We decided to stay on our mooring rather than cross the harbor to get more west protection.
The small boat races were in the morning. Our friend Deb had entered the kayak race using her paddleboard as a kayak. We had entered the blindfolded dinghy rowing race. We were not sure we could participate as we were the only hard dinghy at first but then another rowing dinghy entered so we could race.
First we watched the paddle board and kayak races. Deb took third in her division. Our friend Clay also finished in the kayak men’s race. The kid’s paddle board division was impressive.
It was then time for our division. Jeff gave us a big push at the launch. David got an early lead and we rowed straight and had no problem rounding the first buoy. We were headed toward the second buoy when the race officials pointed us back to shore. All of the other boats were stuck at the first buoy. They decided to shorten the race amidst some controversy but awarded us first place.
They were worried about weather and cancelled the sailing dinghy race. We did not stay for the coconut challenge where they release coconuts and dinghies race to collect them. It would have been fun to watch but we had to run errands to ready ourselves for the upcoming weather system.
We crossed to town for laundry, garbage, grocery and water gathering. The dinghy dock was 3 deep on all sides as everyone was making a final run prior to the storm. We returned and I stayed on the boat cleaning while David went for a second water run.
Later, David added chafe guard to our mooring lines and we brought some items down from the deck. We secured our winning dinghy. The first set of squalls was due around midnight with the worst of the weather supposed to come around noon tomorrow. It was very calm as we headed to sleep.