It's jungle hot in west central Florida as always this time of year. The sails stay furled except for the occasional afternoon sea breeze or a special reason. Summer solstice/sailstice provided such a reason. My son Chris and his son Colin were on hand for Father's Day and I've been wanting to introduce my grandson to sailing. He's only 13 months but is already proven to be a true water baby.
We left the dock at about 3 pm with about eight knots out of the west. By the time we hoisted the main on the Crystal River the wind had petered to about six knots but it was enough to move us along. We had good conversation, cold beer and the lad was curious about the tiller and the reason we were moving without the drone of the diesel. My Cape Dory 28 is a bit of a dog in light air but with three generations of Mulligans on hand there was nothing to complain about.
Giant globs of oil loom only 100 miles west of the mouth of the river and may spoil our slice of paradise for a generation. But this day was a grand one.
Kevin Mulligan
Cape Dory 28, "Skibbereen"
Crystal River, Fl.
Florida - Crystal River sailors head out on their Cape Dory 28
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