I set the alarm for 4am and dropped the mooring at 4:40 for the long sail to Block Island. 
It's a little more than
70 miles and a lot current to deal with. The flow through The Gut is so strong it has to be timed so as not to
reach it on a flood tide. The winds were light to start and my attempts to use the sails left me bearly moving at all. I had to motor
all the way to the end of Long Island and through The Gut. I was rewarded for all the motoring by a perfect sail across
Block Island Sound. I finally unrolled the genoa, set the autopilot and didn't have to touch a thing until just
outside the entrance to Great Salt Pond. I was even able to read (Going Postal, Terry Pratchett) for hours - just sticking
my head up every once in a while to make sure I was still alone.
Block Island Sounds is fully exposed to the North Atlantic so it gets some rough conditions. There was long swell and
about 20 knots of wind towards the end of the sail that made getting the sails down and navigating through the
breakwater a little challenging. The winds inside were even stronger than out on the open Sound. Fortunately,
Great Salt Pond is pretty empty at this time of year so anchoring was stress free - are rare occurrence here.
By 5:40, I was down below drinking a beer and starting to prepare dinner.
I plan on relaxing in Great Pond for a few days. I expect my friends on Kalyra to
arrive Sunday evening after the overnight sail from Raritan Bay.
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