Sunrise on Friday morning
many boats had arrived during the week
Abacos dinghy
Little Gem skiff and the Buffleheads at the Island Place
Bob & Jeri's porch
The beer gets chilled on Friday afternoon
The kitchen crew
Many people bring delightful offerings --- How does all this food preparation happen when people are coming from all over the country?
There's no accounting, but more than 75 people show up at the Friday night party at Bob & Jeri's house.
With the animated conversations, the evening seems too short
A photo slide show from last year runs in the corner...
merriment in the kitchen
Bob and Jim Brown. Jim designed and built sailboats in Sausalito, Ca. in the 1960's.
Hugh Horton & Jim Brown
Bob & Hugh
Saturday morning, and time to launch, Here's Bob's canoe.
Hope, Ron Thweat's boat, was built by Stacy Smith.
The Island Place beach. "Hope" had come down from Nashville, Tennesee.
Saturday morning's calm air.
Peep Hen
Meade Gougeon's newest
next to this, kayaks are deep draft vessels.
There's a fixed seat amidships, and an aluminum folding seat aft.
Bufflehead Kayaks beached on the notorious oyster beds on the southwest side of Atsena Otie
You want a nice high tide to be navigating the shallow pass through the island
...But the morning tide was a bit low.
Getting through Atsena Otie is notoriously difficult on low tides
but......
What if....
You had a....
really, REALLY shallow draft.....
vessel?
The newly-launched "Highland Lass" had come up from Punta Gorda
Don Nemetz had built Highland Lass to the highest standards.
A delightful array of beautiful kites flew above Saturday morning's beach
Wes White's Pacific windward proa
She's sailed by maneuvering crew weight and sail trim
The proa has no rudder or leeboards, and tacks by reversing direction. You might say it has four bows, ... or sterns.
Sea pearls row beautifully and well
a family in a canoe is a perfect part of the small craft meet
Sea Pearl tri with a staysail
This is known to be a very fast kayak. Can it keep up with a sliding rowing seat in a canoe?
Three boats from St Petersburg: Little Gem, and two Chesapeake Light Craft kayaks. Luke Lukowski built them all.
After the grueling crossing from Cedar Key, it's good to rest up on the beach.
Saturday's beach gam is forming up
Preston Watters' exquisite lapstrake sailing canoe, Ione
She sailed beautifully in the very light air, but reefs down easily in heavy air. Becky's handling the mainsail.
With a bronze fan-style centerboard, a bronze kick-up rudder, and breathtakingly beautiful woodwork, This boat is one of the prettiest at Cedar Key.
Saturday morning's arrivals at Atsena Otie.
Steve Howe and his sailing kayak
A Drascombe, an Iain Oughtred skiff, and my Swift blue canoe with its rowing rig.
Rex and Kathy Paine's new Bolger Birdwatcher
Rex's new Birdwatcher, and Hugh's Bufflehead
The birdwatcher had just been completed. Well, its sailing rig was still in the shop, but the hull was ready to go. Rex does breathtakingly good work.
Bolger's genius is evident with the offset centerboard.
the Nancy Jeanne
She has a strip planked hull, and was owner- built about 30 years ago.
Handle bars, bike seats, pedals, propellors.
Delightful small craft; .....hey, it's a small craft gathering.
Sunday morning. A small group launches at Shell Mound
Off to Seabreeze Creek
There are five significant creeks between Shell Mound and State Road 24.
"Black Point," on Richards Island, is in the background at the left. North Key is six miles away, and can just barely be seen on the horizon at the right.
Seabreeze Creek is about a mile and a half south of Shell Mound.
Most of the waters near shell mound are shallow, and the oyster beds are tricky to navigate.
Bill Brown, Zeta, and Andy Zimmerman off Dennis creek
The waters off shell mound, Seabreeze Island, and Richards Island are shallow and peppered with oyster beds and salt marshes.
off Black Point
Sailing into Seabreeze Creek.
in Seabreeze Creek
gam
Sand spit on McClamory Key, with a flock of black skimmers on the beach in the background.
we all stopped for a break on the beach
new boats had to be designed....
....and all the details worked out.
southeast end of McClamory Key
Stretch the legs, get a sip of water, solve the problems, if any, of small boats.
Bob & Meade Gougeon
Mike Linaman
sailing downwind
Haulout back at Shell Mound at noontime.
Bill Brown checking out Meade Gougeon's carbon fiber sailing kayak.
Bob's stowing the gear.
It just took a few minutes to load up all the boats,
Leaving Shell Mound
...and it's only about ten minutes back to Cedar Key
