Although I don't consider it BFS, Smack asked me to tell my story so here it is:
After getting 3 winter day sails under my belt, I decided it was time to show the wife where all the the money went. So on a Saturday in early March, I satisfied the pre-sail checklist, and for the first time ever, had a brief argument with the outboard, and then we departed with 4 souls onboard.
15-20 minutes later, we put the bow into a 10 kt wind and I raised the sails. All text-book so far. After 10 minutes of sailing, the wind simply died. I shook out the reef in disappointment.
I floundered around for a bit in the weak breeze watching the water settle into bumpy glass. I noticed 3 sailboats behind me also flailing around, getting nowhere. After a bit, they fired their engines and glided past me. I muttered something about "f-ing cheaters".
A weak breeze from the NE came in fits and starts pushing us a little further into the Chesapeake, and south for a time.
Just as I'd decided to give up and motor home, the wind changed direction to NW, and built over 5 minutes to 15kts or so. Whatever it was, it was stiff.
We zipped north, flying through flat water that hadn't had a chance to build waves yet to the river entrance bouy. The crew was cold, so I sent them below to warm up with the heater, and I decided that this would be a great time to learn to single hand. Judging by all the chatter and cackling I heard from below, they seemed to be warming up and relaxing nicely
I rounded the bouy and headed due west, steering the "sweet spot" that kept my jib tell-tales flying level. A moment later a gust heeled the boat over a bit, nothing crazy but I called below for everyone to hold on as I corrected with the tiller.
A while later, we arrived at the Whitemarsh Creek entrance which was dead into the wind. The channel is a little skinny to tack so we dropped the sails and motored the last leg back. The sun was below the horizon so I burned the nav lights. We made a perfect, stern-first docking just as everything went black.
Being alone in the cockpit during that blow was heaven. For a brief time, I was master of my vessel and master of the elements. (Don't worry, I know it's just an illusion)
As an aside, the next day my wife told me that she was facing the leeward port, watching the water flow by when that gust hit. She said that all of a sudden, "the sky disappeared, and the water was very close to the window!" Kind of a "Hello!" moment for her. I informed her that the solution is to look out the windward port, where all she'll see is the sky.
That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
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