Cedar Key Small Boat Meet Messing About Video

A short video of a few of the boats out playing during the event.  Still working on a longer one featuring just the sailing canoes.

Cedar Key Small Boat Meet 2014

This was the 30th anniversary of the big bash at Cedar Key. As always we were really looking forward to this event. It's the highlight of the year for small boat messing about. Two weeks out the long range weather forecast was calling for rain Thursday through mid day Saturday. I've got to hand it to the weather nerds, they really nailed it this time as the rain started Thursday and cleared out Saturday afternoon.

A few folks couldn't wait and headed out Saturday before it cleared up. Photo by Hugh Horton.

We waited it out.



Once we headed out the first boat we met was Mike Jones' gorgeous William Garden Eel "Aunt Louise"

Everglades Challenge veteran Harry Tomlinson "Goke" in his Bufflehead.

Rob Hazard brought his yawl rigged Goat Island Skiff. It's so much fun sailing in company with a sister-ship.

Goat fun.

Beached on Atsena Oatie to check out all the other cool boats. Our Goat in foreground and Doug Engh's Penobscot 17 in the background.

One of the coolest boats this year was the famous Rob White Rescue Minor piloted by his son Wes.  The green hull is a Robb White Sport Boat. 

Hugh Horton arrives with "Bufflehead".

 Saturday mid afternoon the weather had become ideal for venturing out on a small expedition to Snake Key with a stop at Grassy Key. 

 "Goat" and Bill Ling's Sailing Canoe "Aku".

 Meade Gougeon's EC first-in-class rocket ship "Voyager" and "Bufflehead".

 Snake Key.

 Hugh arriving at Snake Key.

 Running through the interior cut on Snake Key.

The cool thing about this shot is that Hugh was taking the next one at about the same time.

Too much fun! Photo by Hugh Horton.

    

 Eventually we headed back in and were last in line for the feast. Geoff Chick's Yakaboo II also heading back in.

Rob's GIS heading back to Island Place beach.

Saturday evening in front of Island Place.

Love the Bahamas dinghy colors.

 Sailing canoes up for the night.

Goat is so light we pull out for the night like the canoe guys do.

Dinner time view.

Sunday and Monday I hung out with the sailing canoes. The sailing conditions were absolutely perfect.  Here we are on our way to North Key.

North Key.

This thing working?

 Exploring North Key.

 Goat can go pretty much where the canoes go but hitting oyster bars with the dagger board is a lot more exciting. Down wind we were generally OK with the board out and an occasional scrape. Up wind amongst the oyster bars was quite interesting. Bard (Hugh's son) was my able crew and he had a workout tending to the board. At one point it got so bad that Bard was poling us along with the dagger board. Fun times.

Ghosting along on the lee side of North Key.

 White pelicans on the way back to Cedar Key.

Packing up Tuesday. Pretty much the last ones to leave.