A great September of sailing always makes you think that October will be just as good, and it never is. Here in northern downeast Maine, the best time to get out is actually around September 20. That's when the wind is still blowing from the south and its easiest to get the boat up the ramp in calm wind. But by October its now blowin' from the N and NW, and things seem to have gone down hill really fast. Waiting until October 14 is usually a bad scene.
Almost fell in the water last wednesday, when in rough water on the mooring, the dock line slipped off the starboard side of the dinghy, and suddenly I was split between the sailboat and the dinghy with my butt handing into the 53 degree water. Would have been much "funner" when the air temps were 70f, than 48F.