On the Satuday before Memorial Day, my wife, Michele, and I, aboard our Hunter 340, Cut I, left our slip in Matagorda Bay and headed down the ditch for Port Aransas. Leaving at 7 a.m., we arrived at Island Moorings Marina around 8 p.m. after traveling 73.6 n.m. Sleeping late Sunday morning, we left Port A through the jetties into the Gulf of Mexico bound for South Padre Island around 11 a.m. This would be Michele's first overnight sail in the gulf. Our wind was out of the south at about 10 knots and disproportionately light relative to the very lumpy seas resulting from very strong southerly winds in the preceding days. As the day matured the seas settled down and the winds moved a bit to the east allowing us to sail the rumb line. About midafternoon I caught a 10 lb. black fin tuna on a line I'd been trolling since we left the jetties. By dark we had calmer seas with only 3 foot swells. After nightfall, Michele became mildly seasick; probably because of an inability to focus her gaze on the horizon in the darkness and because of the anxiety that accompanies night sailing. We both stayed in the cockpit until about 11 pm. Despite being seasick, Michel stood two watches during the night and was in good spirits when Monday dawned. As the sun rose the wind disappeared and we started the motor and motorsailed for several hours. We arrived at the jetties around 2 p.m. covering about 140 n.m. over the water--a slow trip reflecting the relatively light winds. We tied up at Sea Ranch Marina on South Padre Island and cleaned up the boat, removed jack lines & harnesses, filled the water tank, etc. Then, we took a nap, arose around dinner time and barbecued on the stern grill. Tuesday morning, we called a cab and arranged for a motel room in the center of the island. We did the "island thing" for the rest of the day and really enjoyed the day. Wednesday morning we took a cab back to the marina and shoved off about 8:50 a.m. headed for Port Mansfield up the ditch. We hit the Port Isabel swing bridge right at its hourly opening and were into the Laguna Madre by 10. With a modest southeasterly breeze we arrived in Port Mansfield by 4 p.m. and topped off the fuel tanks and beer inventory. We encountered some of the most hospitable people on our cruise in this little community and really enjoyed the stop. We tied up at the local marina for the night and went to bed early. We arose at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday morning to meet an ambitious plan. We intended to make the Port A municipal marina by nightfall--a distance of almost 90 n.m. By 6:45 we were back in the ICW making 7 knots with a strong southeasterly wind pushing us along. At the land cut, our course turned more to the east and the apparent wind speed increased. We pulled in a reef and with a bit of current we maintained a speed of very near 8 knots over land. We arrived at the Port A municipal marina around 8 p.m. having averaged very near 7 knots for the day with little motoring. Sleeping until 8 a.m. Friday morning, we were back in the ICW by 9 a.m. Although slightly lighter than Thursday's winds, a good 15 knot breeze was pushing us north up the ditch. With a full set of sails and a more easterly course, we averaged well above 6 knots for the day. We had some real excitement near the Victoria Barge Canal when we experienced a problem with out rack and pinion steering coming apart (discussed in a separate post). Otherwise is was simply an excellent sail with virtually no motoring. This is the kind of day Michele really enjoys--plenty of wind but no huge waves to contend with and no bouts of sea sickness. We arrived back at our home slip at 8 p.m. Exhausted, we ate a late meal and went to bed. Satuday was spent cleaning, unloading and traveling. I can't believe I have to go to work tomorrow. Where did the time go?