So . . . How Was Your Sail Today ?

[Weyalan]

So, I just got back from 2 weeks cruising around the Whitsunday Islands (adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia). My Admiral's parents have an Adams 40' liveaboard, so we flew up to Hamilton Island and hopped aboard and spent the next couple of weeks cruising - only spent 2 nights in marinas, the rest of the time we were swinging on the anchor in some quiet bay or other. Caught plenty of fish, did plenty of swimming and snorkelling. Relaxed, got a little tanned. It was a tough gig, but somebody had to do it!

[S/V Elusive]

Right on Weyalan!!! I see the big grin from here!

I, OTOH, just did a little two hour sail. Damn I needed it. Me and the boat hadn't been out in almost two months! Winds were a bit kick A at 20 to 24 kn, but they were out of the WNW and perfect for leaving the harbor under sail. Seas were sweet - about two foot wind swells at about 10 seconds. Clocking regular 7.5 and ocassional 8's (Speed through the water). Sailed with just the main and the jib.

Took me almost an hour to secure the boat to get under way (I live aboard), and took me a little over an hour to put her to bed when I got back. I single hand (although I could have invited several folk, I've gotten to prefer single handed - especially when it has been a while).

A boat across the chase from me left about when I was getting ready, and returned before I was ready to leave. At first I thought they thought it was too rough out there - found out that the guy's new Catalina (less than 6 months old) blew out a packing gland and was taking on water. When I got back from my sail, vessel assist was getting ready to take him over to the yard to get hauled out. Had to make an extra loop out in the turning basin to wait for them to clear.

Otherwise - YEAH .. nothing "exciting" happened to me

[Charlie]

Hi guys:

Haven't been out sailing in awhile but the kids had the day off of school so we drove down to the Bay Area and met some friends for a sail. Motored out of Berkley Marina breakwater and then set the sails. perfect October Day. High 60's 12 knots on the nose and not a cloud in the sky. There was a nice Ebb flowing and we set the sails and proceeded on port tack. Boat was balanced perfectly. Steering with my toe on the wheel I ate a wonderful sandwhich and sipped a beer. Sailed thru Racoon Straights and tacked at the Corinthian Yacht Club. From there the Ebb helped us over Angel Island we cracked off, the breeze picked up to 17 knots and the Admiral had her turn at the wheel on a reach with the wind behind the beam.

Nice day and we only had one tack.

Thomas, the sail out is no surprise, but they actually let you back in?
Charlie, sounds like a great day on the bay
Relagated to those final little boatwork things before the new owner takes delivery of Kittiwake. On the boat all day, but no sailing

[Jim H]

Thanks for the reports, everyone.

I got out for a nice Cal 20 sail with my son last weekend. Only problem-- I was the crew...

http://www.photos.sailingvoyage.com/v/album_002/

[amendelson]

Well I am new around here so I will jump in. I got my 5th and last sail in on our new to us Hunter 290 we brought on 9/11.

I had taken a 4 day ASA 101 & 103 course a few weeks back and got the wife and baby to come along for one last short hoorah on the coldest day of the year on the Rappahanock river.

I have sailed dinghies and raced for most of my childhood and had crewed for a few years on a boat in Biscayne bay. So sailing is old hand to me but boat ownership is new to me.

Well I am happy to say that I single handed the boat out of slip, into the river and made it under sail and returned safely with my wife and child watching and freezing in the cabin.

My mouth was frozen in a huge smile as I killed the engine and powered up the sails to 5 knots on a nice reach across the river. The leaves on the trees where in full glory and the day was that crystal clear winter air with winds blowing 8 and gusting to 12.

All in all a huge success for us new boat owners and a great memory to hang onto as the weather has turned and the boat will be on the hard this week. Now to prep for ASA 104 & 105 and the moving of the boat 100+ miles up the Chesepeake to it's new home on the South River next spring.

Glad to join the group here.

[cat man do]

Good on ya guys, you all make me green with envy. When I was working for a living at the very least,I'd still get to sail 3 afternoons a week and every weekend [weather permitting].

Now i'm not working for a living, I have'nt been out for 2 years. I'm building this bloody great hunk of boat and I don't feel i'm worthy of getting out until it's done.

Looks like i'll have to rely on other peoples desciptions for a bit longer yet.

Dave

Dave, that's the curse. A good sailing day is also a good boatwork day. :sigh: But, the blue horizons are coming. At least, that is what I keep telling myself

[jimisbell]

Today was a beautiful sail. Air temp was 81 degrees and wind about 7 knots. We took two other couples who are new to sailboats out for a 2 hour cruise on Corpus Christi Bay. Only problem is that I still havent fixed the overheating problem on the Perkins. Oh well, at least there are fewer things to check now.

[Charlie]

Kai: Good (and bad) news about the sail. I know you love that boat. But three boats are hard to keep up and now you'll have time to concentrate on the other two.

Jim H: Fine looking Captain there. Not so sure abou the crew LOL

Amendlson: Sounds like a nice trip.I think you and the boat should head South. Sailing season is longer.

Dave: Boat looks good. That's the dedication it takes to get it done. Give yourself a break once in awhile.

Jim: Work on the boat or sail? Hard choice.

[cat man do]

Thanks for the positive comments there Charlie.
Doctor has insisted I have a break after just having a double hernia op.
Wonder how I got that?

[Gallivanters]

We just got back in from a delightful (yet costly) voyage on the south side of St Thomas.

First, my wife and 3 yo son went to Charlote Amalie and berthed alongside at the Custom Welders shop and started bending anodized aluminum tubing to fabricate a stern arch for mounting solar panels, dinghy davits, radar, rod holders, shower, lights, bells and maybe even a whistle or two over the back of our Hylas 49. I'd fabricated one of similar design on our last boat while in Guam and came to appreciate the safety, versitilty & shade that it provided.

This time around, I thought it would be best to have an arch built professionally.

We had it all basically bent, cut and tacked together two days later and then removed it from the boat and walked it inside the shop for final details and proper welding.

Next, we cast our lines and made best speed to Lindberg Bay and anchored right next to the airport just in time to see our friend's plane landing. They (my wife's old friend and her 8 yo son) were coming from Australia and had no idea of what lay in store for them.

We met them at the terminal, collected their gear and walked them out of the airport parking lot, toward the beach. They were looking perplexed and completely surprised when we suggested they remove their shoes and throw their bags into the dinghy.

We motored out to our boat, quickly raised anchor, opened a round of beers and sailed a mile across the channel to Honeymoon Bay on Water Island. Anchor down - in for a swim - cool off - catch up - snacks and catch our breath after what had just been a few hectic days for all of us.

Next day brought a Haloween costume party, pig roast, haunted house & pot luck dinner on the beach. Pure magic. There were a few other boats at anchor in the bay and most participants were the kids & families we're getting to know who are residing on Water Island. They don't do Haloween in Ozzy, so it was all quite exotic for our friends. And the kids had a ball!

We luxuriated, swam, explored and ate well for the next few days while allowing our friends to get aclimated with life aboard a boat in the Caribbean.

We returned to our marina berth a few days ago. The girls & kids loaded up our car and are are now off riding horses and camping at Cinimin Bay on St John. And they're out of my hair while I'm dismantling shelves and cabinets inside the aft cabin. The arch should be finished and delivered by truck tomorrow and I hope to have it all bolted down before they get back from their camping adventure.

The past few months have brought a hard top over our center cockpit and a robust stern arch. It looks good and gets a lot of "wows". My neighbors are starting to refer to our boat as a "Hylas Hummer".

I reckon I'll be raising the waterline during our next haul out.

My family will begin to come down next for our bi-annual Thanksgiving feast and sail to Jost Van Dyke in the BVI's. They don't do Thanksgiving in Ozzy, either, and I'm sure our friends from Down Under will go home with many fond memories of their visit in the Virgin Islands.

Happy Sailing,

Kirk

[Charlie]

Ok so we've had 10 days of sun in a row and the one day I have available it is supposed to rain in the PM. We tucked a reef in the main of the J105 and went out sailing. I gave my uncle the wheel but noticed that he didn't know how to steer with a compass and kept on falling. I'd bring the boat back and tell him to steer 240 degrees. Then a fog dropped around us. We could see a couple of buoys, but they weren't the ones I was expecting. I could see no land. I wasn't able to see very well b/c my glasses were rain spotted. I cleaned them up and there was still no land visible. After a few minutes of sailing some land came visible. It had a shape similar toAngel Island but something was amiss. After studying the land for awhile I relaized we were headed toward Richmond. About 100 degrees off of course. At that point I decided it was time to head back in. It was pelting rain, we couldn't see to navigate, it was cold, I didn't feel safe.

We tacked away and headed toward the Berkely Pier. I was figuring on goiing close to it and then heading down the pier to the dock. Well as we were heading toward the pier I ran across a coulple of racing bouys that I knew well and knew we were on the right track. I was confident in my deciwsion to head back to port.

Before we made it to the pier the fog lifted. I could see the top of the Bay Bridge and then Treasure Island and then Angel Isand and finally the light on Alcatraz. Soon the fog lifted and I could see the GG Bridge. At that point I changed my mind. I decided to take a sail around Alcatraz. It turned out to be fun. I kept a better eye on our course as my uncle steered and when the wind picked up took the helm. We ended up rolling up 1/3 of the jib and the boat settled nicely. Being an ex-racer it felt strange but the boat sailed nicer. From there we made another sail cahnge when the wind died off and we rolled out the full jib. I was thinking of shaking the reef in the main but decided against it.

Coming in from Alcatraz the wind picked up going from T 15kts up to T20kts. At that point we eased off the vang and let out the main. A couple of minutes later it was 22 so we rolled up the jib. We were surfing under a reefed main and getting a steady 7.7kts and surging to almost nine. The wind picked up to T28kts. It was fun surfing but I knew we had to get the sails down. Behind Berkley YC we were able to drop the sails in 15kts and motor into the slip. All in all a nice, though cold and wet, day.

[Jim H]

Originally Posted by Charlie

Ok so we've had 10 days of sun in a row and the one day I have available it is supposed to rain in the PM. We tucked a reef in the main of the J105 and went out sailing.

Thanks for the sail report-- sounds like a good time. I've been following the reports and pictures over at Lat 38, and it looks like you've had better than normal weather this year for sailing. I may need to sail that SF bay someday...

We hope to do an overnighter next weekend if the weather cooperates, but tonight it will be in the twenties...

Jim H

The new owner has arrived. He spent yesterday getting to know Kittiwake, and today we took her out. It was one of those days you read about in sailing magazines. The swells were nonexistant. The wind was a bit flukey, but stayed around 15kts from the east. (It never blows eastery here?). We went for about a 4hour sail. The boat performed flawlesly. The crew, well, we had fun. Ended with a gentle slide into the slip (under sail of course). A new wood boat fan has been created. Now, if I can just get him to stop working on the boat long enough to join the forum