Got to the marina - hoping that the wind would pick up... there were some gusts, but nothing sustained, so decided to go for a SUP outing instead. First though, I had to take care of my continuing saga with the osprey. - reconfigured the scare bird balls on the solar array - and then took the boat out of the slip and backed it in - hoping that not having the solar over the water would deter the little bastards. After that - had a lovely paddle all the way to the headwaters of Davis Creek. Lovely day!
Century Club: Tom Dean
Wednesday, April 10, 2024 to Thursday, April 11, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Really no wind... the Sailing School was putting their sails up in the slip... and it didn't matter which way they faced - that's how much no wind there was at the marina - so I went kayaking instead. Took care of a few chores and flipped a coin to see if I would go kayaking or paddle boarding - kayak won... so off I went. Gorgeous day - got up to 73. Water still quite chilly - and the osprey are really getting obnoxious. Took lots of pictures - included some of the best!! Quite a bit of pollen on the water too!!
Monday, April 8, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
It was supposed to be a lovely day - there were good winds forecast after 1, so I headed down to the marina and out! Temps ranged from 54 - 64, Barometer was at 30.16 - so mostly sunny skies. Winds were out of the SW 5 knots at first, then got a bit swirly - sometimes shifting to the S - but wind speed picked up to 5-10... with a few little gusts here and there. Noticed some dimming of the sun while I was out - right in the 2:15 - 3:15 range, but not dark at all. Had a nice sail especially after the winds picked up... but even with light winds - like to practice just in case!!
Sunday, April 7, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
This was a day that in the past, we would have stayed at the dock - but we need to get out in these kinds of winds if we are going to live aboard and be costal cruisers! I also wanted to try out something I had read a few days earlier - just using the Genoa - by itself for anything 80 degress to the wind or higher.So winds out of the NW blowing 13 - 17 with gusts over 20. Temp was 54 when we left the dock at 12:15. Barometer was 30.09.
After getting out of the marina, we were quick to get the genoa up and we were going strong with the wind on a broad reach. Once into the Chester, I took the helm and played around with the configuration for a while - learned something new and we didn't sacrifice comfort, safety or speed!!
Saturday, March 30, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
A chilly day, but a fun day! Temperature when we left the dock was 53 - didn't get much warmer. Winds were out of the West at 5-10, so a comfortable sail. Barometer was at 29.92. Left the dock right about 11 and got back in about 4 - so a nice long sail. Went down the Chester a bit.. wind stalled, but we had enough to put up the Gennaker and fly her home. A fun day sailing - we even saw another sailor out - in a little lazer - having a ball!!
Sunday, March 17, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Managed a sail with the full crew - which is nice for early spring! 58-63 was the temperature range with a barometer at 29,68 and falling. Winds were light 5-10 knots. Didn't really go anywhere, just wanted to do a little practice - especially because the first mate needs to practice! She took the helm for the most part and fun was had by all.
Friday, March 15, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Got out of the slip at 11:15 and didn't come back in till 3;45! Winds were out of the SW to start blowing 8-16, then the winds backed to just being out of the West. Mostly Cloudy, Temperature was 65-68 degrees and the barometer was 29.76.
Had fun sailing around the Chester River Basin. Saw some working waterman - but not much else going on!!
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Wasn't going to let this beautiful day go to waste so after doing some chores on Bubbles, headed off in my inflatable kayak down Davis Creek. Lots of birds.... nature starting to stir a bit!!
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Got to the marina about 10:30 or so. There was a SCA out and while the winds were strong, didn't look like it was enough to keep me in the slip - so I decided to head on out. Was out of the slip by 11. The Barometer was 29.93 and falling, Temperature was 54 and it got up to 68 before I got off the water. Winds were initially out of the WNW at 10-15. They moved to W still 10-15, but dropped off a bit later in the afternoon - only to come back in as I was sailing back up Langford Creek. There was some high cloud cover, but the sun did come out as the clouds rolled off.
Headed out and down Langford creek after turning around to get the sails up. Rolled in the headsail a bit to get a better balance on the boat - which did help a lot in the higher winds. There was almost no wind, so I sailed out Langford and down the Chester to the green "11" outside of Eastern Neck Island, where i turned to come back. The wind had died off a bit, but was still moving along nicely. Eventually, opened up the full Genoa which helped for a bit until the wind died down to less than 5 knots. Managed to creep along up into Langford creek where the wind kicked back up again giving me a nice sail up the creek and into the marina. Lovely, lovely day!
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Got to the marina a bit before 10:30. There was a small craft advisory out and I found the winds consistently over 10 knots... going up to 15 when I got there. The barometer was at 29.89, temps ranged from 53 to 58 with winds out of the north. Left the slip, not as easily as usual - but got out and headed out of the marina. Got the main up - had already decided to reef and after getting out, decided to double reef. Left only the main up down the creek towards the Chester on a deep broad reach. Got the Genoa out, but reefed it heavily - probably 85%. After getting out into the 'Chester, headed off on a beam reach for a while before doing a heave to. Stayed on a heave to for a while, but couldn't get her completely stopped - so have to work on that later. Decided it was a bit too gnarly as I was seeing wind speeds over 20, so I decided to head on back - know that I would be beating in the wind all the way back. No real issues, just a hard working sail. Sun came out for a while - enjoyed that on the sail back - got back into the slip about 2. Even in her light condition (and water in the boat) - Bubbles did well.