Went out with R for 3 hours. He was trying out his near cold gear that he got as gifts, while I just like the cold wind blowing in my face (ok, so I was trying out some gear too). Started out fine with oh 5 knot winds and temps slightly over 40F. Then the wind died. It was gone for oh 30 minutes then came back at about 10 knots steady. Made it to the fort and turned around, as the wind started getting even stronger and gustier. One gust hit hard just as we were about to tack. Luckily it was in an ok direction but dang those "accidental" tacks bug me. We had to dock over on the pilings side of our docks -- which meant right into the teeth of the wind. But with the variable gusts it proved tricky; I had to abort twice narrowly missing the other docked boat (it was a parallel parking job). Ending up having to come in at a very steep angle and turn at the very last second (all while filling and spilling for speed control). A fun sail. Oh, and the rain/sleet/snow started just as we were packing up...
Century Club: Robert Coker
A lovely sail with S and M. Was warm in Baltimore (nearly 60) with light but steady winds, so we went out for a good 3 hour sail to round out the year (clouds and rain were coming in). Saw the 3-master Peacemaker at dock (it's for sale!).
Spent 4 hours out in the balmy (60F!) weather practicing single-hand techniques with R. Wind was so-so (occasionally dying off and occasionally getting quite gusty -- a good range of winds to practice SH in!). Undocking and sailing itself I'm good with. Ok with figure 8 POB but need work on the quickstop (do you let go of the tiller or not???). Also my heaving to is a bit sloppy (can't finish the tack if you've coming to a stop now can you?). Practiced navigating w/o a tiller some more -- in a light swirly wind with some current, that can get interesting. Finally, docked SH with the jib only (cuz why not); took a lot of over-riding of "ahhhhh!" instincts, but went just spiffy.
Went out with M and R on this chilly day -- right at the '80F' limit (and that's ignoring wind chill). Wind was a steady 5 knots, with few gusts. A bit stronger in the outer harbor (which was full of tugs...). I practiced some "navigating by sails" which is pretty cool (interesting response times). But yeah it was cold so we turned around -- good thing too since wind was falling off a little bit. So after 3 hours, R made a nice upwind with favorable crosswind docking. Was also a test of some of my new cold weather gear (mostly passed...).
With strong (15 sustained but 20+ gusts) winds and cool temperatures, S called R and me up for some cruiser practice over at the Peninsula so of course we went -- it was most excellent learning yet another cruiser, particularly in the strong winds (it had working furlers for both sails permitting a continuum of reefing). But most of all learning lots of "20%" tips from A for sailing "more efficiently" (i.e. for racing). Using the outhaul and backstay and jib cars more "actively", for example. Setting off my PFD as coming in for docking was an added bonus (hey it was near expiry).
A fun sail with S and H. Predicted winds were lousy (3-5 kn) but wind picked up nicely as we were rigging -- had probably 6 in the inner harbor up to 12 gusts in the outer harbor, with scattered whitecaps. It was sunny and not too cold. Almost made it to the FSK buoy but wanted to be sure to be back by 4 in case the wind died. Which it didn't.
Didn't do any actual sailing (heck, it was snowing!), but worked on one of the DSC cruisers for 4 hours or so. Well, T did most of the work, but R and I helped. It was more up front and personal time with an engine than I've ever had (well, excluding rocket engines...). Changing air (seriously, the old filter was...just...gone...) and oil filters, looking over the belts, pumping out and refilling the oil, greasing up some valves, changing the impeller (salt water as the fluid results in a very different design than LOX...). Corrosion is everywhere salt water touches regularly, so watch your through holes carefully. A good manual is key (if I ever get a boat, it would have to have a more thorough manual, since not knowing if you have the right piece is maddening...). More remains to be done...
A lovely sail with R out to the FSK buoy and back. Wind was 10 knots, slowly rising throughout the sail to maybe 13 at the end. Gusts were ok for most of the sail but slowly kicked up to probably 20 knot peak by the time we docked. Cloud cover slowly increased too so it got cooler. Waves started kicking up too (even in the inner harbor), making for some fun near any docks or walls (as the waves bounced and reflected). Thought the gusts would give R a rough time docking but nope just dropped the sail, whizzed around and slid along the dock. Great sailing day.
I nice sailing day -- did first real single-hand practice with R -- it was pretty brutal -- really have to pay attention and keep doing stuff to keep on top of the changing environment. And every boat will be a bit different. Then went out on a cruiser to do some drills and sailing as night fell. Good sailing day.
Did a short sail with R out in the harbor for a few hours -- a chilly fully overcast day with light winds -- so no one else was about -- tried some solo-handing thangs, but we really weren't up for that. Just a relaxing day on the water.