Short sail today ahead of warm weather and an overnight sail on Wednesday. I thought another Catalina 27 was anchored just outside the marina, but once close enough I could see it was an S2 (27'?)
Century Club: George Hernandez
Monday, April 3, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
April 3 which is just past 1/4 of the way into 2023 and the best sailing weather is ahead.
I sailed east today with just the main out as the wind was occasionally gusting. With no destination, a relaxing sail was preferable to more speed.
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
The forecast was for fairly breezy conditions with winds diminishing as the day progressed. My plan for the day was a sail to 4th Island along the CBBT. One look at the angry bay as I drove to the boat ended that. Instead I stayed in Willoughby Bay in the early afternoon only venturing out to the channel later in the day when winds decreased. Too late to go anywhere. No other sailboats on the water today...
Sunday, March 26, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Sunshine with a NNE breeze at the surface. Aloft, a different story. West winds and a trough moving through the area brought clouds and some light showers into the area by early afternoon. I sailed for a couple hours watching showers slowly grow into the area. Arriving back to my car just as drops began to fall. Unfortunately not enough precip to clean cars (or sailboats) of the heavy pollen that has been accumulating...
Saturday, March 25, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
FROPA. An old weather term for "frontal passage".
The morning started off sunny and warm with a light southwest breeze. Soaking up the sun in shorts and no shirt I slowly passed Fort Monroe against an incoming tidal flow. Passing the beaches with sails balanced my little Catalina 27 was holding a course on its own. With everything under control, I quickly went below to grab a lunchtime snack. As always, everything goes well until you look away for a second. Before I could get back into the cockpit the boat was turning. Clouds slowly approaching from the north had moved overhead and the light southwest breeze had reversed direction and was now coming from the north. Within a few minutes the air temp dropped from near 80 to mid-60's as the wind increased to 20 knots. Classic cold front passage! Partly cloudy skies and a nice breeze for the rest of the day.
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
With winds gusting over 25 knots but still wanting to spend this warm sunny day on the water. I motored out and found a little protection from the waves downwind of the heliport at Norfolk to anchor for the afternoon.
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
No pictures today as I originally planned to just install a new jib halyard. With the help of a neighbor at the marina, guiding the sail into the slot as I cranked it up, the job took no time at all! With calm winds the plan was to just motor out and relax. I didn't bother to uncover the mainsail. As soon as I got out though a 10 knot SE breeze appeared encouraging me to unfurl the genoa and sail around Willoughby Bay. It was interesting to see just how close to the wind the boat would sail. Nice to know...
Thursday, March 16, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Upper 50's feels fine in calm air. Add a little wind and not so much. Stil, a perfect day since I wan't going anywhere. I made my way to the bay side of Willoughby Spit. There I relaxed ahead of diiner then watched for an Electron launch from Wallops. I didn't see it, except on my phone. Slow going against the current on the way in. Back to dock around 9 pm.
Thursday, March 9, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
I hadn't expected to go out today, even though it's looking like a week before the next decent day. With the help of some whipping and tape for the first time I put a new halyard up the mast. Slightly nerve racking, but it actuall went quite well. Of course being a beautiful day it was necessary to go out for a bit. Light breeze but warm sunshine I sailed to the east end of Willoughby Bay the floated with only 30% of the genoa out back in, enjoying the sunshine as I covered the mainsail and taking care of a few things on the boat. Relaxing and a taste of the better weather coming!
Monday, March 6, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Light winds were forecast for early in the day. If i'm not going anywhere, gentle breezes and relazing sailing is perfect. Sailing out of Willoughby Bay to the north I timed my arrival at the channel to catch a departing submarine. Close enough to grab a few pictures, not so close as to become a concern for the patrol boats.
At first in the light winds it felt quite warm in the sun. As the breeze increased, long pants and jacket were needed. By late afternoon I had anchored on the east end of Willoughy Bay in hope that the trees along the shore would cut the wind a bit allowing the sun to set the temperature. They didn't. Dinner on the boat and with the moon rising and sun setting I pulled anchor to head in.