In part just to get in some practice, I motored out and anchored about a 1/4 mile north of the marina to do some work on the boat. When I bought the Nonsuch, every piece of wood on the exterior needed refinishing. Little by little I'm getting that done.
Century Club: George Hernandez
Friday, June 28, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Even with one reef in, the east wind had me flying downwind out of Willoughby Bay past Swells Point at 7+ knots. Turning NE towards home the winds died significantly. Tacking upwind was a chore against an incoming tide. What otherwide would have been a few tacks, became many. I was determined not to start the diesel.
Thursday, June 27, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
By way of Swells Point. With the dredging in the north channel I decided to take the long way in and avoid having to squeeze past the barge possibly running aground again. Very light winds at the start picked up 20 minutes into the race. Great night on the water.
Friday, June 21, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
After a cup of coffee, I fired up the diesel, raised the anchor and sail to head back to Old Point Comfort. Getting into my slip was a bit of a challenge with the outgoing tidal current. I took 3 tries before I was successful using the boat momentum againt the current to give me enough time to turn as I was backing in. I will have to experiment with different techniques. One that crossed my mind, rather than back all the way in, what if I came in forward then turned 90 degrees straight into the outgoing current then let it drift backwards into my spot? We'll see. There is enough fuel for days worth of docking attempts. haha
(I guess i didn't take any pictures)
Thursday, June 20, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Sailed back over to Willoughby Bay for the Thursday evening race. The north channel was being dredged but there was plenty of room on the red side which was also downwind of the barge for me to pass through. I started the diesel just in case there were any issues. There were issues. As I'm passing the barge a couple tugs were headed out. I moved as far as possible to the right and discovered a new sand bar. It brought me to a quick halt! Fortunately I was able to turn the rudder and with a shot of power slide back off.
Nice evening on the bay. Good temperature for sleeping...
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
I could see there was a light breeze on the bay as I drove over the HRBT. However, almost nothing as I got out onto the water. Fortunately the outgoing tide carried me out Mill Creek and around Fort Monroe where the wind conditions improved greatly. With mild conditions it was a good time to try out reefing my 540 sq ft sail. It was quick and easy, except I don't think I let the sail down quite enough for the rear reefing line to pull the lower section tight enough and ended up with a wrinkle, more of a fold actually. Will experiment again...
Sunday, June 16, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
In the interest of simplicity the day before I just pulled in bow first. Getting on and off requires climbing over railing and a pretty good step up and down. I motored out of the marina for a few minutes and with fairly light winds it went almost perfect backing in.
Saturday, June 15, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
New home over at Old Point Comfort Marina at Fort Monroe. Up until 2 years ago I was here with my Catalina 27, however increasing congestion going thourgh the HRBT forced me to move. I always liked OPCM but if I didn't leave for home in VB before 4 it was stop and go traffic adding considerable time to my drive.
With an almost 20 knot NE breeze in the afternoon, I decided to simply motor across.
Saturday, June 8, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
A light SW breeze made for pleasant sailing. Headed over to Fort Monroe and back. At close to peak tidal flow the breeze decided to take a break and I was struggling to make any headway back to Willoughby. Once I fired up the diesel things went better...
Tuesday, June 4, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Just practice, didn't even uncover the sail.
The pilings at my current slip are only a few inches wider than my Nonsuch 30. It is a squeeze getting in and out. In fact, if I leave a fender out I'll get stuck!
I'm new at backing in, so before doing work I had planned on the boat I motored in and out 4 times working on technique. With a 10 knot wind at a 45 degree angle pushing out from the dock it went quite well. June 15 I'll be headed over to a new slip at Old Point Comfort at Fort Monroe.