Notes on sailing an open cockpit dinghy
Had the great joy of a Welsford Pathfinder raft-up yesterday at Perry Creek on Vinalhaven. Spartina had the good company of Bobby’s Lagniappe and Matto’s Trim. Just a wonderful time with good friends. Credit to Matto for the nice photo of the line-up below.
Arrived in Belfast this afternoon. Will sta here two nights. Time for resupply, laundry, etc. Good trip with some good weather and interesting sailing Also some storms and fog that have cost me some time. Delayed enough that I can’t sail to Portland and explore the rivers on the way back. Instead I will explore Penobscot Bay and Merchants Row. That sounds pretty good to me. I hear there are a…
In Stonington for an iced tea (and WiFi) Wind filling in and heading west.
Excellent sailing so far. Launched Monday evening (after finding a trailer tire flat at 4 am leaving a hotel outside of Boston) and spent the night at a mooring at the boatyard. Sailed Mt. Desert Narrows the next day, then over to Swans Island. A weather day there, wind rain and fog, in tiny Toothachers Cove. Yesterday sailed to Southwest Harbor (tacking along the way at Sunken Money Ledge…the…
I believe I have a decent weather window for the drive to Maine. I don't like trailering and rigging in the rain, so will head up a day or two earlier than expected. Here is the link for the SPOT track, or copy and paste the link below. https://maps.findmespot.com/s/9RWG/3B#history/assets
I made up this little cheat sheet this morning to tuck into my logbook for Maine cruise. I've done the same in the past, particularly with the sounds South Carolina and Georgia, sjust o that I can wrap my head around the local geography. These are the larger rivers between Casco Bay to the west and Penobscot Bay to the east. On last year's cruise I did sail on the Sheepscot River. I anchored one…
Very hot and humid here these days so spent yesterday inside packing for the Maine cruise. Above, the sleeping gear. Those are breakfast and lunches. In the grey tubs are 16 gallon bags, each with breakfast/lunches for one day. Below that are two one gallons bags, each with canned tuna, RxBars, meat sticks and bags to build six daily breakfast/lunch kits. So all together, 28 days worth of…
The all-knowing internet confirmed that the crab and the jellyfish I saw on Cedar Creek have a symbiotic relationship. More precisely, they are demonstrating commensalism. This is where one organism receives a benefit and the other organism receives neither benefit nor harm. The crab gets a free ride at no cost to the jellyfish. Seems like a good deal. -------------------- While tied up in…
Dawn comes grey and thick with humidity. I check the weather forecast on my apps. A lot of moisture over the mid-Atlantic for the next five days. That means days and days of thunderstorms and showers. I decide to head back to the dock. Sail off anchor past the unmanned ketch KISMET at 6:50. My goal is to get back to the ramp and haul out before any rain. Several tacks to work my way out of Durham…
Wake to a morning thick with humidity. Check the weather apps. Thunderstorms rolling across the Pamlico River beginning late morning. I don't mind sailing in the rain, but thunderstorms are another story. Not going anywhere today. Check the weather one more time, maybe see if I can make it to Washington. The forecasts show me getting caught out on the river. Hot breakfast and tea. A morning nap,…
A rally night on SPARTINA. Wind, waves and tide from different directions. Sail off anchor at 7:15. Light southwest wind and blue skies. 2.3 on the Pantego River. 7:30 through the wooden breakwater and on the Pungo River. Pleasantly surprised by the nice wind. 7:55 making 4.7 and then 5.2 in a long steady gust. 8:10 passing Woodstock Point. 9:50 tacking near Wade Point where the river opens up…
In the middle of the night, the hum of mosquitoes. Reach up on top of the centerboard trunk, find the Thermacell bug repeller. Click the starter button a couple of times, wait til I see the glow of a flame the size of a pinhead, the quiet hiss of the repeller. Soon mosquitoes are gone. Back to sleep. Wake to the calmest of mornings, the sounds of birds in the marsh. Look over the side to see…
A cinnamon roll and iced tea at The Bean. Keith does a double take when he sees me on the porch, he quickly looks to the sea wall to see SPARTINA tied up there. "You're back!" I enjoy talking with Keith and the locals, wondering about the wind. The consensus is that the wind will be light or maybe non-existent. Cast off at 8:00 cast off, 8:05 sails up, 8:10 out past the jetty. 8:45 making 2.3 on a…
Awake at 5:30, stow sleeping gear and boom tent. At the coffee shop as they open at 6:30 for a blueberry muffin and iced tea. Cast off Beaufort docks 7:00, sails up 7:10 off the Duke marine lab on Pivers Island. It the beginning of the flood tide, light southwest wind. Making 3.0 past the shrimp boats lying Gallants Channel, surprised by the strength of the flood tide. 7:20 under the bridge, good…
Sail off anchor 6:20 on a clear, beautiful morning. Can hear the surf breaking on the beach on the other side of the banks. A flood tide running west to east, light southwest wind. Making 0.5 against the tide, then 0.9 with better wind. Shackleford Banks to port, Back Sound to starboard, and I could not be happier. 7:15 making 1.5 to the west-northwest, Beaufort Inlet markets barely visible in the…
A choppy night. The wind swung to the north and strengthened. SPARTINA was exposed to wind and chop coming down about the mile-long fetch of Cape Lookout Bight. A bumpy night, got some sleep somehow. Sleep in, wake to a cool north wind. Hot chocolate and freeze-dried scrambled eggs for breakfast. 9:35 sails up with a single reef in the main. 1.8 downwind following the channel that heads south then…
Tap, tap, tap. Not yet dawn. Maybe a light rain. Wake at first light. Clear skies. Tap, tap, tap. I realize it is the sound of shrimp snapping below SPARTINA. A cinnamon bun and iced tea at CRU. No rush to leave. Slack tide at Beaufort Inlet is 8:00. Cast off 7:20 with a solid west wind. 7:30 sails up just off the docks. 7:30 tacking into the wind at 2.5 to 4.0. No traffic in the channel and a…
Up at 5:30. Sleeping gear stowed, boom tent tucked away. Third customer of the day at The Bean, a cranberry muffin and a glass of iced tea. Keith drops by for a quick breakfast. He says a small flotilla of boats is sailing across the Neuse River to the mouth of Adams Creek to escort Mini Globe racer Josh Kali on SKOOKUM as they return to Oriental. Keith suggests SPARTINA join the flotilla at noon.…
Up before dawn to take care of chores - stow sleeping gear, break down the boom tent, get rid of trash, clean up the boat. I plug in a couple battery packs for a stealth charge on the patio of the Oriental Marina and Inn. Walking back to SPARTINA, I hear my name called out from the porch at The Bean. It is Keith, a longtime friend and editor of TownDock.net . I head over to say hello, sit down and…
Sail off anchor at 6:20, sunrise coming with a flock of white ibises. Clear skies, light south wind. Peaceful morning, quiet enough to listen to the sounds of the marsh. Tack to the east side of Turnagain Bay to get a better angle on the wind. Making 2.1, then less wind, then more, 3.2. 7:25 rounding the point at Abraham Bay. 7:45 slip out onto the wide Neuse River. Nothing but the water of…
It has been all about tall ships for the last couple of weeks. First, a week-long trip to Richmond on the Schooner Virginia for a three-day tall ship festival. Then, a day after returning from Richmond, Sail250 Virginia with dozens of tall ships on the Norfolk waterfront. Those ships are leaving today, bound for Baltimore. Yesterday I brought SPARTINA home for some much needed maintenance. The…
With thirty-some tall ships in the harbor for Sailfest250, one can expect to find more than a few masts, figureheads, boats, portholes and anchors. Spent the morning in light air sailing from ship to ship, it was a treat.
Out sailing with the tall ships today in the Sail250 Parade of Sail on the Elizabeth River. Top photo by friend and former colleague Stephen Katz, Blue Angel photo by the Pilgrim. A great time on the water!
Just back from a week-long sail on the SCHOONER VIRGINIA. Along with the PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II and the OOSTERSCHELDE, a three-masted topsail schooner from the Netherlands, we went up the windy James River to Richmond for a nice tall ship festival. There were a lot of tall ship festivals going on this past weekend on Chesapeake Bay as dozens of ships from around the world are gathering for SAIL250…
A shelf cloud rolls in over Pride of Baltimore II and the Schooner Virginia at the Richmond (Va) SailFest.