Beverly & the One that Got Away!

This weekend we took a trip up to Beverly, departing Saturday morning and returning Sunday afternoon. The trip up provided excellent spinnaker conditions, as the winds were light to moderate and our heading and the wind direction had us on a run for a lot of the trip. The best results were achieved with a combination of the 135% Genoa and the spinnaker. With this sail combination we achieved speeds of up to 7 knots on a run (excellent!), and this made for a very comfortable sail.

We were fortunate that the sailing conditions were fair because Dustin hooked an extremely large fish that he and Phil had to take turns reeling in. We knew it would be a good fight when the fish flipped part way out of the water, even forty feet behind the boat it looked huge! With both men getting exhausted, our thoughts turned to what exactly we might do with such a large fish once we actually got it on the boat! As Phil and Dustin worked the fish closer it went on one last powerful run which resulted in the snapping of 50 lb braided line…taking the lucky lure with it! Later in Beverly chatting with the staff at the local fishing shop, Al’s Bait and Tackle, Dustin learned that there was a big run of tuna in the area….what if?? Dustin and Phil will both have dreams about the one that got away!

Yolande worked the charts and navigated us through the entrance to Beverly, passing by Marblehead and Salem harbors on the way. Phil arranged for us to moor at the Beverly Port Marina http://www.beverlyportmarina.com/. The staff was friendly and the location was nice.

Also moored at the Beverly port marina was the 100 ft Wally super yacht, Alexia http://www.wally.com/jumpCh.asp?idUser=0&idChannel=38&idLang=IT&idProd=73&attivo=1-2-1. This boat was a sight to behold! It is difficult to understand the scale of it from the picture, but when walking up I realized that each one of the bumpers used to separate the boat and dock was at least twice my size! Dustin and I chatted with a guy that was working on the systems at the base of the mast, and he mentioned that the boat sailed out of Majorca, Spain, and that they were on their way up to the Canadian maritime coast.

That night we were directed to a local spot, called the Anchor http://local.yahoo.com/info-27406725-anchor-pub-grille-beverly, located just steps away from the marina. We were told that it was a popular local pub that attracted an eclectic crowd; in fact we were as likely to run into a neurosurgeon from Marblehead as a local fisherman. We enjoyed the experience indeed, the beer was inexpensive (Bass on tap), and they served homestyle food for a great price as well. The guys got anchor burgers which feature loads of bacon and spicy chili, while Yolande sampled the sea scallops, and I went for steak…these dishes had what would be scallops or steak for three people at most other restaurants! Overall a great finish to a fine day of sailing!

After a good night’s rest we woke to weather forecasts of a gale coming through in the afternoon. So in anticipation Dustin and Phil exchanged the 135% Genoa with the new 90% Yankee cut Genoa that Phil had made by Doyle sails http://www.doylesails.com/. This turned out to be an excellent decision as we saw gusts beyond 30 knots nearing Boston harbor. At one point a major gust caught the sails and rapidly heeled the boat, this was the first full-on rail dip for Prairie Gold! The winds were very unstable in strength and direction which made for thrilling sailing through the harbor. By the time we docked and cleaned up the boat a bit, we had really earned our beer and gelato!