Memorial Day saw us taking a very relaxed outing, though not till after we heard the USS Constitution firing off her salute at noon. She and the large Coast Guard vessel were both done up in their finest to honor troops.
Winds were very light so we had to motor much of the way out of the inner harbor, not picking up much of a breeze till we got to Spectacle Island. The poor little boat was still stranded - love to know what happened there - and there seemed to be a little row boat out in the area.
Sailed out up the North channel for a little way then turned around to catch the gentle zephyr that was going to take us home. As is quite common, we got in a race with another boat which, due to outstanding helmsmanship and a fine sailmaster, we won (you can hold your applause; we're too modest to take a bow).
Sunday's sail was a little less exciting than Saturday's - sailboats trying to crash into us and seemingly fewer powerboat maniacs - just screaming 35 knot winds. Needless to say, we didn't put the spinnaker up! Came back through the inner harbor at over 8 knots.
Some people weren't so lucky. Out by Nix's mate on the way back to the harbor we saw this poor little boat stranded on the spit of land. Yes, the stranded boat is a little hard to see, but we didn't want to get any closer and end up with people taking pictures of us next to it.
post-hospital sail (leg 9)
the past 10 days have included a stay in hospital for three days and two ER visits. Today, after sufficient recuperation, we were able to get to Prairie Gold for a quick sail. We went out to castle island and back. Winds were pleasant (10 kts) and we had an enjoyable sail. Of course, now that summer is here we have the usual crew of amateurs who do not know the rules of the road and sail in rental boats. As we were sailing on a starboard tack we were on a parallel tack to a sailboat approaching us. At the last moment they turned in towards us! Call it a sixth sense if you will, but Phil had just turned the engine on, and managed to use it and the sail to make an avoidance turn and accelerate away from the --------ers. It was sufficiently close that we could feel the adrenaline rush through our veins. Having avoided these weekend sailors we continued to have an enjoyable afternoon.
On returning to port we cooked mackerel on Prairie Gold and had our first evening in the marina for the summer. It feels good to be back.
Arrived at marina to the smell of diesel! Lots of cleanup going on. the barge with the crane had capsized and leaked diesel into the water. A full environmental crew was on site clearing it up. To our astonishment, most were smoking!
so we went sailing. Up to 25 knots wind, and a quarter of a mile visibility. But with a cup of tea and fowl weather gear we had a great time.
We had visitors from the Midwest for work this past week. On Saturday we took them for a tour around the harbor and managed to get out past the north channel. As we turned to return we flew the spinnaker. We sailed all points of sail, had lunch off long island while at anchor. We intended to drop them at the Hyatt ferry terminal to catch their flight but there were too many water taxis to get in to dock. We turned and headed back to the marina and made a quick trip in the car to the airport. Conditions were sufficiently calm -10-15kts that it was very enjoyable for our guests. Hopefully they will return for more.
Though the weather forecast wasn't perfect we decided to go for a Mother's day sail. We set off from the marina at 10:30am and sailed close hauled against an easterly wind in search of a mooring buoy near George's island. winds were 15 kts true yielding 20kts apparent on the way out. surprisingly, no buoys were to be found. Instead we sailed over to the eastern side of long island - a favorite spot of ours to anchor. Lunch consisted of spaghetti, tomato sauce and salad. Once clean up was finished Lande took a well earned nap.
Sailed home on a combination of broad and beam reach. Speed ranging from 6.5 to 7.5 kts. It was a straight shot home and very relaxing.
So you may ask "how was the genoa car?" Truly amazing. It allowed us to get headsail trim very easily. Even when closed hauled with 20kts we were able to move the genoa car. This is a must have on a sailboat.
We have heard about the improved safety and versatility of trimming the headsail when using the genoa car system. Yolande purchased one as a gift and we installed it this morning. Beneath are a sequence of images showing installation. A description of procedures will following during the week for those of you interested in this installation yourself. We need to test it now. More later.
(On Saturday, thunderstorms rolled through so we left testing for a day. We will try again today, Sunday.)
Installation involved attaching three items to the existing genoa track. From left to right they are the genoa car, cam cleat and forward block.
1) Remove the screw in the existing end cap at the end of the track. Pry off the black plastic end cap. Clean the area ready for marine sealant to be used at the end of the procedure.
2) Slide on the forward block set to the bow end of the track. Immobilize with screw.
3) The most careful procedure is the attachment of the moveable genoa car. It comes attached to a section of genoa track to prevent the loss of ball-bearings. To attach, it is necessary to align this piece of track with the genoa track of the boat and carefully slide the genoa car system over the existing track.
4) We added an optional cam cleat to our track. Installation is easy – slide on to the genoa track and immobilize.
5) Using marine silicone sealant we re-attached the end cap. Ensure to get sealant on the screw.
6) We used about 45 feet of sheet to attach to the genoa car system. First we tied a bowline to the forward block set, then on the port side we routed the sheet in a clockwise direction to the lower block of the genoa car, back to the forward block set (lower block), stern positioned genoa car (top block), and finally to the forward block (top) and back to the cam cleat. We left a little extra sheet so that it can come into the cockpit so that all controls are in the cockpit for single handed sailing. On the starboard side, we routed the sheet in an anti-clockwise direction.
7) We routinely use “sticky bags” in the cockpit for storing winch handles and find them helpful for storing the genoa car sheet.
Dan and Laurren are visiting from Yellowstone for the week. Since Laurren does not have the opportunity to sail at home I took her out in the inner harbor for a brief spin. Winds were perfect ~ 15kts and we had a pleasant sail around. The high spot for me was when she made her entry into the Prairie Gold log book. I doubt that we will see another entry with the home address - Yellowstone National Park!
We went out for a quick sail around the harbor. Winds were 20-25kts from the east. Heading out of the inner harbor we had the main and headsails both reefed a little to prevent too much weather helm. Though we would never dream of racing, we did manage to pass several boats and declared victory numerous times. With a temperature of 50F it felt very cold. We were at hull speed for most of the trip (7.4kts) and even surging to 8.2kts at times. We had two moments of excitement, the first was the radar reflector crashed to the deck and broke to pieces during a tack, the second was docking. Because the winds were from the east our slip had little protection and as we docked we had 20kts off the beam. But we made it. The wind was so strong in the marina that you could hear the loud hum of the wind in the rigging of the sailboats. All in all, an exhilarating day!
We had a simple daysail for relaxation and to test systems. Our first surprise was that the main propane tank ran out Friday evening. But we thought all was well as we have a second tank for the BBQ which we could switch out. 5am Saturday with a chill in the air, we tried to switch tanks only to find that the physical nature of the second tank prevented it attaching to the main tank system: the pressure meter on this system mechanically obstructed the connection. So we delayed our 9am departure for me to go and find liquid propane. Unfortunately boat tanks are not standard sized tanks so it's not possible to get propane through a tank switch as one can do at stores such as Home Depot. Instead we had to find a store which fills propane tanks. By 10am, all was accomplished and we set sail. The weather forecast had been for a sunny day, but the sun did not break through until evening, resulting in a chilly sail. However, we had spectacular sightings. We saw three dolphins, and whales. We have never seen whales so close to Boston before. Previously we have only seen whales on Stellwagon Bank. Saturday we saw whales as close as outer Brewster Island. In total we had six sightings over the course of three hours. We are not certain whether there was one whale that kept coming back to look at us or whether there were multiple whales.
We sailed out the north channel of the harbor towards Lynn, then turned south and entered the South Channel, up through The Narrows then back to Constitution marina. Winds were reasonable as we sailed to the outer harbor but then calmed. After we passed through the Narrows on our way home we got out the asymmetric spinnaker and enjoyed her beauty as we sailed at about 3kts in 5kts of true wind.
