Had another wonderful solo sail on Sunday. After sleeping in due to the previous late night sail I headed out of the north channel and off on a different route. Rather then head around north of Graves lighthouse, I decided to head through a small channel - Hypocrite channel. I had not gone in this direction before because of the need for careful chart use. However, today it turned out that storms helped me make the decision. As I looked back to Boston (west) I couldn't see the skyline and could see lightening. It looked like the storm was moving in a north westerly direction. Consequently I decided to head south away from it. Snaking through the islands was the answer. Although there was a lot of threatening thunder I escaped the worst of the storm.

I circled around Outer Brewster Island and back into the Hull gap/entrance to the harbor. As I entered the narrows a race was on! I was following a Bavaria 37 (we are a catalina 350) so I thought we had al least a fighting chance. The race continued all of the way in to the coastgaurd station in Boston ~ 6 nm. We sailed through the lower middle channel and were neck and neck all of the way with victory being claimed close to the coastgaurd station. Winds were variable 10-20 kts which meant I had to keep on my toes. At the end of the race the crew of both boats waved to one another - I think I had a little smirk also.

Entering Hypocrite Channel. Thought I said never to go there!

Imposing skyline north. Can't see boston. Heading south. First solo storm!

Returning to boston at midnight
This was my first solo night sail and it was a blast. I left the marina at about 6pm and sailed on a single starboard tack out, and a port tack back. I exited through the north channel to the Graves lighthouse. Recently i have been taking the less conservative route of passing close to the lighthouse through a narrow channel to the west of the lighthouse. With this strategy i was able to get on a close reach and sail to Minots lighthouse. Dinner consisted of a saioimg staple - mashed potatoes, peas and canned tuna. My family know that this is an essential ingredient of life.

The moon didnt rise until about 11pm so there was a great view of the stars. i practiced radar alarms and the warch commander which sends an alarm if I dont press a button for a preset time. I even managed to catnap occaisionally, an essential behavior for solo sailors.

I turned around at Minots ligjthouse and sailed back past Hull, through the Narrows and back home. i arrived in the marina at 12:30 am and did one of my worst docking maneouvers. Glad it was the early morning so that nobody was watching.

In this trip I realised how much i like the isolation of heading out to sea. I dont have to be on my own, but getting away from lights and other boats is so relaxing. Once I turned around to head for Boston I wanted to be back because the process of getting through the channels is becoming a little tedious.

Next week off to Europe for business and a little R and R. Maybe over labor day weekend i will take a 2 day voyage. If others want to sail with me i willdo as they prefer because i enjoy taking people out. If not - well we will see where....

Time to clean up and prepare for today's voyage.

Here we go - first solo night sail.

Stainless Steel Cleaner

Before - I tested our new stainless steel cleaner. It is citric acid based. Instructions are simple - apply gel, leave 30 minutes and drink a beer, wash, drink another beer. Didnt know a beer could be so effective at cleaning. See the after picture.

After

USS Constitution viewed from condo window

Dinner time at sea

Egg rock, Nahant

Victory - prairie gold 1 - others 0

Rain rain go away - picture is of spectacle island on our way back to the harbor.
the forecast for the next fews days is rain, rain, rain, and maybe thunderstorms. Therefore we decided to head back to Boston to give us more options overmthe next couple of days. It was a great sail, but wet. Winds were 15-20kts gusting to 30kts. lots of reefing amd quick decisions to be made: exhilerting sailing. Drying off, but wanting to go out again later.

Arrived in scituate - wait, they think its Salem

We are off east. Destination TBD

Laura Dekker - 15 year old circumnavigating the globe

I had forgotten that Laura Dekker was sailing around the world solo. Laura set sail from the Netherlands at the age of 15 and is trying to be the youngest to singlehanded circumnavigate the globe. Her history can be read at wikipedia and involves the Dutch courts trying to block her voyage. She is one of many who tried this including Abby Sunderland from CA, USA and Jessica Watson from Australia. Abby did not complete the voyage: her boat Wild Eyes was hit by a rogue wave, turned upside own and dismasted. Her EPIRB rescue device saved her as its transmission was detected by a commercial aircraft and Australia launched a rescue mission. Jessica did complete her voyage and is the youngest to circumnavigate the globe solo.

There has been a lot of talk online about these voyages with many opposed feeling that it is too risky for a young person, others appalled by the costs for rescue - estimated to be $200,000 for Abby Sunderland. Certainly there is an age that is too young, but what is it? I would have been concerned about my own kids setting sail at a young age. However, I disagree with the arguments about the costs of rescue. Part of the human spirit is to adventure. Where would we be today if our predecessors had not had this spirit? Each developed-country has established rescue services, the US coastgaurd, for example, to help people in distress. Every time we sail we know they are there should we need them. One could argue that countless dollars are wasted on grown adults being rescued because they set sail without proper training, or were DUI. I wonder how many of our tax payers dollars are wasted on these people. I am certainly not opposed to them being there for the well trained and prepared young sailors who happen to be hit by the one in a million rogue wave.

One good aspect of Laura Dekkers trip is that she started early enough (of course this means at a younger age too) so that she can make the trip in two years. This allows her to stop in destinations and await good weather windows for the next leg. This is prudent sailing in contrast to others who have pushed through to allow the potential to make the record books and as a result have sailed into bad weather seasons.

But about the age? Age does not necessarily bring maturity or common sense. I will not go into details here, but I am sure we can all think of immature adults......How young is too young? If you had a son or daughter who truly was a pioneer would you hold them back especially if they were highly qualified? Where I get concerned is when it is the parents who are trying to live through their children and "push" them to do the voyage. I certainly remember being on the sidelines and listening and watching parents living their youth through their children's "voluntary" participation in sports. Hopefully parents aren't pushing their children to sea for the book contracts that will result on completion of the trip.

I don't have answers but I do respect the adventuring spirit and wish Laura well, and as a parent, can only imagine what her parents are going through. Each morning we wake to read the news. Each morning they wake to read about their daughters journey and at the same time hope not to hear that the EPIRB has been activated.

I find her and other journey's inspiring and hope that I can make the time to do it myself before I run out of days. Perhaps its time to set my date and begin planning.

If you have thoughts about Laura, or the topic please enter in the comment box. Also follow her journey. Whether you agree that she should be doing it, she is, so lets support her.

Great sailing over the weekend. Everyone else was busy so I took her out on my own a few times. Winds were up to 20kts off the beam and with a little sail trim she was well balanced and a pleasure to sail. Whilst cooking lunch I realised I would love a wifi camera that I can connect to from my ipad or blackberry. Would save a lot of trips up and down the stairs to the cockpit