Saturday, September 22, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Weekend of perfect sailing
This weekend I had intended to sail non-stop from Saturday morning until Sunday evening. Unfortunately, there had to be a last minute change of plans. However, that didn't stop me having a great sailing weekend. On Saturday Yolande and I sailed out to Cape Ann and back, a trip of about 55nm which took a total of 9 hours. The winds and wind direction were perfect. We sailed on a close reach in both directions and for large portions of the return journey at hull speed. When we got back we had a corn rissoto dish on the boat that Yolande had made. Every day of good weather we now take to our advantage, as the season is getting close to an end.
You may get bored with my keep putting pictures of the approach to Boston. However, no matter how many times I see this view I still can't get over its beauty.
On Sunday I sailed with a sailing friend Bob. This was an important trip as it was leg 70 of the season - but more about that later. Bob's boat Fujin is about 5 slips from ours and we sail together when we can, and when not we share sailing stories (just like with fishing, they can get bigger and better with each recollection). We sailed out along the main chain, down lower middle towards Deer island where the winds dropped. So we turned and sailed around Spectacle island and back home. The winds were fickle - as we were leaving along the main channel we were having 90 degree wind shifts which resulted in a couple of accidental gibes. On the way back as we were tacking along the main channel this wind shift was revealed again in our path. On the southern side of the channel the wind was about 45 degrees different from the northern side with winds shifting from 5-20 knots.
As Bob said in an earlier text message between us - "it would have been a crime not to sail".
Bob has also given me the urge to get my captain's license. For this I need to have documented 360 legs on a boat. If I don't include legs on chartered boats, just those that are in Prairie Gold's log book then I need to complete 85 legs in 2012 an 2013. Only 15 to go this season and about 5 weeks to do it. Its going to be close because as the weather starts to turn colder, there will be less incentive to get out.
You may get bored with my keep putting pictures of the approach to Boston. However, no matter how many times I see this view I still can't get over its beauty.
On Sunday I sailed with a sailing friend Bob. This was an important trip as it was leg 70 of the season - but more about that later. Bob's boat Fujin is about 5 slips from ours and we sail together when we can, and when not we share sailing stories (just like with fishing, they can get bigger and better with each recollection). We sailed out along the main chain, down lower middle towards Deer island where the winds dropped. So we turned and sailed around Spectacle island and back home. The winds were fickle - as we were leaving along the main channel we were having 90 degree wind shifts which resulted in a couple of accidental gibes. On the way back as we were tacking along the main channel this wind shift was revealed again in our path. On the southern side of the channel the wind was about 45 degrees different from the northern side with winds shifting from 5-20 knots.
As Bob said in an earlier text message between us - "it would have been a crime not to sail".
Bob has also given me the urge to get my captain's license. For this I need to have documented 360 legs on a boat. If I don't include legs on chartered boats, just those that are in Prairie Gold's log book then I need to complete 85 legs in 2012 an 2013. Only 15 to go this season and about 5 weeks to do it. Its going to be close because as the weather starts to turn colder, there will be less incentive to get out.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Some pictures of our trip
Here is the sunrise last Friday morning as we were heading to Cape Elizabeth and Seal harbor
And the subsequent sunset in Seal harbor
The USS Miami undergoing repairs in Kittery ME - $455 million estimated bill.
Some sailboats in Salem
And the subsequent sunset in Seal harbor
The USS Miami undergoing repairs in Kittery ME - $455 million estimated bill.
Some sailboats in Salem
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Many facets of sailing – overnight sailing, docking, anchoring, mooring ball
pictures will be uploaded later
We set off on a four day sail on Thursday evening at about 6:30pm. We sailed east until about 1am, then turned north. As we were passing Cape Ann, the land blocked the winds (~2:30am) and we had to motor for an hour. Winds picked up again and we were able to sail until about 4am. At this time, the winds died and we motored on north. By early afternoon we were approaching Cape Elizabeth. Rather than entering Portland we decided to head west to Seal Harbor which turned out to be a lovely little cove – although there are many unmarked rocks in the middle that we had to steer clear of. Just before we turned into Seal cove we caught a nice bluefish – guess what went onto the bbq that afternoon.
In Seal harbor we anchored for the night and as we were turning in for the night we noticed that two of the other three boats did not have their anchor lights turned on. This turned out to be an important observation, for when we woke in the morning (4am to set out early) there was dense fog and darkness ad we could just see one anchor light. As we got up the bioluminescence was spectacular – the best I have seen. Off the back of the boat there were thousands of spontaneous flashes and any disturbance of the water lit up the area. As we prepared to raise anchor, we also noticed that the slightest movement of the anchor chain caused vivid bioluminescence on every chain link – you could see the chain lighting up for at least 10 feet into the water.
With radar on, we identified the three boat, and with the charts the rocks to avoid and carefully navigated through a small gap between the rocks on the stern of one of the boats. For a couple of hours we were recording gps coordinates, direction velocity, just in case of problems. Then the fog cleared and the air was still. There was no wind. At one point we optimistically raised the spinnaker and with 3 knots of wind from the stern we made headway at a roaring 0.9kts. Given that several on board have the patience of a gnat, we decided to motor on to Portsmouth where we docked at Prestcott Park marina. The current can be wicked, but the marina is slightly to the side of the main current so we made it in okay.
That evening we went to a great restaurant, Cava, for dinner followed by drinks with a local band playing. Lots of oldie stuff, that we could sing (and I use that word loosely) along to.
On Saturday morning we had breakfast – a tasteless breakfast at a local restaurant. However, we should have thanked them for their slow service as it delayed our departure until the winds were up. Once we had disembarked and got into the channel, we were sailing immediately with the current. We passed the navy repair yard where there is the USS Miami. It has a fire and the repairs are estimated to cots $450 million.
Sailing was glorious. The wind was right on the nose from our destination, the Annisquam river. So we headed on an easterly tack past the isle of shoals then headed SW and finally motored into the Annisquam. The transit was beautiful and quite uneventful (thankfully). Finally we entered Gloucester harbor, and then sailed into Salem harbor where we picked up a mooring ball for the night. On Monday we then sailed back to Boston with great winds. WE used the motor as little as possible. In fact we sailed directly off the mooring ball and didn’t use the engine until we arrived at our marina. One day we will have to try to dock until sail power alone, but conditions weren’t right yesterday.
In addition to great sailing, we learned to be careful where we pick up water. We filled one tank in Portsmouth and it proceeded to clog the filter such that the water pump couldn’t force water around the boat. After much flushing and cleaning we managed to rectify the situation on our return.
We set off on a four day sail on Thursday evening at about 6:30pm. We sailed east until about 1am, then turned north. As we were passing Cape Ann, the land blocked the winds (~2:30am) and we had to motor for an hour. Winds picked up again and we were able to sail until about 4am. At this time, the winds died and we motored on north. By early afternoon we were approaching Cape Elizabeth. Rather than entering Portland we decided to head west to Seal Harbor which turned out to be a lovely little cove – although there are many unmarked rocks in the middle that we had to steer clear of. Just before we turned into Seal cove we caught a nice bluefish – guess what went onto the bbq that afternoon.
In Seal harbor we anchored for the night and as we were turning in for the night we noticed that two of the other three boats did not have their anchor lights turned on. This turned out to be an important observation, for when we woke in the morning (4am to set out early) there was dense fog and darkness ad we could just see one anchor light. As we got up the bioluminescence was spectacular – the best I have seen. Off the back of the boat there were thousands of spontaneous flashes and any disturbance of the water lit up the area. As we prepared to raise anchor, we also noticed that the slightest movement of the anchor chain caused vivid bioluminescence on every chain link – you could see the chain lighting up for at least 10 feet into the water.
With radar on, we identified the three boat, and with the charts the rocks to avoid and carefully navigated through a small gap between the rocks on the stern of one of the boats. For a couple of hours we were recording gps coordinates, direction velocity, just in case of problems. Then the fog cleared and the air was still. There was no wind. At one point we optimistically raised the spinnaker and with 3 knots of wind from the stern we made headway at a roaring 0.9kts. Given that several on board have the patience of a gnat, we decided to motor on to Portsmouth where we docked at Prestcott Park marina. The current can be wicked, but the marina is slightly to the side of the main current so we made it in okay.
That evening we went to a great restaurant, Cava, for dinner followed by drinks with a local band playing. Lots of oldie stuff, that we could sing (and I use that word loosely) along to.
On Saturday morning we had breakfast – a tasteless breakfast at a local restaurant. However, we should have thanked them for their slow service as it delayed our departure until the winds were up. Once we had disembarked and got into the channel, we were sailing immediately with the current. We passed the navy repair yard where there is the USS Miami. It has a fire and the repairs are estimated to cots $450 million.
Sailing was glorious. The wind was right on the nose from our destination, the Annisquam river. So we headed on an easterly tack past the isle of shoals then headed SW and finally motored into the Annisquam. The transit was beautiful and quite uneventful (thankfully). Finally we entered Gloucester harbor, and then sailed into Salem harbor where we picked up a mooring ball for the night. On Monday we then sailed back to Boston with great winds. WE used the motor as little as possible. In fact we sailed directly off the mooring ball and didn’t use the engine until we arrived at our marina. One day we will have to try to dock until sail power alone, but conditions weren’t right yesterday.
In addition to great sailing, we learned to be careful where we pick up water. We filled one tank in Portsmouth and it proceeded to clog the filter such that the water pump couldn’t force water around the boat. After much flushing and cleaning we managed to rectify the situation on our return.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
new schedule for the 160 mile sail
Having learned a lot about fatigue and solo sailing this past weekend, I have rescheduled my attempt for the weekend of Sept 29th 30th. If any friends want to join me that would be great - send me a message. Otherwise I will set sail alone.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Successes
I achieved two of my goals for yesterday’s sail – sail and have a fun time and beat the personal best solo sail of 72nm.
Part of the reason for doing this trip was to evaluate whether I feel that I have it in me to compete in the Newport 160 race (yes a 160nm solo race) that is required to qualify for the Bermuda 1-2. In the Bermuda 1-2, one person sails to Bermuda from Newport where they pick up a second crew member to sail back to Newport.
I set sail solo on Saturday morning to see how this will go. I headed out NE with easterly winds. The wind direction would not allow me to take one long tack past Cape Ann so I headed towards Marblehead, but then had to tack to the Southeast to make some distance from land. As you can see from the SPOT GPS tracker I made a few tacks. The next one was under sail power alone (more about this later). Then I headed further northeast before deciding to change my destination to Provincetown. Another boat and I were in a race, we were well matched making little ground in one another, then they turned back to Marblehead (chickens). I was on a close haul towards the tip of Provincetown, but the wind started to turn from east to southeast to south pushing me further back to the mainland. Ahead I could see a storm over Cohasset and Scituate and it was a focused storm on Prairie Gold’s radar too. I tacked to port, now able to head east because of the change in wind direction and started to try to out run the storm by moving northeast. However, the storm was catching and moving in that direction too. Consequently I did a quick tack across to south to minimize the time in the storm. As you can see from the radar it was an elongated storm so I sailed across the narrow part. I quickly reefed down both sails (reducing sail area in anticipation of high winds) and made my way across the storm. Winds did not climb above 15 knots, in fact they dissipated to 15 kts. However, I left the sails reefed until I exited from the storm. There was a lot of rain, but it was warm and I was wearing shorts which would dry quickly. After the storm passed, I tacked again to the east and set out for Stellwagen bank and points beyond.
I set on a course that would allow me to sail on a close reach (about 60 degrees off the apparent wind) since this would allow me to turn around 180 degrees and head back to Boston with a similar point of sail (close reach). This is a preferable way to sail over a close haul (30 degrees off the wind) because it is less bouncy and faster.
As I was passing over the western edge of Stellwagen bank I saw a whale. I believe it was a humpback. As it passed the stern of Prairie Gold it sent a giant spray of water in the air as it exhaled. What a glorious site.
I continued east until I calculated that I had enough distance to beat my 72nm goal. About 20 minutes prior to turning around I started to make dinner – burgers and salad. Once dinner was made, I safely stowed it and at the 44nm elapsed part of the trip I turned 180 degrees and headed back in a westerly direction to Boston.
I have never had a burger that tasted any better. Its amazing what a day of sailing, salt air, and a storm will do for the appreciation of a burger.
As I was returning there were a couple of whale watching boats from Provincetown in Stellwagen Bank area talking about the two humpbacks that they were seeing. I will take this as verification of my identification of the species of whale that I saw.
I continued to sail at over 6knots towards Boston. I turned at 6:14pm and docked in the marina at 12:15am. The trip was a total of 81nm with 37nm being in the return leg. Taking 6 hours for 37nm put me at a little over an average speed of 6knots for the return. Overall my average speed was 5.7knots, and that included some slow stuff initially, with a maximum speed of 8.33 knots. I had good winds from about 12 noon until I docked shortly after midnight (15-18 knots apparent) and only used the motor while in Boston harbor.
It is quite amazing how quickly one gets into the groove of sailing, especially as you are leaving congested waters. The combination of a 10 minute intermittent radar scan with alarm if a radar reflection is detected, 360 degree lookouts every 10 minutes and few vessels (when away from the mainland) make sailing a very relaxing and even mesmerizing event. I could have pushed on further, but with responsibilities this evening – a business dinner – I thought it better to get a night of sleep. For me the worst part of sailing is the anticipation of a storm. You see it on the radar, you see it in the air but you don’t know what it will pack. Once you are in the storm you just deal with it and it is usually less bad (so far at least) than the anticipation. One of my friends says “if it really gets bad hove to, drop warps of the back of the boat or set a sea anchor, go beneath close the hatches and open a bottle of whisky”. I hope not to have to encounter that storm.
Before closing let me return to turning under sail power. During the tacks around Marblehead I decided to try to control the direction of sailing by using the sails, not the rudder. I trimmed the sails so that there was no weather helm, then clamped the rudder in the center position. Then by moving the mainsail up towards the wind I could turn the boat towards the wind and away from the wind I could turn the boat in the same direction. So then I determined whether I could turn the boat through the wind by manipulating the position of the mainsail. It worked first time. Of course, theory says that it will, but there is nothing like trying it. I need to try this more often and see how much I can sail at different wind angles in this manner.
Here are a few more pictures from the day (all post storm) and of the sun setting behind the clouds and entering Boston harbor.
Part of the reason for doing this trip was to evaluate whether I feel that I have it in me to compete in the Newport 160 race (yes a 160nm solo race) that is required to qualify for the Bermuda 1-2. In the Bermuda 1-2, one person sails to Bermuda from Newport where they pick up a second crew member to sail back to Newport.
I set sail solo on Saturday morning to see how this will go. I headed out NE with easterly winds. The wind direction would not allow me to take one long tack past Cape Ann so I headed towards Marblehead, but then had to tack to the Southeast to make some distance from land. As you can see from the SPOT GPS tracker I made a few tacks. The next one was under sail power alone (more about this later). Then I headed further northeast before deciding to change my destination to Provincetown. Another boat and I were in a race, we were well matched making little ground in one another, then they turned back to Marblehead (chickens). I was on a close haul towards the tip of Provincetown, but the wind started to turn from east to southeast to south pushing me further back to the mainland. Ahead I could see a storm over Cohasset and Scituate and it was a focused storm on Prairie Gold’s radar too. I tacked to port, now able to head east because of the change in wind direction and started to try to out run the storm by moving northeast. However, the storm was catching and moving in that direction too. Consequently I did a quick tack across to south to minimize the time in the storm. As you can see from the radar it was an elongated storm so I sailed across the narrow part. I quickly reefed down both sails (reducing sail area in anticipation of high winds) and made my way across the storm. Winds did not climb above 15 knots, in fact they dissipated to 15 kts. However, I left the sails reefed until I exited from the storm. There was a lot of rain, but it was warm and I was wearing shorts which would dry quickly. After the storm passed, I tacked again to the east and set out for Stellwagen bank and points beyond.
I set on a course that would allow me to sail on a close reach (about 60 degrees off the apparent wind) since this would allow me to turn around 180 degrees and head back to Boston with a similar point of sail (close reach). This is a preferable way to sail over a close haul (30 degrees off the wind) because it is less bouncy and faster.
As I was passing over the western edge of Stellwagen bank I saw a whale. I believe it was a humpback. As it passed the stern of Prairie Gold it sent a giant spray of water in the air as it exhaled. What a glorious site.
I continued east until I calculated that I had enough distance to beat my 72nm goal. About 20 minutes prior to turning around I started to make dinner – burgers and salad. Once dinner was made, I safely stowed it and at the 44nm elapsed part of the trip I turned 180 degrees and headed back in a westerly direction to Boston.
I have never had a burger that tasted any better. Its amazing what a day of sailing, salt air, and a storm will do for the appreciation of a burger.
As I was returning there were a couple of whale watching boats from Provincetown in Stellwagen Bank area talking about the two humpbacks that they were seeing. I will take this as verification of my identification of the species of whale that I saw.
I continued to sail at over 6knots towards Boston. I turned at 6:14pm and docked in the marina at 12:15am. The trip was a total of 81nm with 37nm being in the return leg. Taking 6 hours for 37nm put me at a little over an average speed of 6knots for the return. Overall my average speed was 5.7knots, and that included some slow stuff initially, with a maximum speed of 8.33 knots. I had good winds from about 12 noon until I docked shortly after midnight (15-18 knots apparent) and only used the motor while in Boston harbor.
It is quite amazing how quickly one gets into the groove of sailing, especially as you are leaving congested waters. The combination of a 10 minute intermittent radar scan with alarm if a radar reflection is detected, 360 degree lookouts every 10 minutes and few vessels (when away from the mainland) make sailing a very relaxing and even mesmerizing event. I could have pushed on further, but with responsibilities this evening – a business dinner – I thought it better to get a night of sleep. For me the worst part of sailing is the anticipation of a storm. You see it on the radar, you see it in the air but you don’t know what it will pack. Once you are in the storm you just deal with it and it is usually less bad (so far at least) than the anticipation. One of my friends says “if it really gets bad hove to, drop warps of the back of the boat or set a sea anchor, go beneath close the hatches and open a bottle of whisky”. I hope not to have to encounter that storm.
Before closing let me return to turning under sail power. During the tacks around Marblehead I decided to try to control the direction of sailing by using the sails, not the rudder. I trimmed the sails so that there was no weather helm, then clamped the rudder in the center position. Then by moving the mainsail up towards the wind I could turn the boat towards the wind and away from the wind I could turn the boat in the same direction. So then I determined whether I could turn the boat through the wind by manipulating the position of the mainsail. It worked first time. Of course, theory says that it will, but there is nothing like trying it. I need to try this more often and see how much I can sail at different wind angles in this manner.
Here are a few more pictures from the day (all post storm) and of the sun setting behind the clouds and entering Boston harbor.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
20nm done. completed tack out to marblehead, have ...
20nm done. completed tack out to marblehead, have now tacked on heading for p-town, seteting up for bem reach home
2nd attempt
At 10am this morning the forecast was not great but I decided to go on out. At least thre are no tornado watches today. Today's goals are simple
1) Go out and solo sail #55 leg of the year
2) Sail more than 72 nm, my own solo record
3) Sail solo through the night - never done a full night solo
4) sail 100nm solo
5) sail 160nm solo
Since I have a 6pm dinner tomorrow, I doubt I will reach goal #5, but I sure will obtain goal #1
Here are some departure pictures. The hat I am wearing is an official Slovenia Aolympics hat - thanks Robert.
1) Go out and solo sail #55 leg of the year
2) Sail more than 72 nm, my own solo record
3) Sail solo through the night - never done a full night solo
4) sail 100nm solo
5) sail 160nm solo
Since I have a 6pm dinner tomorrow, I doubt I will reach goal #5, but I sure will obtain goal #1
Here are some departure pictures. The hat I am wearing is an official Slovenia Aolympics hat - thanks Robert.
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