adventure

John Howitt · Apr 14, 2015

Wind, force 8, confused choppy seas. Big greens coming over the rail and into the cockpit on a regular basis. Salt burning your eyes.
Takes two guys an hour to make peanut butter sandwiches , no jam.
Then it got worse.
Doesn't get better than that.
Oh wait....

Ken Cross · Apr 14, 2015

sailing pics

Here are a couple of pics I took out sailing last summer. We sailed around in middle Puget Sound for 18 days. The pics aren't our boat.

Ken

Tsatzsue · Apr 15, 2015

Welcome aboard!! Overnighting is like hiking. Once you totally immerse yourself and stay overnight you are hooked. We load up the boat and head out for the weekend. Three girls and a dog. Trailer is the way we go for now and believe me...you won't have to search for stories they will find you.

Check out my writings on the North East Trailer Sailor site.

My wife and I sailed back from Cuttyhunk Island at night on our first trip across the bay with the Tsatzsue. Full moon, meteor showers and a broad reach with about a ten knot breeze. It was the most memorable night of my life. The 15 miles back to Westport were absolutely spectacular. We even commandeered a mooring at 1:30 am. I wanted to kiss it. The Westport river looked like a black hole and there are a lot of rocks on the Horseneck beach approach. We sailed to Hadley Harbor from Fair Haven last year at night as well. That one was a little more challenging. The rig was whistling if that is any consolation. White caps are still white at night. I checked. Oil tanker crossing pathes at 11:30 pm. Lost all power. ran aground after launching...Its all good. Stay positive and half full at all times. Oh, and bring your tools!!

Tsatzsue · Apr 15, 2015

Had to lay on my stomach on the floor under the cabin table to make drinks one time. 3-5+ foot seas. Hahahha. Trial and error proved this method wasted the least amount of ice...and blood. This warning was penned after that trip.

You Tube Ken Boutiette for some cool sailing vids as well. Armature postings but cool.

jwing · Apr 15, 2015

Have you seen this? http://sailbrownscreek.com/Anchorages.htm

Joe · Apr 15, 2015

CCrane2299 said:
. Its time to enjoy the boating, not just the boat. Help a brother out!

Sounds like you might enjoy racing..... do some research there and at other area lakes to see what you come up with. Racing will engage your mind and challenge your abilities... give your boat some purpose other than a place to drink beer.

Joe · Apr 16, 2015

CCrane2299 said:
I've never been interested in racing the boat. I bought it to relax on. But, now, it seems like it might be fun. I've always enjoyed getting the last drop of performance from anything with an engine, and now I'm getting that way about the boat. The boat has a nice bottom and I bought new sails last year so I should have what it takes equipment wise. I have avoided installing my boom Vang and backstay adjuster because I just wanted to cruise. Now I find myself looking at that box of parts and thinking about sail trimming more often. I have read until my eyes get blurry but there is no learning like actually doing something. There is a sailing club based in the marina where I'm docked, maybe I need to crew a little...?

Now you're talking!... relaxing is what you do after the race at the bar, talking tactics and stuff... You sound like an action kind of guy and this would be right up your alley. Crewing is a really great way to get into it.... plus you learn a lot about sailing in general.. and you meet some good people. The big misconception in some circles is that you're either a racer or cruiser.. That couldn't be farther from the truth. The racers in this crowd also enjoy cruising, bare boating, weekending or day sailing. It's all a blast.

Joe · Apr 16, 2015

Tsatzsue said:
You Tube Ken Boutiette for some cool sailing vids as well. Armature postings but cool.

Yep... they're just short clips. Unedited... one of them is posted sideways.. What does "point off" mean?

Tsatzsue · Apr 17, 2015

Glad to see someone is looking at them Joe!! The sideways thing is weird. Can't seem to fix it. My wife kept pointing too high into the wind. I was trying to get her to point off or away from the wind. Probably not the correct term.

We do have a blast every time we are out though. That V25 can take a pounding. Great boat and so glad we got into sailing.

Scott T-Bird · Apr 17, 2015

"Point-off"

I get it even if it isn't exactly right. I tell Sue to "bear off" or "bear away". She still doesn't get it so I generally just point with my arm. That she understands.

Joe · Apr 17, 2015

Tsatzsue said:
Glad to see someone is looking at them Joe!! The sideways thing is weird. Can't seem to fix it. My wife kept pointing too high into the wind. I was trying to get her to point off or away from the wind. Probably not the correct term.

We do have a blast every time we are out though. That V25 can take a pounding. Great boat and so glad we got into sailing.

Just poking a little fun, my friend. It's cool that you're getting the whole family out there and that they enjoy it so much... I envy you.

The video orientation can normally be corrected somewhere in the software.. On my Samsung phone there's a setting that says auto rotate.. I turn it off to fix the problem during play back. It can also be fixed somewhere in your video software.... I'm no expert... but I know there's an orientation adjustment in there .... somewhere.

Okay... so now let's talk about directions. The most important thing with new to sailing crew is to keep it as simple as possible... simple is best.. and when I have new people on the boat I always let them steer. After explaining the tell tales and tiller I only give them two directions to learn. They are " head UP" or "pinch IN" which means to turn the boat towards the wind. And.. "bear AWAY" or "fall OFF" when you want to turn the boat away from the wind direction. That's it! I understood your direction because you said point OFF... but since pointing implies pinching up into the wind.. the term seemed contradictory and could confuse a more literal crew as they gain more experience.

Now when you're wife or kids are on the helm... and they start getting distracted as they will.. you can suggest that they head up a bit to get the leeward tell tale flowing.... or bear off some because the jib is starting to luff (flutter).

Thanks for the videos and sharing your family's experience with us...

shemandr · Apr 17, 2015

Joe said:
and when I have new people on the boat I always let them steer.

Amen. The best way to have them engaged.

Gunni · Apr 17, 2015

You should be scared to sail at night, because you don't know a bunch of stuff that starts with sailing-by-instrument. So you go out for a long weekend with some of your ballsy buds who will never admit fear, and you get up at 0-dark thirty and sail into the daylight. If you survive, you will be the star of your own sailing stories. That's a start. Rule #1 - don't scare the wife. Corollary to Rule #1 - Scare your buds, build your crew by conquering fear. Good luck Lindbergh!

DAVA390 · Apr 17, 2015

Old post from our first overnight in 2011 , Precision 18, Middle River, Baltimore.

The Admiral and I are rookies. Most (well,all) of our sailing has been 2-3hr day trips on and about Middle River.Although we thought we would like to overnight somewhere,someday,with our grandchildren,olderparents,work schedules, terrible heat al summer, we just never planned anything yet. Herin is the real important word,(Plan).
Staurday afternoon, we launch about 3:00 P.M. Wind promptly dies (on schedule) and we are motoring around the ,hunting wind like a Monty Python troop, just not lost yet.
We motored to a waterfront restaurant and over dinner Annie brings up the subject (we haven`t overnighted yet) We discussed it for a while,bottm line ,if we don`t do it tonight, might not happen this summer given end of season and calendar filling up fast.
So, ok lets be spontaneous and do it, make our kids proud!
Stop by a friends house on the river,getting dark now,(I am still SO proud of myself for fixing the lights last winter)then back to park somewhere for the night.

We motored back to our local marina (Md. Marina)fetch a blanket out of the truck,pull float plan off of windshield of the truck (although no one would have ever read it anyway) then across the river to a small beach where we take the grandchildren swimming occaisionaly. Bye the way, no more swimming here this summer for us,Susquehhana toxins and rubble will be around a long time).
Now comes the stupid part.
We anchored stern to the beach. The river is not very wide here (500,600yds.2 football fields?) Off the port bow is the local Bull roast, Crab feast venue. Very Happy there tonight.Off the starboard bow is the local waterfront bar, Tiki bar and bandstand are running full throttle tonight. about 200-300 yds behind us, A-10 Jets are practicing touch and goes on the runway. The occaisional freight train moaned mournfully in the not- so-far-distance.
As I`ve said before, we learn something every time out.This time the learns are on`t forget earplugs, bug spray and proper pillows. Schrunched up life vests and beach towels won`t cut it. We won`t rule out doing this again but it`s not on this summer schedule!!

Finally to sleep sometime after 12 when last band quit. (dreams about slipping anchors)woke up about 4:30 feelling creeky and stiff.Waited till about 7 to motor into marina at a crawl,trying not to wake anyone else. We`ll get points with the kids, laughs from the adult s in the family with this one.
A friend of ours (Our sailing mentor) want s to take us on an overnighter to the Eastern Shore on his 32 O`day center cabin. He`s been hinting he wants us to buy his boat, I suspect this might be part of a sales pitch. We are looking forward to the trip, I just hope Annie doesn`t throw rocks at our boat when she gets back. The end.

emergpa1 · Apr 18, 2015

CCrane2299 said:
Just finishing up my 51st birthday. Been puny feeling all year. Its been cold all winter. While I enjoy the correct keel foil discussions and proper sail trimming advice... Really, I do. But I'm yearning for some sailing stories. I have overnighted in my boat...tied to the dock with a portable heater running on shore power. I'm ashamed to admit it but I'm scared to sail at night. I'd like to live on the boat for a weekend. I've got to be back to work Monday, but an early Friday departure and mid day Sunday docking would be great. Guntersville lake is where I sail. Its big enough to do anything I'd ever want to. I've got all I need to survive, rail mounted grill, cooler, good comfy bunk, two good anchors, working led nav lights. I shouldnt need a radio, cell phone works everywhere. I do have a radio...never talked on it. Tell me about your adventures....the good, bad, and ugly. I find myself getting older and not having the fun I had drag racing, offroading, motorcycling across country, or just camping. The sail boat is my latest attempt to recover the joys of my youth, without all the physical requirements of my previous hobbies. Might just be me and the dog (who will NOT pee on the boat) or the dog and the wife who will pee on the boat. I bought another jeep, but it is not scratching the itch. I had a lot of fun fixing the boat, I've fixed three boats in three year's. Its time to enjoy the boating, not just the boat. Help a brother out!

okay, I think I've got two stories for you.
First time out on the boat on the hook: We were on Lake Weiss in North Alabama. You may know where that's at. Not a lot of sailing room out there. Maybe 3 miles east and 3 miles west. Our "destination" was hog Island. There was supposed to be a raft-up. Being a newbie I did not pay much attention to the forcast. As we sailed away from the redneck yacht club, we did not notice the thunderstorms began to build in the west. So we were having a great time sailing down wind and as we came close to hog Island we dropped the hook. Fortunately, there's a lot of red clay in the area and the danforth dug in well because I was up when of hog Island. The storm came and the lightning crashed. But the old Danforth held sure. We were pretty scared. Unfortunately, or fortunately, there was a bottle of José Cuervo in the cooler. We began sipping that to help our fear. Let me tell you when you're scared and excited and icy cold bottle of Jose Cuevo goes down pretty quick. When the storm was over I was feeling pretty cocky was definitely ripped and called up the yacht club. Everyone who was supposed to meet me for the raft up was at the club. The drunken sailor type of verbiage I gave them them for being a bunch of candy asses and never showing up is still commented on at gatherings to this day. That ended up being a lot of fun!
Regarding a night sail, I have had a few and love them most of all. Fast forward a few years. Now we have and Island packet 31, and have been live a boards for over a year. We have a couple of nights sales under our belt, and the first one was pretty rough and did not go so well but was our learning experience for night sailing. Again our problem centered around misunderstanding the weather forecast. The boat was rigged for day sailing, which means we were not careful to put everything away, get cushions and rugs out of the way, tie everything down, and be sure the dinghy was uninflated and put on the fore deck etc. etc. that night when we got out of the Saint Simons Inlet, we were greeted with confused to seas at 3 to 5 feet, with occasional 6 feet. Lines that we left loose or lying around became tangled, equipment, gear, and cushions were tossed everywhere and imported items were difficult to find. we became confused. Fortunately we had recruited a young man who is an experienced sailor and he helped guide us through the night. Again a learning experience. We made adjustments based on learning. Fast forward again few months later, and it was time to head south. Our destination this time was Cape Canaveral from Saint Simons. We had a beautiful Westwind all that day and all through the night. We had three foot seas with an easy swell and a distance between swells of about 11 seconds. We stood watch every four hours based on the ships bell clock we have mounted in the salon. My watch was midnight to 4 AM. Let me tell you it was a beautiful thing. I sail without a Bimini and lay on my back with my right hand on the wheel. Often I would shut off the auto pilot and just guide the boat by the stars. I would keep a constellation between the mast and the backstay. A large dolphin would often be alongside the boat. It was magical. I saw so many shooting stars that I stopped counting. Maybe a dozen, maybe 18. I have never seen so many stars as clearly. I thought to myself if the ocean could always be this way you could sail anywhere in the world, and no one would want to live on land. But halfway through the next day the wind shifted from west to Northeast. The seas became a bit confused. So we ducked into Ponce Inlet and ran aground, but that is another story. So far that 24 hour period is the highlight of my sailing experience. Get out there!

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