Looking forward to the most

[hfxns]

:dance:OK, not much action here on Beneteauowners.com, but people must be looking forward to spring. I am in Canada, and signs of spring are far and few between, and there is 4 feet of snow on the ground, but I can dream that its coming around the corner.

What are you looking forward to this Spring / Summer? What will be your first sail, first cruise, any big racing plans this summer, major projects on your boat. What are you excited about right now. Anything.

Cheers,

Dan

 

[Ron20324]

It HAS been kind of slow, hasn't it? You just don't see "problem" and "Beneteau" in the same sentence too often. Last week there were a dozen robins in the small grass patch out front. Now the snow covers the grass. My boat is 200 yards away from my door, but I didn't go look at it in the snow. It's such a sad picture...

... But there will be spring. My sailing club (Singles on Sailboats) has the first cruise in mid April, called the I.R.S. Cruise. In May there's a Parrothead Cruise. In June the Beneteau Rendezvous near Annapolis. In june I should be on my 323 around the DelMarVa- about 400 miles- about half in the Atlantic Ocean.

There is always some project going on. I need to finish the anchor washdown system. I am working on two storage cabinets above the salon seats plus a shelf over the galley, and canvas for the dodger frame. Gee... then I guess EVERTHING will be done? Except for... oh, this... and that, and....

 

[hfxns]

Ron, I read on Sailnet.com about someone wanting to (not sure if this is correct) circumnavigate DelMarVa, or do a cruise to DelMarVa. What is Delmarva, and where is it? Is it a short form for Del Mar, Virgina? I don't know if this place exists.

I would love to do the Beneteau Rendezvous at some point, maybe I can add it to my sailing bucket list.

I am thinking about doing either an intermediate racing course or a match racing program this spring at the local club. Should be fun. I am not single, but I know the adult racing and cruising programs attract a lot of singles, and the social aspects of the program are really fun. I have a ton of single female friends who are partaking in different programs.

No major projects for the boat this summer, partly because of budget tightness. Talked to my Dad and brother-in-law and we have put the geneker / asymetric purchase on the back burner and are going to do a couple of small things. i.e. your lazerette gas strut project, adding a second winch holder in the cockpit, and putting a inclinometer on the pedestal. Small budget stuff, easy projects for the not too handy.

We had talked about taking the boat up to Cape Breton's Bra D'Or Lakes for the summer and leaving it there, and each of us taking a 2 week cruise separately - but we have delayed that until next year. I think we will stick to mostly day sailing and 2-3 day cruises in Mahone Bay. There are 365 islands to check out, so it should be plenty to keep me busy.

Spring comes late here, but we did lose about 2.5 - 3 feet of snow last night in a huge deluge of rain. Spring can come any where from April 1st to May 15th. It generally comes late.

Dan

 

[Ron20324]

The DelMarVa is a trip around the Delaware/Maryland/Virginia peninsula. We'd leave Annapolis, go north in the Chesapeake Bay, through the 13-mile C&D (Chesapeake and Delaware) Canal, down the Atlantic to where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic (around Norfolk, VA), then back north up the Chesapeake Bay to Annapolis. Almost 400 miles.

Whomever it was that had the gas strut for the laz is south for the winter. He will do a chapter on the strut when he is back home.... I went by the boat, and there's a few inches of snow on her, but it'll stay there until it melts at it's own pace. There's plenty of things to do in the condo.

 

[hfxns]

OK, that makes sense, I thought it might be a combination name also and that Delaware would be part of it. How long does this DelMarVa trip take? Sounds like fun. Are you single handing, or do you have a crew that will go with you. That is a long trip, and tough to do the offshore part single handed.

I thought it was you who did the gas strut, but good to know their will be a fuller write up coming, it will be really useful as a guide.

 

[catsailor]

The Delmarva trip all depends on choises...

It's been done in a row boat or kayak, I did it in a Stiletto 27 with an 8-year old for crew (best trip of my life), and I've done it in bigger boats. In small boats you stop more and pick weather windows. In big boats you stay out further, though Ocean City and Chincoteague are still fine stops for your size boat. To me, sailing the Atlantic leg without a stop in Chincoteague would be like sailing the Bay without a stop - less for the omission. Ocean City I could miss. But those are my tastes.

4-5 days if you hurry and sail at night, 2-3 weeks if you want it to.

Google "circumnavigate delmarva" for some good write-ups, I have some stuff on my blog, and there are several books on the trip (search "circumnavigate delmarva" at Alibris.com).

Enjoy!

 

[Ron20324]

I have a friend who said they did the DMV in 80 hours non-stop, so maybe average 5 knots for the 400 miles. I think it would be 360 miles or a little less non-stop. I read an article that said 72, but no doubt that was a racer who just wanted to hurry up and get home- but not stop to smell the roses along the way. I have one crew for sure, probably have a second, and would like a 4th just for the ecean leg if we end up doing it at night. The ocean leg is about 190 miles, so 36 to 40 hours.

Cat, I used to be at Herrington North until I lucked into buying a slip here at Severn House. I really liked HHN. I still pop down to Skipper's pier, but the last time I made the trip they were closed Mondays.

Hfxns, I just signed up to the 323 owners net the guy who will do the laz strut write-up. He won't be home in Michigan until late April.... It is a sunny 50 degrees on my balcony so I did some router work out there on the rail for my new galley shelf. All at the same time, I'm doing the shelf, cabinets for behind the salon settes and a shelf bracket for the head and cut an access hatch into the shelf at the aft end of the 1/4 berth. They all need stain and varnish, so my condo looks like a lumber store- and smells like varnish. Projects on the boat are the anchor washdown system and redoing the water tank outlet plumbing. Then in my "spare" time.....

 

[hfxns]

Re. DMV

Ouch, 80 hours non-stop, that doesn't sound like fun. Good to get some more experience with watches / night sailing though, if you are planning on doing the Caribbean trip in a couple of of years. It would certainly be nice to have at least a couple of crew to do the 36 hour stretch.

We are going to be sailing from Chester, Nova Scotia to the Bra D'Or Lakes in Cape Breton next summer, which is a 30 hour passage. I haven't done many passages of over 10 hours, and no night sailing to speak of, so it should be a good experience. The sailing in Cape Breton is glorious, and we plan on leaving our boat there for the entire summer.

Thanks for following up about the lazarette strut, its definitely at the top of my priority list - but I won't likely get to it until after my classes and final exams are over with (likely late April or early May).

Remember to post some photos of all of these changes you have made to the boat, I am sure people would be eager to see the results of all this hard labour. I would also be interested in hearing more about your plans for your trip down south. Where are you thinking of going, how are you managing it from a work point of view. I noticed on our HR site at work, that there is a salary deferral policy which could allow me to defer approximately 20% of my salary for 4 or 5 years, and then I could take 6 months or a year off. Its something worth thinking about.

Good luck with your projects, the washdown system for the anchor is a good idea, but definitely beyond my technical abilities.

Cheers,

Dan

 

[hfxns]

Cape Breton - Bra D'Or Lakes Cruise

Has anyone done any cruising on the Bra D'Or lakes, I would love to get some passage notes and suggestions on anchorages, services, and itineraries.

Thanks,

Dan