Took the wife moon light sailing last night

[RECESS]

That just never gets old. We ended up staying on the boat. It was night removed from being full and intensely bright. Had the 150 up with gentle winds. The water's surface was just barely showing the wind but the boat was gliding through the water. My 6 year old feel asleep in the cockpit. Three power boaters out just slowly cruising in the moon light. We are hoping for clear skies and a chance to do it again. Tonight I will remeber to bring the camera, I doubt it will be as lite up as it was last night.

 

[Brian D]

That's wonderful. My wife and I went out one night for a sunset on the Pacific. Then we motored in. It was more for me to see the harbor entrance in the evening against the back lit lights of the city. Even then it was wonderful. Water was calm.

Do take pictures and post them, please.

 

[cb32863]

Rock on.. sounds awesome. Can't wait to do the same thing..... need a boat. Oh yeah, and a wife.... lol Does sound like a very awsome time.

 

[MrUnix]

Nuttin better than night sailing!

Some of the best sailing experiences I have had were night cruises.. and it seemed we were not the only ones as we would usually see more sailboats out at night than during the day down in South Florida. We did lots of cruises from Miami down to the keys.. put the boat in around 5-6pm and sail through the night. It is quite an experience sailing under the Card Sound bridge in Key Largo and realizing just how small and fragile you are out there in the vast landscape. Just keep the rum to a moderate level or you might wind up like we did a few times trying to hit the entrance to Jewfish creek in the dark; picture me with arms outstretched to each side and saying "missed it by this much"!

Cheers,
Brad

 

[Ed Schenck]

What is it about night sailing? Glad you were out there even if it was without me.

Hey cb3.., get the boat fast. Go really slow on the wife.

 

[zeehag]

i think a wife would do me absolutely NO good whatsoever-- a man might do it, but not a wife..LOL.... willbe nice to be able to keep myself awake all nite sailing again..LOL.... cant wait!!!!!

 

[RECESS]

We have been thunderstormed tonight. We need the rain, but I really wanted to hit it again while the moon was bright.

 

[shemandr]

It's amazing how close magic is.

 

[seadaddler]

Sounds Fantastic

I sure do miss out sailing on Our H-36 and when we get back to SW Florida I need to do a long over due Sunset sail in Charlotte harbor.
Leaving for Home the end of this week and can't wait to get back out on the water.
Nick

 

[Freedom77]

July 3rd 1976. Marina del Rey to San Diego Race. Dead of night. No moon. Ghosting. Quiet. A whale surfaced about 25 ft. from us and swam along the surface. Could hear it breathing and barely make out shape. Mystical. How could anyone kill one of these majestic creatures.
July 4th 1976. Bicentenial. Rounded Point Loma, finished race about 2000 hrs. Thats 8 pm for lubbers. Sailing into San Diego harbor toward Southwest Yacht Club anchorage under a nice breeze.
2100 hrs. Fireworks began as far as you could see. must've been 8-10 full blown shows. best seats in the house. Snapshot in time I will never forget. Those who don't sail will never know. Am I right? Fair winds...

 

[Freedom77]

Cinco de Mayo. Newport to Ensenada Race. Just south of the border are two small islands belonging to Mexico. Inhabited by fishermen and 6 billions canaries. Woke up in the a.m. to go on watch and a canary was sittiing on my sleeping bag staring at me. Got up to discover the boat was covered with them. Fed them some bread crust. Stayed with us for a while and then flew home. Neat. Fair winds...

 

[Freedom77]

You can read a newspaper when there's a full moon on Lake Mead. My wife, Penny, and I used to wait for full moon weekends to go out. There's something magical when there's a full moon on the water. Fair Winds...

 

[Bryan C]

Just bought my first boat , a Catalina 30 that needs some work , i just added a moonlit cruise to the list of things things that need to be done , it sounds fantastic !

 

[RECESS]

We went out last night from 8 to midnight in pitch black conditions. I had a super bright light on the mast illuminating the 150 Genoa along with my running lights so we would definitely be seen. Stayed on the boat again. I have some friends that have just got into sailing that are looking forward to full moon sailing but are apprehensive about going out with no moon. We all went out tonight for a good long sail. I think they are fine with it now. Good fun.

Sorry about the camera focus.

 

[RECESS]

This weekend looks to be a spectacular time for some full moon sailing. Anyone else going?

 

[BobT]

I wish!!!!
This weekend is clogged with work.
I love being out there at night, though. Very special sensation. People talk about sailing by the seat of the pants, or by feel. This is a good way to focus that skill. Just be careful with the weather forecast. Bad weather is even less fun...

 

[mel22]

Love to sail at night, unfortunatly usually by myself. One night I got to thinking about scary movies, The one where the young man drowns in a lake at summer camp and would come back to kill campers (Friday the 13th ?). When it was time to drop sail and start motor I was so spooked I could hardly reach over to pull starter rope. Still go out but don't think of movies like that.

Nice topic and pictures, thanks mel22

 

[Ray Bowles]

About 9 years ago my wife and I were sailing our IP 38 from Alabama to the Florida Keys which required a quite a few shift rotations. On our 3d night, which was August 12, my wife woke me up at 2am. because she was seeing a lot of meteors. We ended up heaving-to for an hour and laying on the foredeck. What a show!!!!
It turned out to be a yearly show on that date with up to 50 meteors per hour. We have observed that shower every year since with our grandkids. Only once did we watch it on land. All the rest of the time we have taken our present SJ 23 and sailed downriver and pitched tents on the beach. Once we had all 7 grandkids but normally we have 3 or 4. They range from 13 to 22 years old so that speaks up for the younger generation and their love of the outdoors and sailing.
I think it called the Persiad shower and runs from August 12 to 14.
Ray

 

[RECESS]

We have often watched the meteor shower laying in the front yard. NOW I must do it from the boat. We went out last night and had to wait on the wind. So we carved a pumpkin on the screen porch at the club and then set out. I have given up on our digital camera taking a decent moon shot while underway, I just get a point of light and it never reflects the luminosity that you get on the water. It was so bright last night you could see the round wakes from a fish rolling a couple hundred yards away. We had to dodge two boats fishing with NO lights turned on. We slept on the boat afterward. I have never adjusted to the swashing sound of the water against the hull. It always wakes me around 5am...even when I get in my bunk around midnight.

A couple bad pictures from last night. I was so discouraged after taking one from the dock and then one while we were motoring out, I put away the camera. It is a 7.1 megapixel camera but it sucks at night.

Played with the setting in photoshop but still not happy with the camera!

 

[jfmid]

This and the desire to sleep on the boat are the reasons I'm pulling the mast and placing a steaming light. I really want to be able to go out in the evening. I will remember your pictures as I'm swearing and cussing trying to pull a wire up the mast in the cold of winter. It is good to have motivation. Cant wait till next summer. Happy sailing to all