It was a beautiful day so I decided to just motor out and do my work out on the water. On the way out I saw something in the water. Once closer I could see it was a dinghy overturned in the water. A work boat arrived before I did and said that he had already brought the skipper to the shore. Calling the marina I found a crew was getting ready to provide assistance.
Century Club: George Hernandez
Monday, May 18, 2026 to Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Number of days:
2 days
Back River was my alternate if Mother Nature didn't cooperate. Original destination the Goodwin Islands. During the first 2-1/2 hours in a light west breeze I only made 5.7 miles. It was a hot day with the afternoon high over 93°. Finally a refreshing NE wind arrived and I was then moving along nicely. However, by that point with 3 hours to my destination I decided to just pull into Back River.
Sunday, May 17, 2026
Number of days:
1 day
My marina and sailing student was called into work at the last minute. Already on the way to the marina. Rather than going out on her boat, I sailed Sebatical. Turns out not really a great day for sailing. A light SW breeze only moved me along at around 2 knots. By a little after noon I decided to head back in. Tomorrow, if there a better breeze north to the Goodwin Islands or Back River if less. Willoughby Bay if there no wind at all...
Tuesday, May 12, 2026 to Wednesday, May 13, 2026
Number of days:
2 days
Original plan, Middle Ground Lighthouse then Portsmouth. Making great progress until the wind died ahead of the shift from NE to S. Decided to try out Lafayette River for the night. Nice spot right across from the Norfolk Yacht Club.
Sunday, May 10, 2026
Number of days:
1 day
Light east wind, just strong enough to carry us east against the incomming tide.
Friday, May 8, 2026
Number of days:
1 day
Light winds and sunshine fit well with the mild afternoon temperature but not for leaving Willoughby Bay with any confidence. Sailing out to the channel at Fort Wool about the time a lull arrived turned me back around. I'm anxious to go somewhere, but lately it is either too breezy or not breezy enough...
Friday, May 1, 2026
Number of days:
1 day
A light NE breeze had me averaging 2.3 knots over a 2 hour sail. The air had a slight chill but the sunshine kept it comfortable.
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Number of days:
1 day
I had hoped to get in some sailing on this day, however as is usually the case, projects take much longer than expected. Replacing the backing for a stantion is fairly straight forward when you have someone above, but when working alone it becomes a bit more complicated. With the help of a vice grip the task was completed.
As a reward I motored out for some time drifting along with the NE breeze and watching the interesting clouds...
Saturday, April 25, 2026
Number of days:
1 day
A light ENE breeze carried us over to Fort Monroe. Looking at the tide I was expecting a gentle current. I must have misread things because there was close to 2 knots which brought our forward progress almost to a stop. A little diesel power got us past this and we continued up the beach for a while before heading back to Willoughby Marina.
A tense moment when firing up the diesel only to find we had a crab pot line on the prop. Reversing the engine unwound it and we were back in business. Love crab, hate crab pots!
Friday, April 24, 2026
Number of days:
1 day
Starting off with a 10 knot west wind as I was heading towards the channel. Approaching the narrow section of the north Willoughby Channel the winds faded. The wind shift was close. Clouds building to the north and west announced the approaching front. I sailed on the light northeast wind back to the marina and had just finished covering my sail as the rain started. Perfect timing...