A cool but nice afternoon on the water. East wind ~15 knots so put in one reef to keep things relaxing.
Anchored about 400' from the Birdnest windward mark to photo the race and then stayed there overnight.
Very light winds so motored back to Willoughby Marina in the morning.
A light NE breeze diminished to near zero as I arrived at the boat. I decided to just motor out and anchor on the east end of Willoughby Bay for a couple hours enjoying the warm sunshine but slightly cool air.
Original goal Norfolk but time constraints had us turning around at the Lafayette River. Great practice for Eris tacking up the narrow west channel exiting Willoughby Bay. Sunshine, nice south breeze bringing warm air made for an excellent sailing day!
A south wind in the low teens carried us out to the main channel and east. Returning against a decreasing outgoing tide the winds shifted to the SW which had us tacking up the narrow entrance to Willoughby Bay. My neighbor Eris joined me and was rewarded with a submarine passing us apparently headed to Newport News.
A little cooler than I would have wished for. Temp forecast was spot on, however the NE breeze was a little stronger than I expected. One reef in the sail just to keep things relaxing. Since I wasn't going anywhere seeing 3-4 knots was just fine.
Back to the dock I replaced a couple of the 9 lines securing the boat. This puts brand new 1/2 inch lines on all 4 corners. Piece of mind when storms blow through...
..then out on Seabatical for the night.
Sailed with my marina neighbor Eris on her CSY 33 as she gets comfortable on the water and particularly docking. She is a quick learner and is doing great.
Once back to the dock I headed out on my boat for some sailing then an overnight anchored nearby on Willoughby Bay. In the morning a little more sailing before heading back in.
Willoughby Bay is a minefield of crab pots!
Apparently we are into crabbing season. Willoughby Bay and the north channel to exit are full of crab pots. The wind was better than forecast. I was expecting to just get out onto the water, drop anchor and do a little work on the boat. Instead it was a relaxing hour and a half sail before heading back in
Sailing lesson with my marina neighbor.
A nice 15 knot northwest wind gave Eris lots of practice tacking today as we worked our way over to Hampton. First in the channel as we dealt with an outgoing tide, then in the Hampton River where the importance of maintaining enough speed for sucessful turns was demonstrated. Some momentary excitement when trying to pinch things too tight resulted in insufficient forward momentum when starting the tacking maneuver. Shifting winds in the narrow channel made for more of a challenge...
Sunny and warm, but light winds. I barely made it out of Willoughby Bay and to the main channel at Fort Story before turning back. Back in the marina for a better use of time, varnishing.
A short sail with one of my marina neighbors on a 33' Caribbean Sailing Yacht. New to sailing, having a second hand onboard is helpful.