Got out of the slip at 11:15 and didn't come back in till 3;45! Winds were out of the SW to start blowing 8-16, then the winds backed to just being out of the West. Mostly Cloudy, Temperature was 65-68 degrees and the barometer was 29.76.
Had fun sailing around the Chester River Basin. Saw some working waterman - but not much else going on!!
Wasn't going to let this beautiful day go to waste so after doing some chores on Bubbles, headed off in my inflatable kayak down Davis Creek. Lots of birds.... nature starting to stir a bit!!
Got to the marina about 10:30 or so. There was a SCA out and while the winds were strong, didn't look like it was enough to keep me in the slip - so I decided to head on out. Was out of the slip by 11. The Barometer was 29.93 and falling, Temperature was 54 and it got up to 68 before I got off the water. Winds were initially out of the WNW at 10-15. They moved to W still 10-15, but dropped off a bit later in the afternoon - only to come back in as I was sailing back up Langford Creek. There was some high cloud cover, but the sun did come out as the clouds rolled off.
Headed out and down Langford creek after turning around to get the sails up. Rolled in the headsail a bit to get a better balance on the boat - which did help a lot in the higher winds. There was almost no wind, so I sailed out Langford and down the Chester to the green "11" outside of Eastern Neck Island, where i turned to come back. The wind had died off a bit, but was still moving along nicely. Eventually, opened up the full Genoa which helped for a bit until the wind died down to less than 5 knots. Managed to creep along up into Langford creek where the wind kicked back up again giving me a nice sail up the creek and into the marina. Lovely, lovely day!
Got to the marina a bit before 10:30. There was a small craft advisory out and I found the winds consistently over 10 knots... going up to 15 when I got there. The barometer was at 29.89, temps ranged from 53 to 58 with winds out of the north. Left the slip, not as easily as usual - but got out and headed out of the marina. Got the main up - had already decided to reef and after getting out, decided to double reef. Left only the main up down the creek towards the Chester on a deep broad reach. Got the Genoa out, but reefed it heavily - probably 85%. After getting out into the 'Chester, headed off on a beam reach for a while before doing a heave to. Stayed on a heave to for a while, but couldn't get her completely stopped - so have to work on that later. Decided it was a bit too gnarly as I was seeing wind speeds over 20, so I decided to head on back - know that I would be beating in the wind all the way back. No real issues, just a hard working sail. Sun came out for a while - enjoyed that on the sail back - got back into the slip about 2. Even in her light condition (and water in the boat) - Bubbles did well.
With good winds expected and warm temperatures above 60 expected - it was a sailing day. Got to the marina late morning and to ready quickly to leave the dock. Temps were 60, Barometer was 30.26 with cloudy skies and winds light out of the east. Got the sails up quickly and started sailing on a close reach/beam reach down the creek into the Chester. Kept heading the same direction and sailed down the Chester towards Kent Narrows. Got down to Eastern Neck Island and the #11 green can before I thought about turning around and heading back. During this time, the wind had picked up quite a bit, so I had reefed the genoa - which balanced out the helm nicely. Winds when I started were about 5 knots - and by 1:30 or so, I was dealing with 15 knots with gusts above 20. Probably should have also reefed the main, but didn't. Had a fast sail back and was back in the slip about 4pm. Lovely March sail!
Had the full crew on today (Trisha and I). Left the dock at just about peak high tide, temperature at 53 and the barometer at 30.22.Winds were supposed to be light - out of the south, but when we got to the marina, there seemed to be a bit more wind than forecasted, so we decided to sail a bit. Got the sails up right away - as the first mate took Bubbles out and stayed on the helm for a while, letting me take care of sails. Wind was light, but apparent wind was getting up to 10 knots, so we were doing well tacking down Langford Creek.... that is...until...the wind...died.
We turned at that point and slowly sailed back up river, eventually anchoring on the west side of Cacaway island for a bit of a celebration - wailing to our place and dropping the anchor as we pulled in the sails. After our little celebration and some down time, headed on back in to the marina. A couple hours sailing in light winds, an hour or so goofing off at anchor and a short ride back - what a beautiful day - as it did manage to get up to 60!!
With temperatures rising, decided to sail for a second day in a row! Temps started off at 54 when I got to the marina and it got all the way up to 61!. Barometer was 29.91 and was dropping. Started off sunny, but turned mostly cloudy before too long. Winds were about 12 knots when I started up, but the wind kept picking up through the day until it was averaging about 17 knots with gusts well over 20. Decided to reef the headsail before leaving the dock - probably should have reefed the main also. Headed out about 10:30 and got the sails up quickly, tacked down the creek into the Chester. Stayed on a close haul most of the time. Got to the entrance to Reed Creek and then turned and got on a beam reach for a while, before turning to a broad reach and heading back towards Langford creek. Decided to head on up the west fork of the creek (going by the marina) so I had a little less wind to deal with. Sailed back and forth between Cacaway Island and Parsons Point a few times before turning and heading back in. Got everything stowed and zipped up right before the rain started. A great second sail!!
Finally warmed up enough to get out for a shakedown after getting all the sails and lines back on. Barometer was 30.02 and falling slightly, Temp range was 48-54. It was mostly sunny with the wind out of the south about 10 knots on a falling tide. Left the dock about 11 - Bubbles engine started right up! Got to the first daymark, headed into the wind and started getting the main sail up - followed by the genoa. Tacked down Langford creek on a close haul to the mouth and then headed off towards Reed Creek. Saw a workboat out with two guys tonging for oysters - something I hadn't seen in the Chester before. Winds started getting a bit lighter and about 1:30 turned and started heading back in. Was able to stay on a broad reach back towards and up Langford creek until turning back into the wind, dropping the sails and heading back into the slip. Had a few lines I had to straighten out during the sail, but everything was in good shape for the most part. A little cool, but a lovely day!
I, as has every other person with a boat in the water up in the Chesapeake area, have been watching the weather closely - seeing if the groundhog was right and we are going to have an early spring.... well, for the next week - except for the weekend, we are supposed to have some nice warm weather - temps up in the 50's and 60's - and I will sail in that kind of weather! So on February 20 & 21, I went to work, hanking on the sails, running all the lines, putting on the canvas, taking up extra lines set for winter, attaching the jacklines, and just making sure that she was ready for her first sail of the year. Took the better part of two days at the marina, but she is ready to go - and hopefully her first sail of the season will be on February 22nd!
Saw the forecast saying sunny and 60= degrees in Rock Hall - and even though it was only 40 and overcast/foggy in Newark, I headed to the marina in hopes the forecast was correct. Did a bit of work on Bubbles - installed a 12 volt outlet in the v-berth and worked on some piping and then headed off in the kayak. Heard a lot of shotgun blasts and other explosives from some nearby duck blinds, so I didn't venture out too far, but had a lovely paddle around Davis creek and around the marina. Lovely day - hope we have some more.... and hope I get my sails back soon so that I can sail instead of paddle!!