Breeze On

Since much of our sailing this season was limited to day sails or short cruises, I had a lot of practice leaving and returning to our slip. I was getting pretty good at it...until I wasn't. We were returning from a few nights at anchor a few weeks ago. As we were approaching our slip the wind was in the high teens coming from the WNW. Those aren't the best conditions for our marina since it isn't protected from NW winds. As we were motoring down the creek I thought about how I could compensate for the wind and I believed I would be okay. I made my usual approach, turning to starboard, then backing toward the slip and turning the bow to starboard to line the stern up before backing in. I told myself not to turn the bow too much, or the wind would catch it and turn it too much. I also told myself not to back up too much or the wind would push me past the slip. Well, in spite of my efforts, the bow was pushed too much and the boat was pushed past the slip. No problem, I wou...

Today, on our return from Dun Cove in Harris Creek, we finally had the right conditions to try our gennaker. We were really pleased with how easy it was to use. It comes in a sock that is raised when the gennaker is opened and brought down when you want to douse it. I will take a photo of it in its sock the next time we use it. It made sailing downwind in light winds much more interesting. We are so glad we decided to have one made. Our trip out to Harris Creek yesterday seemed so much faster, but actually took about the same amount of time. We were sailing and had to tack the entire way in winds that were about 14 knots with gusts in the low 20's. We encountered a friend on the river and we each took photos of each other's boats. We love the way Breeze On sails. Dun Cove in Harris Creek was beautiful. This might become another one of our favorite spots. I did say we had light winds today, right? Well, that was until just before we arrived at Cambridge. The winds picked ...

Since our disastrous docking experience last month we have: taken docking lessons , moved the boat to a more protected marina and continued to practice maneuvers. I guess it has paid off because my husband received a wonderful compliment when he was at the boat yesterday. Jimmy, a young man we presume to be the son of the marina's owner, came by and took a tour of Breeze On. While he was there he said something like, "your wife is killing it at docking." I can't tell you how much that meant to me. It is one thing to feel a little more comfortable with docking and another for my husband and I to congratulate each other for a job well done. But, to have someone we don't even know offer an unsolicited compliment, well, that feels really good. (At this point I am knocking on wood because I don't want to jinx the progress we have made.) Posted with Blogsy

Last week we took our second overnight cruising adventure to Broad Creek. This creek is indeed broad and eventually leads to a "back way" into St. Michaels. We opted to save that trip for a time when we have the dinghy all ready to go so we can dinghy into St. Michaels and see the sights. Instead, we anchored in Boby Owl Cove. It wasn't quite as beautiful as LaTrappe creek, but it was still lovely. As soon as we arrived we dropped the swim platform, put the ladder in and went for a swim.   We never went swimming from our last boat, WindChime, so this is a real treat for us. Unfortunately, we hear that we will be unable to swim very soon due to the influx of a type of jellyfish called stinging nettles. Oh well, enjoy it while you can! Boby Owl Cove is protected on three sides and the wind dropped down to nothing after dinner. It was quite warm so we went for another swim.   Later, we watched another beautiful sunset. The winds picked up the next morning and were in the...

The docking chronicals continue. After our disastrous docking of last week, George and I decided to take docking lessons. We chose a private lesson, conducted on our own boat, given by Jeff from The Sailing Academy. Jeff and George I was really nervous before the lesson began and actually dreaded it a little. Jeff started by explaining the drills we would be learning and practicing. He then used a model boat and strings to demonstrate the docking techniques we would practice. I was at the helm as we pulled out of the slip, the marina and then into the channel. We used the markers at the end of the channel as "targets". George and I were both really nervous about getting anywhere near the buoys. We practiced stopping the boat and holding it in place and doing standing turns by using short bursts of forward and reverse. Once we were more comfortable with that, we headed back into the marina. Jeff coached us through a technique using a spring line to tie up to the T head at t...

I am thinking I should rename this blog "The Docking Chronicles". So much of it is focused on docking these days. I guess it makes sense since our boat is tied to a dock and every time we use the boat it requires leaving the slip and returning to it. Breeze On is a much bigger boat than we have ever owned and the style of slip is not what we have known. When I wrote my last post I was feeling very hopeful that I was really getting the hang of docking. That all came crashing to a halt two days ago. My mother and brother arrived for a visit on Tuesday afternoon. They had never seen our new town or condo and really seem to like both. They were also looking forward to going for a sail on Breeze On. The weather looked good Wednesday morning so we packed a lunch and motored out of the marina by 10 am. The winds were a steady 7-9 knots from the East and we were sailing downwind on the Choptank River. My mom was in a comfortable position in the cockpit and kept commenting how nice it...

We set the alarm for 6:30 am on Saturday so we could begin docking practice while the winds were still very light. We ate a quick breakfast and made it to the boat before 7:30. After we removed covers, opened through hulls and reviewed our checklist we started up the engine for our first practice session. George threw off the spring lines and bow lines and I threw off the stern lines. I removed the stern lines before George was finished with the bow lines and the boat started to shift in the slip. I made it out with just a little nudge on one of the (padded) pilings. I drove out of the fairway and into the main fairway so I could turn around. I decided to back into our fairway and then into the slip. My first attempt went well. I drove very slowly and did nudge a piling just a bit. The wind had picked up to 6-7 knots but decided to practice again anyway. This time I decided to hold onto the last stern line until George had finished releasing all of the other lines. That did help keep...

We have sailed only twice since bringing Breeze On to Cambridge almost two weeks ago. That is much less than we used to sail WindChime. One reason we haven't sailed much is that have been very busy. We returned to New York to pick up my car, then drove my husband's car to Massachusetts to trade it for our daughter's car. Then my husband helped to sail a friend's boat from Norfolk to Cambridge. Another reason is that we still aren't very good at docking and we are waiting for light winds to practice leaving and returning to the slip. Our first time out since bringing Breeze On to Cambridge went very well. We asked friends Dawn and Ray to join us and lend their expertise. After they helped to release the lines we had a lovely sail to La Trappe Creek. We dropped an anchor and enjoyed a peaceful lunch. We sailed back to Cambridge and made it into the slip without any issues. I was at the helm and George, Dawn and Ray handled the lines. I was so relieved and excite...

I have been so worried about damaging Breeze On every time we dock that I am always convinced I have damaged her every time she touches something. Even when I gently nudge a padded piling. After we arrived here on Saturday I looked at her transom and saw what appeared to be a black mark and horizontal dent. If you look closely at the starboard side of the transom you can see the black smudge. The dent is not visible in this picture. I assumed the black mark came from bumping a piling and the dent came from hitting the end of the finger on the dock when I was backing in. I did hit the finger but everyone told me it was a very light bump. Also, the end of the finger is padded. I didn't think I had hit it very hard, but how else to explain the dent and black mark???   Then yesterday, when we were cleaning Breeze On, I noticed that there was on almost identical black mark on the other side of the transom. There were also streak marks leading from the deck. So, it was dirt that had wa...

We made it. We are safely berthed in our slip in Cambridge. We left the mooring in Annapolis this morning and went over to Back Creek to practice backing into a slip. Suky remembered some fairways in the area that would make good practice areas. After the practice we left Annapolis and followed a race that we believe was headed to Saint Michaels. What a treat it was to follow all of those beautiful spinnakers. We had a lovely day of sailing on the Chesapeake. There is something about being in these waters that feels so right. After we turned Into to the Choptank River the winds died so we had to motor sail and then just motor. I was trying not to think about docking in our slip. Suky was very attentive in studying the tricky depths of the Choptank and pointing out the various features we should watch. Approaching Cambridge Marina   I was at the helm as we entered the Cambridge Marina and docked to get fuel and pump out again (the holding tanks on the Hanse are small!)...