Breeze On

I finally finished the cockpit enclosure. It was by far the largest, most difficult sewing project I have ever tackled. It was not fun. Phase two did not start out well. The extension (connects the bimini to the dodger) was the last shade panel finished so it was the first window panel I attempted. I followed the instructions on the Sailrite video. I cut the panel out of O'Sea 30 mil vinyl, used seamstick to bast the zippers on the panel, cut the 2" binding strips to cover the zippers and sewed everything together. Then I walked down to the boat and tried it on. It didn't fit!!! I needed at least an additional inch to reach from the bimini to the dodger. I was dismayed not only because this panel didn't fit but I wondered if any of the panels would fit using the patterns I had made. I gave up for the evening and went to bed. The next day I ripped the zipper off of the top of the panel, sewed a strip of 1" binding onto the panel and attached the zipper to that an...

I became seriously interested in a cockpit enclosure for Breeze On during our Delmarva circumnavigation in May. The air temperature was in the low 60's and the water temperature was in the upper 50's. I couldn't get warm even while wearing 7 layers of clothing at times. An enclosure would protect us from the wind and help keep us warm in the cooler weather. Since it is likely to be cool when we start out for the Bahamas, I would like to have an enclosure made before we start out in November. This past Spring I bought a Sailrite machine, when the intention of using it on small canvas projects. George suggested I buy it so that I wouldn't ruin my Huskvarna machine (which didn't like sewing canvas one little bit). Now that I own a Sailrite machine I felt compelled to make that cockpit enclosure myself, even though the project seemed overwhelming. One of the most overwhelming aspects was deciding how to pattern the panels. Our bimini is much larger than our dodger and ...

Two years ago we anchored on the Wye East River for our first week-long trip on our own. We both had very fond memories of our week on the Wye East River, in spite of the numerous challenges we experienced on that trip. After what seemed like a long, hard day sailing from the Choptank to Shaw Bay, we bickered while dropping the anchor at sunset. When George questioned my driving as I was motoring past crab traps on the way into Granary Creek, I threw up my hands and walked away from the wheel (I don't remember this episode but George does). We ran out of fresh water mid-way through the week. Last, but not least, we dragged anchor in the middle of a very windy night in Boby Owl Cove on the Choptank. It is a wonder that we continued to sail together! Last week we returned for a week on the Wye East River. We laughed about our trip from two years ago and both commented on how far we have come. Both in our abilities handling the boat and also in our teamwork. We don't bicker any ...

Breeze On now has AIS. The Wikipedia definition of AIS is: "The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is an automatic tracking system used on ships and by vessel traffic services (VTS) for identifying and locating vessels by electronically exchanging data with other nearby ships, AIS base stations, and satellites." Breeze On has always had an AIS receiver as part of the VHF radio, so we could see the names and locations of ships and other boats on our chart plotter if they were transmitting AIS. But, they couldn't see us. I thought it might be nice if other vessels could see Breeze On as well, particularly if we are sailing at night or in fog. George and our friend, Ray, recently installed an AIS transponder (on a brutally hot day I might add). Now you can see where we are by going to either marinetraffic.com or vesselfinder.com and searching for Breeze On. You can even sign up for an email alert to be notified when we are on the move. MarineTraffic and Vessel Finder als...

The cabin where we sleep is the v-berth, right behind the bow of the boat. Any small noise the anchor chain makes reverberates through the chain locker and sounds very loud in the v-berth. When we anchor, George attaches a line that goes from the anchor chain to a cleat. This line (called a snubber) takes the pressure off the anchor windlass (a motor that pulls the anchor up). You can see the anchor chain on the left in the photo below and the snubber line on the right. The snubber line is attached to the anchor chain below the water line. When it is windy Breeze On swings back and forth around the anchor chain. When that happens we hear a loud clunk, clunk, clunk as the chain rubs on the snubber and/or a loud "Creeeak!" as the snubber line rubs the boat and stretches. Not a recipe for a good night's sleep.   Over the past two seasons George has made several changes in the way he ties the snubber line. He has finally found the answer to a quieter anchor chain. Tie a ...

George recently commented that the Sassafras River had become our "white whale"--as in Moby Dick. We had wanted to visit the Sassafras for over a year but just couldn't get there. Last week we finally caught our white whale. We left on Monday afternoon after George's dentist appointment. We sailed for a few hours and anchored in Dun Cove, near the mouth of the Choptank River. We left Dun Cove early Tuesday morning and started the 70 nautical mile trip up the Chesapeake toward the Sassafras. Our plan was to get there before dark. We started out with good sailing conditions. After a few ours the winds dropped and we decided to motor-sail to improve our chances of getting as far as the Sassafras. We checked the weather radar throughout the day, watching for thunderstorms. By the afternoon thunderstorms were starting to head our way and the Coast Guard broadcast severe storm warnings. We cranked up the engine even higher hoping to be securely anchored by the time they r...

On June 9 we set out early in the morning for a week-long cruise. Our plan was to sail 70 nautical miles to the Sassafras River in one long day. The winds were predicted to be in the teens so it should have been possible. The winds were less than 10 kn when we started down the Choptank so we were under full sail. After about 5 nm the winds had increased into the mid-teens and we started to think about adding a reef. There is one particularly narrow spot near Oxford that often has much stronger winds than anywhere else on the Choptank. We decided to go ahead and add a reef. I took the helm and George lowered the main halyard. As he was winching the reef line it seemed to be caught on something. We were both trying to sort out where it was hung up. Just as George noticed that it was wrapped around the block at the mast, the main sail came flopping down to the deck and lines seemed to be flying everywhere. I said "what the heck happened?" George said "the lazy jack lines...