The winds were blowing 10 to 15kts out of the NW, the sun was out and the humidity was low. Perfect conditions for sailing south from Rock Hall to HHN. We slipped our lines at Rock Hall Landing Marina about 11:30 after pumping out the holding tank. It was pretty rough exiting the narrow channel between the breakwaters and the crew was pretty quiet except for a occasional screech from Sylvia who was up at the bow. After clearing the outer marks we set the yankee and turned for the bay bridge to the south. This was a new sail configuration for the crew. Questions were asked about sail trim and choice. We were doing about 6 to 6.5kts over the bottom as evidenced by the gps.
Once we had cleared the bridge we set the main. Now we were doing over 8kts and having a ball. The crew each had ample helm time and they did wonderfully keeping our course even tho some gusts reached 25kts. We turned the red 2 just north of HHS about three thirty and doused the headsail choosing to motor sail with just the main north toward the entrance to our home base. We backed the Hatter into her slip at 4:30 just a little over four hours since leaving Rock Hall about 30 miles away. Great trip, great sail, great winds/conditions and a great way to complete our journey. We were all feeling tired but a good tired filled with the experience of the past six days of cruising.
About the crew. They could not have been more compatible, eager to learn, full of good questions and generally very enjoyable to spend time on the water with. Hopefully they will remember some if not all the lessons learned and bring that knowledge with them every time they hit the water in the future.
Signing off this is Cap'n Dave. Look for future opportunities to sail aboard the Hatter to local places of interest such as St Michaels, Oxford and Cambridge as posted on "The Sailing Academy" website.
Ciao
Friday, June 18, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Captain 2be Shirely here. That is my handle today. Today is our last day of sailng as we go from Rock Hall to Herrington Harbor North. We had nice ice cream here and a wonderful shower. We looked at stars and planets with the my handy dandy sky scout. It has a red light so does the cpatians boat. I like the blue lights but the red apparently work so that you can see at night and not effect your night eye vision. I need Alexander night vision goggles. Can I borrow them please???????????
I think the trip was excellent. The benefits are appreciating that everyone has natural talents and it is very evident sailing and promotes team work. We sailed with the sails in many configurations. The weather was variable so we learned to keep a course while at the helm. I learned much about the charts and the navigational instruments which was tested at night seeking out a safe harbor to anchor. The planning aspect and execution of the plan for watches at the helm was beneficial psychologically and literally. We contacted marinas for reservations. Giving life to all the lines and equipment was huge. Watching the Captain make choices, change course depending on weather and intuitively anticipate everything was a huge lesson in itself. The fact that he indulged us/me in the inquiry as to how and why he made is decisions was enormously beneficial- even though the Captain probably thought some truth should be self evident. ON the other hand E= mc2 only became self evident after it became evident. I got the E= part and now I am working on my mc2.
Mostly, however, Captain David taught us throughout, tolerated our repetitive questions (Mine mostly- didn't I answer that last night for you Shirley) and folded in his wonderful sense of humor and true candor all the time. I have not laughed this hard in years. The three of us got along exceedingly well and honored each others space with ease. They even liked my perfume Chanel Number 5 baby!!
Signing out Captain 2b SyYlvia, Jiva, Shirely aka nimrod : )))))
PS I miss you Alexander !!!!
I think the trip was excellent. The benefits are appreciating that everyone has natural talents and it is very evident sailing and promotes team work. We sailed with the sails in many configurations. The weather was variable so we learned to keep a course while at the helm. I learned much about the charts and the navigational instruments which was tested at night seeking out a safe harbor to anchor. The planning aspect and execution of the plan for watches at the helm was beneficial psychologically and literally. We contacted marinas for reservations. Giving life to all the lines and equipment was huge. Watching the Captain make choices, change course depending on weather and intuitively anticipate everything was a huge lesson in itself. The fact that he indulged us/me in the inquiry as to how and why he made is decisions was enormously beneficial- even though the Captain probably thought some truth should be self evident. ON the other hand E= mc2 only became self evident after it became evident. I got the E= part and now I am working on my mc2.
Mostly, however, Captain David taught us throughout, tolerated our repetitive questions (Mine mostly- didn't I answer that last night for you Shirley) and folded in his wonderful sense of humor and true candor all the time. I have not laughed this hard in years. The three of us got along exceedingly well and honored each others space with ease. They even liked my perfume Chanel Number 5 baby!!
Signing out Captain 2b SyYlvia, Jiva, Shirely aka nimrod : )))))
PS I miss you Alexander !!!!
Day Six
Well this is to be the last day of our trip and it looks like we will have some great conditions to sail south back to HHN. The winds are brisk from the NW with bright sunny skies and low humidity. We should enjoy some runs and broad reaches down the bay and under the bay bridge. Hopefully it will be an enjoyable conclusion to the trip.
Cap'n Dave requested that each of the crew post a last note on the blog that would incude their thoughts about the experience and what they learned through the hands on sailing of the last six days.
Cap'n Dave requested that each of the crew post a last note on the blog that would incude their thoughts about the experience and what they learned through the hands on sailing of the last six days.
Day Five
We all slept in a bit this morning as we had had a long sailing day yesterday up the Delaware Bay. We were anchored in the Sassafras River in a nice sheltered spot about four miles from the entrance. The skipper cooked up some breakfast and we all had bacon, eggs and toast. (Sylvia was a bit skeptical about the pots and pans aboard the Hatter and thought that she may gift a few to replace the worn out items.) It was a nice leisurely morning and we all recharged our batteries for the days sail ahead.
Once again there were storm warnings about severe t-storms in the afternoon so after raising anchor at about noon we motorsailed down the bay towards Rock Hall. We made good time running with the ebbing tide and pulled into Rock Hall Harbor about 5:30. We contacted the Rock Hall Landing Marina and as requested they placed us on a "tee-head" dock. This made getting on and off the boat very convenient. We three headed off to the Waterman's Crab House and had a beverage and some appetizers. We planned to eat dinner later on after showers and a walk into town to get some needed provisions. Along the way we just happened to stop at an ice cream parlor for a sample of their fare. Yummy!
Later after dinner we all had fun watching Capt Bob (Blue Crab Sailing Tours) docking and undocking his 37' Watkins under full main. Yikes!
More to follow later on....
Ciao for now,
Cap'n Dave
Once again there were storm warnings about severe t-storms in the afternoon so after raising anchor at about noon we motorsailed down the bay towards Rock Hall. We made good time running with the ebbing tide and pulled into Rock Hall Harbor about 5:30. We contacted the Rock Hall Landing Marina and as requested they placed us on a "tee-head" dock. This made getting on and off the boat very convenient. We three headed off to the Waterman's Crab House and had a beverage and some appetizers. We planned to eat dinner later on after showers and a walk into town to get some needed provisions. Along the way we just happened to stop at an ice cream parlor for a sample of their fare. Yummy!
Later after dinner we all had fun watching Capt Bob (Blue Crab Sailing Tours) docking and undocking his 37' Watkins under full main. Yikes!
More to follow later on....
Ciao for now,
Cap'n Dave
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