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
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Sassafras River
We finally dropped anchor near where we were on Saturday. We arrived at about midnight after eating hamburgers on the go while transiting the C&D Canal. We are all pretty tired after a long day sailing. But Sylvia and Alejandro feel like they really learned from this long sailing day. A lot of time at the helm and just about every point of sail multiple times. Just enough wind to keep us moving at about 6.5 knots pretty much all day.
We plan on stopping at Rock Hall tomorrow and have a "shopping" day ashore. We will most likely stay at the marina just inside the harbor.
More tomorrow,
Ciao
We plan on stopping at Rock Hall tomorrow and have a "shopping" day ashore. We will most likely stay at the marina just inside the harbor.
More tomorrow,
Ciao
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Captain 2b Jiva here from the Chesapeake bay near Sassafras river. I am trying on new call names for myself as captain- what do you think of this one?
We are motoring there to anchor for the evening after 9 hours of wonderful sailing up the Delaware bay. del river and the C& D canal. That would not be channel #5 please note.
However, this morning around 2 Am I started shifting in my sleep ultimately taking the alwathships position. Sensitive to change as I am I did not realize that I was changing my position for we were at a 45 degree angle- b/c we had hit bottom. Did I think to wake the captain or crew. but no !! I just kept on sleeping- Captain called me nimrod for a second time in two days. Well deserved. We waiting until 8 am to float again and off we were with dolphins at our side for 3 hours north.
I ask you where is 0 on the compass? then again where is 360? Due north? After that discussion captain asked the rhetorical question: Did HE really sign up for this?
We sailed 9 hours today in variable conditions. Excellent technical experience. We are laughing a lot and enjoying the difference between us. Alejhandro translates for the captain and myself, even though English is his second language. I think you get the picture.
Tacking and jibbing and navigation rules the day. I ask a lot of questions. Sometimes the captain asks Alejandro to answer- It takes a while to get used to constant cross examination. I can't help myself. My new nick name is Shirley!
Alexander mommy loves you are you ever going to post a comment Zander pants??
We are motoring there to anchor for the evening after 9 hours of wonderful sailing up the Delaware bay. del river and the C& D canal. That would not be channel #5 please note.
However, this morning around 2 Am I started shifting in my sleep ultimately taking the alwathships position. Sensitive to change as I am I did not realize that I was changing my position for we were at a 45 degree angle- b/c we had hit bottom. Did I think to wake the captain or crew. but no !! I just kept on sleeping- Captain called me nimrod for a second time in two days. Well deserved. We waiting until 8 am to float again and off we were with dolphins at our side for 3 hours north.
I ask you where is 0 on the compass? then again where is 360? Due north? After that discussion captain asked the rhetorical question: Did HE really sign up for this?
We sailed 9 hours today in variable conditions. Excellent technical experience. We are laughing a lot and enjoying the difference between us. Alejhandro translates for the captain and myself, even though English is his second language. I think you get the picture.
Tacking and jibbing and navigation rules the day. I ask a lot of questions. Sometimes the captain asks Alejandro to answer- It takes a while to get used to constant cross examination. I can't help myself. My new nick name is Shirley!
Alexander mommy loves you are you ever going to post a comment Zander pants??
Day Four
We are sailing up the Delaware Bay and making wonderful time. We set the sails early this am and have been sailing ever since. We are approaching the nuclear power plant and have about seven miles to go before we re-enter the C&D canal. It has been sprinkling for most of the afternoon but enough to make us don our foulies. I will attempt to post a couple of photos on this post.
More to follow when we get the anchor down tonight.
Ciao,
Cap'n Dave
More to follow when we get the anchor down tonight.
Ciao,
Cap'n Dave
Monday, June 14, 2010
Captain 2B Sylvia here. We are turning back coming from whence we came due to fog and NE winds of 15-20 miles per hour. Sounded exciting to me a bit like taking out a boat for the first time on the 4th of July. Actually I suggested we turn around as time is a factor and weather of course. We are right around the corner from Rehobeth Beach. HI Alexander!!!!!!!!!! I am not far from you at all. Lots of Love swim safely while I sail safely. We had some exciting sailing today though. xo
Day Three
I am writing in this blog from an anchorage at Cape Henolpen. This is located right at the very bottom of Delaware Bay on the western shore. We had a nice marina stay last night and a lively motor sail down the bay. We reached the mouth of the bay right on schedule at 5:30 and turned out into the Atlantic. Within 20 mins we had fog with viability at less then 100yds and winds were building to 20kts out of the SSE. I immediately decided to turn back and duck in this "harbor of refuge" to reassess our position with respect to the overnight along the Atlantic coast. After dropping the anchor and eating a hot meal we turned on the NOAA marine forecast to see what we could expect to encounter in the next 24hrs. It didn't sound good! Light winds early from the south and northeast after midnight building to 15 to 20 with gusts higher. We three sat in the cockpit and discussed this at great length and we decided not to venture out but rather turn back up the Delaware in the morning after a good nights sleep. We plan to make it back up and through the C&D and anchor in the Bohemia River Tuesday night. Maybe over to Rock Hall for a marina stay on Wednesday. Then back to HHN on Thursday for an early or on time return depending your point of view. We were all very disappointed that we had to make this decision but we all agreed that for safety's sake it was the right one. I will turn the keyboard over to Sylvia and Alejandro for their comments in a moment. More to follow tomorrow.
Ciao,
Cap'n Dave
Ciao,
Cap'n Dave
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Capt;ain Dave's Comments on Day Two
Well the fan belt problems have been solved..thank goodness for that. Now for some unknown reason the wall mounted cabin heater is leaking diesel fuel onto my bunk. We think that when I topped off the main tank and the heat of the past two days there was some expansion that pushed fuel up into the heater and it dripped out when we heeled over sailing. Well as we use up some of the fuel this should stop if our theory is correct. We shall see.
Today we experienced our first squall. It came at us from the west with plenty of warning so the crew and vessel was prepared in time. There was some gusts up to 35kts or so and also some rain. The crew now has had the opportunity to ready themselves and the rig to stay under control during these brief but violent events. WELL DONE CREW AND HATTER.
We finally made it to Summit North albeit a day later than planned. We all had real showers and a nice meal ashore. We all feel a lot better now.
We are off to Delaware Bay and beyond in the morning about 7:00. We wanted to leave at 6:00 but the pumpout service doesn't open till 7:00. We will have an eye to the weather offshore along the Delaware/Va coast before committing to the leg back to Chesapeake Bay.
More tomorrow as we progress.
David
Today we experienced our first squall. It came at us from the west with plenty of warning so the crew and vessel was prepared in time. There was some gusts up to 35kts or so and also some rain. The crew now has had the opportunity to ready themselves and the rig to stay under control during these brief but violent events. WELL DONE CREW AND HATTER.
We finally made it to Summit North albeit a day later than planned. We all had real showers and a nice meal ashore. We all feel a lot better now.
We are off to Delaware Bay and beyond in the morning about 7:00. We wanted to leave at 6:00 but the pumpout service doesn't open till 7:00. We will have an eye to the weather offshore along the Delaware/Va coast before committing to the leg back to Chesapeake Bay.
More tomorrow as we progress.
David
Day Two
Day Two:
This is Sylvia blogging for the first time ever.,. oh lala from Chesapeake and Delaware Canal aka C&D Canal. I did not even know this canal existed until yesterday. The captain has been so funny today, mostly making fun of the first mate -me. Although Alejandro, aka Alexander, is outside smoking as I banned him from the boat with his hand rolled dukes and the captain just called him chimney instead of Alejandro and he answered. I have been laughing crocodile laughing tears. About ten minutes ago the captain said he was going to give me the information slow so as to not overload my mind.. lol to that for ten minutes. Although he did concede that I was a quick learner under duress. The captain was teaching me about the the electronics on the boat, in particular today's lesson was about VHF radio. We were calling into the marina where we are moored for the evening, there was a storm coming. He called the marina over the radio 6x to no avail. Summit North this is the sailing vessel Mad Hatter on channel 16 OVER. Storms make the the captain cranky I have noticed. The VHF radio has a wireless hand-held device. He went below to get his fowl weather gear- I on the other hand reminded them all that I was sweet but not made of sugar so I could remain in my bathing suit and weather the storm. pun intended. I heard over the hand-held that the marina responded. They are answering they are answering!!! When the captain came on deck I told him to answer for the marina answered him over the radio. He tried again and then he looked at me and called me a nimrod. aka I have no idea but we were laughing uncontrollably for he had called over the VHF radio when he was below and I mistook his transmission for that of the marina over the hand-held remote device. Now that is funny. On that note first mate Sylvia signs out for today Happy sailing, Happy living and big huge enormous hugs and kisses to Alexander !!!!!
This is Sylvia blogging for the first time ever.,. oh lala from Chesapeake and Delaware Canal aka C&D Canal. I did not even know this canal existed until yesterday. The captain has been so funny today, mostly making fun of the first mate -me. Although Alejandro, aka Alexander, is outside smoking as I banned him from the boat with his hand rolled dukes and the captain just called him chimney instead of Alejandro and he answered. I have been laughing crocodile laughing tears. About ten minutes ago the captain said he was going to give me the information slow so as to not overload my mind.. lol to that for ten minutes. Although he did concede that I was a quick learner under duress. The captain was teaching me about the the electronics on the boat, in particular today's lesson was about VHF radio. We were calling into the marina where we are moored for the evening, there was a storm coming. He called the marina over the radio 6x to no avail. Summit North this is the sailing vessel Mad Hatter on channel 16 OVER. Storms make the the captain cranky I have noticed. The VHF radio has a wireless hand-held device. He went below to get his fowl weather gear- I on the other hand reminded them all that I was sweet but not made of sugar so I could remain in my bathing suit and weather the storm. pun intended. I heard over the hand-held that the marina responded. They are answering they are answering!!! When the captain came on deck I told him to answer for the marina answered him over the radio. He tried again and then he looked at me and called me a nimrod. aka I have no idea but we were laughing uncontrollably for he had called over the VHF radio when he was below and I mistook his transmission for that of the marina over the hand-held remote device. Now that is funny. On that note first mate Sylvia signs out for today Happy sailing, Happy living and big huge enormous hugs and kisses to Alexander !!!!!
Day One
Okay, it was a great start to our trip. We left HHN right at six o'clock as planned. The tide was very high so we motored out over the bar. Then we noticed a funny smell coming from the engine. Upon inspection we discovered the fan belt had failed. No worries. We had a spare onboard. After a quick install we set sails and started up the bay. We were doing a constant 5.5 to 6 kts and passed under the bay bridge in record time. The winds continued to build a bit and we had a great sail. Just after we passed Rock Hall to the east the winds started to die a bit and the tide changed against us. But we carried on doing 3.5 to 4 kts. About mid afternoon we decided to motor a while as we needed to enter the C%D canal with a favorable current. Disaster struck then. The spare fan belt failed as well. So we called Georgetown Yacht Basin and sure enough they had one. We did the transaction over the phone and the guy said he would leave the new belt in a dock box and gave us the combo. We set the chute and flew up to the Sassafras and turned into the river under cutter rig. Dropped the anchor about a mile from the yacht basin and Capt Dave took the dink to the dock and retrieved the belt. A quick installation and test run proved all was okay. We ate supper on the hook and sat and chatted in the cockpit until ten. Then it was lights out.
Total miles today was about 50nm almost entirely under sail. Great first day except for the motor issue.
More later today when we finalize our plans for today.
Total miles today was about 50nm almost entirely under sail. Great first day except for the motor issue.
More later today when we finalize our plans for today.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Preparations Continue
Beth came down to the Hatter on this past Sunday and scrubbed the inside until it was sparkling. It looks like a new boat inside. On Thursday I have a diver coming to clean the bottom and de-barnacle the prop and shaft. I will move the boat into the channel and anchor since HHN does not permit divers at the docks.
I have started to stock up on provisions with the help of Beth. Tomorrow I will cook some sort of dish that we can warm over underway. This will most likely be ground turkey and pasta with peppers, onions and tomato sauce.
We had our crew meeting this past Saturday at the TSA office and the itinerary was discussed at great length and also any special food needs of the crew.
We plan to board the boat on Friday night and leave at 6:00am on Saturday in order to make the favorable current in the C&D canal. We plan to overnight at Summit North Marina and catch the tide on Sunday am down the Delaware Bay.
I have started to stock up on provisions with the help of Beth. Tomorrow I will cook some sort of dish that we can warm over underway. This will most likely be ground turkey and pasta with peppers, onions and tomato sauce.
We had our crew meeting this past Saturday at the TSA office and the itinerary was discussed at great length and also any special food needs of the crew.
We plan to board the boat on Friday night and leave at 6:00am on Saturday in order to make the favorable current in the C&D canal. We plan to overnight at Summit North Marina and catch the tide on Sunday am down the Delaware Bay.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Trip Preparations
We are currently getting the Mad Hatter 11 ready for the 400nm trip around the Delmarva Peninsular. She has already made the trip once back in 2002 with a group organized by a now defunct company from Annapolis. We had navigated clockwise around and ended up in the ocean having to tack due to the prevailing southwesterly winds. I am considering a counterclockwise direction, depending on the weather forecast, in order to take advantage of good winds and wind direction. We will make the final decision the night before departure when we check the weather. Either way, we expect to do at least one overnight leg and most likely two in order to make it back to Deale by the following Friday (June 18th) early enough in the day to allow the two crew members to take any ASA tests that they choose. We will be teaching info from A-103, A-104 and A-105 during the trip.
We will all board the boat on Friday evening for a safety orientation and boat familiarization. We will be provisioning at the same time.
More to follow in the days ahead.
Capt Dave
We will all board the boat on Friday evening for a safety orientation and boat familiarization. We will be provisioning at the same time.
More to follow in the days ahead.
Capt Dave
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