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Where did you sail over the Labor Day Weekend?

6K views 45 replies 42 participants last post by  tweitz 
#1 ·
As my brother in-law and his nephew were vacationing on Coronado Island (San Diego, CA), I chartered a Catalina 22 Capri on Sunday, and took them sailing in the San Diego Bay on Sunday. They had never been sailiing before, and with some moderate winds kicking up in the afternoon, they had a ball. My 12 year-old nephew had a turn at the tiller for a while, and performed pretty well. The first time we got into a decent heel, there were some big eyes, but everybody seemed to have a very good time.

It's funny.... Non-sailers don't really understand the enjoyment of sailing until they get out on the water.

So where did you sail???

Eric
 
#8 ·
Although it kills me to say it - we didn't sail. No wind (well 5-6 knots). It was rather excruciating.
You think that's painful. We had great wind up here, and I still didn't sail, because I'm stuck at school finishing my thesis! Alls I gotta say is that it better still be windy in a coupla weeks... (not too worried about that).
 
#3 ·
We got a late start on Saturday, and with light airs we had to curtail our itinerary. We sailed (slowly) then motored the last bit to a creek only about 10 miles away. We spent the weekend there, kayaking and exploring in the sailing dinghy.

Monday morning, we left early for home. We didn't want to disturb our neighbors in the anchorage, so we sailed off the anchor under thick overcast, catching a favorable and fun northeast breeze back to our mooring.

The only downside was that, without running the engine, we didn't get to recharge our batteries. :)
 
#4 ·
Finished a slow trip around the Delmarva

Huricane Bill made for a nice swell on the beginning ocean leg 2 weeks ago, but we enjoyed wonderful reaching conditions. All of the Delmarva inlets were breaking, except for Chincoteague. They had a marker off-station, the but the CG told me where it was and where it should have been; no troubles. They had it back in place the next day.

We got to bash up the Delaware into 20 knots with an opposing tide. A lot of pitching for the first bit. There was no avoiding it; we were in Cape May and the wind stayed north for a week.

And then there was the upper Chesapeake on the weekend. About 100 muscle boats started a poker run, I guess, from the head of the Bay. Every express cruiser must have been out, adding a wake. By mid-morning there were 2-foot waves coming from every dirrection, but with no perceptible wind driven waves, even though it was blowing 10 knots.

By Sunday we were off Annapolis, jibing around a dozen racing events and enjoying great reaching conditions.
 
#5 ·
Our club had a rendezvous at Newcastle Island Park, in Nanaimo harbour, 31 NM from our marina. We got off early Friday afternoon and unfortunately motored in flat calm conditions the whole way.

Sat/Sun events were entirely outdoors, and we were fairly lucky Saturday, getting off a happy hour ashore in dry conditions. Sunday brought a torrential downpour in the morning and intermittent rain through the afternoon so our "games" were a bit damp. It rained seriously during our outdoor BBQ but we pulled it off and ate in a couple of camp shelters. Both days had lots of wind, including several squalls to 30+ knots.

Monday dawned sunny but windless with leftover slop from the previous days/nights' blow... got to 5-6 knots of breeze and we managed to sail an hour or so - but that was it.
 
#7 ·
We spent Thurs and Fri on Lake Granby, Colorado, under the western side of Rocky Mountain National Park and about 8300' above sea level. Pretty, even with beetle-kill running 80%.



We got hit with several afternoon thunderstorms -- a bit late in the year for such intensity.



One nearly trapped us against the southern shore with sudden winds of 60 mph. We were a few seconds late shortening sail and had a bad time. Once we got things put away and the boat started moving, it was fine; the storm ended just 14 minutes after the first blast hit.:D It was a bit frustrating from a sailing POV, with winds that would never set in direction or intensity -- flukey even by the standard of mountain lakes. Probably our last trip of the season. Took the Bucc18 out for a couple hours yesterday, to sort out the new waterproof video camera. Screwed up the white levels something awful, and found it's tricky to hike and film at the same time.:laugher Still, gotta love a boat that planes upwind.;)
 
#9 ·
We spent most of our weekend bumming around the Severn River area on the Chesapeake. While we ended up motoring on Saturday due to light winds, we had some nice sailing on Sunday and Monday and hardly had to motor at all. Not too bad! :)
 
#10 ·
Went out Saturday to sail the Crown 23 for the first time (very impressed) around the inlet in Vancouver. Winds were moderate throughout the day, it was raining but I didn't care. Then went out Monday (same area) and better skies with sun and a moderate wind.
 
#11 ·
Because of Tropical Storm Erika our intended plans were altered. Thursday and Friday prepared the house and boat for the storm rather than sailing to Culebra as planned. Saturday stayed home and watched it rain most of the day while reading an email from the marina suggesting everyone come out and pick up their hurricane lines since the marina was now open. I did venture out with intentions of doing just that Saturday afternoon but the frequent showers and the ferocious mosquitos convinced me to go back home. Sunday morning put the dink in the water, picked up my lines and took the wife and another friend for a ride back into a mangrove lagoon to look at all the boats nestled in there to hide from the storm that thankfully didn't come.
Labor Day we got on the boat and had a beautiful sail over to Jost Van Dyke.

Spent the day enjoying the sun and some great libations from the lovely establishments on shore. It was the fewest boats I have ever seen in White Bay.


Enjoyed a great sail back just before sunset.
 
#12 ·
Labor Day Weekend

Started Friday with a sunset/moonlight sail to Shelter Island with the admiral. Gorgeous night, full moon was spectacular, but no wind to speak of. Sailed back home Saturday, started with almost no wind, picked up some light wind and had a pleasant sail back to East Hampton. Sunday was a whole other story. Small craft advisory, winds between 20-25 knots and unusually big waves in Gardiner's Bay. Went out with my son and son-in-law. Fortunately I am color blind because I didn't notice them turning green. Sailed on reefed genoa alone on a beam reach until I noticed something starting to shred on the genoa. Headed back in before the damage got too expensive. On inspection ashore it looks like some of the UV shield material split, the body of the sail itself is fine.


 
#13 ·
Hey Eric, we turned right at the intersection of Pt Loma & Get out of my Way ( had to use my blinker ) looking for slow whales, we ended up off La Jolla about 12-15 km, not one damn whale

Beautiful day though
 
#15 ·
Yaquina Bay, of course

Saturday and Sunday were stormy on the central Oregon coast so Monday was the only day we could go out. I took a friend out for his first sailing since he was a little kid and the weather was nearly perfect. We had about 6 knots steady with 11-12 gusts most of the day according to the readings at the Hatfield Marine Science Center. It varies so much with where you are in the bay so I think we had that at times on the upper bay and 2-3 knots higher on the lower bay. We went up river in the morning and back in the afternoon. It was getting late and there was some fog from the bridge outward as we returned.

My friend was on the helm most of the day and he caught on real quick. I got to play with sail trim all day which was an exercise I needed. A fun sailing day. Brown Pelicans are in the bay as are coho salmon. It was a hoot watching the pelicans dive into the bay and the salmon broaching the surface. Cranes and herons are everywhere too. Fishermen and crabbers are everywhere too and we made them nervous all day.
Mike
 
#17 ·
Friday we motorsailed/sailed from Deltaville down the Chesapeake past Wolf Trap light to Point New Comfort and into Mobjack Bay in 15-19 kts and 3-4 foot seas on the port aft quarter. We sailed under jib alone making over 6 knots but the motion was no fun. I had some back spasms in the morning before we even got underway and the motion had my wife feeling nauseous for the first hour or so but she bounce back quickly. Anyway, neither of us felt up to rasing the main when we were making acceptable time without it. After rounding Point New Comfort we motored into East River and anchored in an outstandingly scenic river.

Saturday, I expected light winds so set up the spinniker on deck before leaving the anchorage. However the light winds never showed up. In fact I thought my wind instrument was broken for a good while as it showed double goose eggs. I don't think we saw more than 5 knots of wind all day. We ended up motoring all the way out of East River, around York Spit and up to Sara Creek and York River Yacht Haven. After a cooling dip in the pool, we had a a nice group social then a truly enjoyable dinner at the Rivers End.

Sunday, made up for Saturday. We got a leisurely start out of the Marina, being hailed by Sailnetter Jorgen on Querencia as we departed. Once in the York River we hauled up the sails and set out, close hauled on a port tack. We held that out a few miles into the bay and tacked over to starboard when we could lay Wolf Trap Light. The shift of the wind followed us around and we were able to sail on starboard all the past Wolf Trap to Stingray Point light and into the Rappahannock. Our speed only dropped below 5 knots on a few short periods. Just an outstanding day of sailing.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Since you asked...
We drove to Harpswell, ME on Friday night and got under way aboard Eclipse Saturday morning at about 11. We motored out between islands in Casco Bay and hoisted sails around noon, beating past Portland and Biddeford until the wind shifted, and we began running. Since the jib was just slatting in the lee of the main, we furled it. The wind continued to pick up as we watched dolphins breaking the waves in the moonlight. We put a reef in the main. By midnight the waves were up to four or five feet, and we were able to surf at up to 11 knots on some of them. Around 0400 Sunday we had Provincetown light in view as we headed to the Cape Cod Canal. We had hoped to arrive there for the favorable tide at 11:30AM, but were three and a half hours early. With so much wind, (about 15 apparent) we decided to simply buck the current, riding one wave up the entrance channel at better than 10 knots. Inside, the breeze dropped so we shook out the reef. Even fighting the current, we were through the canal by 10:30. In Buzzards Bay the favorable NE wind picked up again, but without the 5-6 foot waves we'd had on the lee shore of Cape Cod Bay. We zipped past Mattapoisett, Marion, Woods Hole, avoided the high-speed New Bedford ferry, remembered fun times we'd had in Padanaram and Cuttyhunk, comparing the miserable weather we'd had then with the fantastic sun and warmth we had Sunday. Off Newport we saw the Caribbean Princess heading out, and at Point Judith we noticed a square-rigged vessel in the outer harbor before we altered course for The Race. We didn't see any submarines. By 22:00 we had passed Little Gull Island, but the breeze was dropping to around 10 knots as we entered Long Island Sound and the moon came up. Down the Sound there was a bit more commercial traffic, but nothing we had to move for until off Milford at around 0400 a Coast Guard cutter asked us to alter course so he could maintain his search pattern for a lost swimmer. A little before this the wind had shifted more North, so had we unfurled the jib. This made jibing out of the way a bit more work than we'd become used to, but we managed. Off Bridgeport the wind picked up a bit, and we tied up in Southport, CT at around 07:30. We had sailed 254 miles in less than 48 hours, much of it under a reefed main. I wonder what we'd have been able to do if we'd hoisted the spinnaker instead of furling the jib most of the way.
 
#19 ·
Our original plans were to sail down to Half Moon Bay, but a rewiring project that we started last month still had some teething problems so we elected to stay inside the Bay instead. We could see a heavy fog bank over <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
San Francisco</ST1:p</st1:City> which usually is a harbinger of big winds so we tucked in one reef and flew the "blade". Passed through the east side of the <ST1:p<st1:placeType w:st="on">Bay</st1:placeType> <st1:placeType w:st="on">Bridge</st1:placeType></ST1:p and got a close up view of the construction there. Our original plan was to head north to the Marin side but when we got to the vicinity of the old Berkeley Pier, Mrs. B said that the slot was too rough and she wanted us to go west to the city front for some wind relief. This is the quintessential "mother-in-law" cruise - Beating into winds blowing in the mid thirty knot range against a large ebb tide. The chop was steep and tall. We were bashing every third wave and had water streaming down both weather decks. We even slipped some water into the cockpit.


Everybody says they sail in big winds, yet on windy days we have the Bay to ourselves. The only other guys out there were a couple of boats practicing for the Rolex Big Boat Series next week. You can always tell a well funded race program when the racers are being followed by their own personal Protector RIB! The one thing I'll never understand about Mrs. B is why she always has to take in the lazy side of the traveler. Coming out of one of our tacks, the traveler was locked in on the (new) "high side". Well, the main promptly stalls, and there we are, six tons of boat, on our side and no way on. "Dear? Could you be so kind and blow the traveler so we can reattach the airflow and get this boat up on her feet and moving again?"
<O:p</O:p
We sail up to Fisherman's Wharf where we turn south and sail along the City front on a running reach. We swap positions so I can grind out the reef. Even with the little jib up we manage to surf some of the larger chop. Mrs. B has her hands full, keeping the boat centered under the mast head in the confused chop? "Was this what it was like on the way to <ST1:p<st1:State w:st="on">Hawaii </st1:State></ST1:plast year?" she asks. "Pretty much, only difference was the ocean waves were much, much bigger." I don't think she is signed on to sail the South Pacific. We turn and head back to <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:pAlameda</ST1:p</st1:City> for a couple of cold ones and an evening BBQ on the boat.<O:p
 
#20 ·
Labor day weekend

Anchored out and stayed local (Ocean City NJ) saturday and sunday. cooked a great breakkie on board of sweet potatoe home fries, sausage/eggs and njoyed the sunrise(s).
heading home around 3PM with 80% of my genny out along w/mizzen, sailing jib/jigger making a high of 8+ knots in an active sea. sweet.
 

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#45 ·
Anchored out and stayed local (Ocean City NJ) saturday and sunday. cooked a great breakkie on board of sweet potatoe home fries, sausage/eggs and njoyed the sunrise(s).
heading home around 3PM with 80% of my genny out along w/mizzen, sailing jib/jigger making a high of 8+ knots in an active sea. sweet.
Hey Bermuda, did you know that you had a sheep hiding on your boat!!!!??? (smile)

In all seriousness, great pics.

- CD
 
#21 ·
Had wonderful day sails out of Rock Hall, MD. My son brought his family from Indiana for a long holiday weekend and it was wonderful. My grandchildren (ages 6, 9 and 10) were aboard last year and so it was a return visit for them, but a first for my son and daughter-in-law. He like sailing, her-not so much. The kids love it, especially the oldest boy although he isn't the natural his 6-yhear old sister is... she stood on a stool at the helm and handled the boat with confidence and ease. She was even talking about feeling the wind on her cheek and knowing from which direction it was blowing...something many adults fail to realize.

All in all, a great weekend of day sailing and a Monday to clean the boat. Have you any idea how difficult it is to remove ground in salsa and blueberries from the cockpit sole?

Fair winds to all...MGM
 
#23 ·
Had to wait till Monday

My wife and I took another couple for their first sail. Winds were light but we used a drifter and glided around at 5 knots. We stayed in Hingham bay and anchored off Worlds End for some goodies. :D
 
#25 ·
After a late Start on Sunday [put finally the reg.numbers on my dinghy] sailed around Annapolis and ended up in Whithall Creek to anchor for the night. Some friends rafted up with their powerboat, brought a delicious dinner and kept me company til after dessert. Monday I slept in and had a great sail to bloody point and back. It was fun to watch all these races that were going on. On my sail back I decidet to check out St.Mikes over the next weekend.
 
#26 ·
Friends came into Baltimore for Saturday. Steamed crabs (a first for our daughter) with fresh corn and tomatoes for dinner. Followed them out to Broad Creek on the Magothy for an overnight on the hook. Great sailing from the Key Bridge to the mouth of the Magothy. Motor sailed home on Monday at 8 kts. Took Tuesday off and enjoyed one more day on the now very clean boat. Life is good.
 
#27 ·
I am so envious of all of you. We were not able to get off the dock over the Labor Day weekend, just too many committments. We are goinig to make a long weekend of it this coming weekend. We are leaving Washington Friday, will probably spend some time playing around in the Pamlico Sound Saturday then visit Belhaven and Bath. :D :D :D
 
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