Most memorable sailing experience

[SalishCraig]

I thought it might be interesting to start a thread of sailnet communities most memorable sailing experiences. Not necessarily about difficult or scarry sailing situations that you survivied...but more about interactions between crew members on long voyages or experiences finding crew or a berth on a boat headed offshore.

If this strikes your interest...let's hear from you.

[Faster]

Not truly 'sailing', it was a delivery mostly under power...

Our son bought a boat in Tacoma some years back and we helped with the delivery. It was March in the PNW but we got lucky with some clear weather. He and his wife brought the boat to Seattle, where she got off and I joined the boat for the trip to Vancouver. The original plan included stopping at Oak Harbour. However as we approached the La Conner 'ditch' at dusk we had calm conditions, a full moon and clear skies so we decided to carry on. The boat was equipped with a handheld GPS with a preloaded route, and radar so we felt our way through the approach, through the canal and out the other end at Anacortes. It was a good bonding experience, with my son telling me 'not many people I'd do this with!' - already a good moment.

Now midnight, we actually found a gas station open for fuel, tanked up and continued on. As dawn approached we were nearing Pt Roberts and the border. The full moon was setting dead ahead, brilliant orange as the sun rose over Bellingham behind my shoulder. It was a magical moment, but my son had finally gotten below for some sleep and I was loathe to wake him.

We arrived safely in Vancouver after 31 hours straight in a new-to-us boat and a fine-running A4!

[jrd22]

Great story Ron (you must be on the hook or tied up somewhere with Wifi?).
Difficult to pin down the most memorable, I feel fortunate that there have been many. I think it would have to be, like Faster, a trip on my son's boat (Bayfield 36) in the Bahamas. We had worked on and provisioned the boat for 10 days in Pompano Beach, Fl where my father lives before crossing the stream from Ft. Lauderdale. The crossing was mostly a motor but a beautiful night and gorgeous sunrise before arriving at West End. We had a great sail the next day to Great Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands where we anchored after dark. We were on a tight schedule to get me to Nassau so we moved on the following day to another anchorage in a tight little idyllic bay about 15-20 NM south. The next day we set off for Nassau with a good strong wind off the port quarter. We sailed all day using the Monitor to steer with a steady breeze and 6' waves. It was a fantastic long day of sailing with my son Ben and I high fiveing and grinning like fools all the way until we set the hook. We also had great fishing, catching a big fish every day completely filling the freezer by the time I had to leave the boat and catch my flight home.

[SalishCraig]

My wife, son and I have spent much of the last 10 years sailing Washington and British Columbia's inner passage from the San Juan Islands to the Broughton's.

When we first bought our boat my son was 9 and the thing he liked the most was to dip net for shrimp from the marina docks on the warm summer nights. At first we were really concerned for his safety and wouldn't let him out of our sight, and of course made him wear a life vest at all times. But as he grew and became more experienced shrimping from the docks we let him roam farther from our slip. It didn't take long before he had a 5 gal bucket full of shrimp and other more exotic marine life. Long green segmented sea worms, eels, juvenile fish, sea urchins, star fish, etc. filled his buckets. As his collection of marine life grew so did the trail of curious children and adults that followed him grow. If the summer night was clear and warm, he'd keep dip netting sea creatures until well past midnight. He'd show other kids how to use their new dip nets to catch the biggest pile shrimp,and tell the names of the creatures he caught to adults that stopped to examine his catch. At the end of the night he'd always protest when we told him to return his catch to the sea before the perrished in his bucket. His fasination for dip netting has expanded to include fishing and crabbing and people often comment "that kid really loves to fish".

Our son is almost 17 now and he still spends hours fishing, crabbing and dip netting...and some of his fondest memories are of summer nights spent dip neeting from the marina docks along the inner passage of Washington and Canada. Their some of our fondest memories too.

Hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

[Harborless]

Most memorable--- Getting demasted in the St. Johns river in a 14' dinghy. I remember that day alright. Lessons were learned.

[Dumah]

I recall as a very green trainee marine engineer (40 years ago) I came off watch at 0600 and came up on deck for a "breath" , it was one of those grey days where the sky and sea were the same colour......... no visible horizon.......... looked around and saw nothing but grey. In half a panic, I went to the wheelhouse to look forward and check the radar which I'd only just learned what it did, set on 40 miles. There was NOTHING showing. It was then that I realised just how small and insignificant not only me, but that 158' dragger really was in the grand scheme of things. Obviously made a very large impression on a 19 year old, but did give me a better attitude towards life in general. I believe that if more people could experience this there would be a whole lot less grief on this planet.

Cheers, Dumah,
Halifax, NS

[centaursailor]

Nothing much to report, sailing wise, yet:
Safe sailing

[CharlieCobra]

On a beam reach from Friday Harbor back to Anacortes on a moonlit night with everything flying, red and green spray in the lights, phosphoresence in the wake and one of my Sons at the helm, just screaming along across the Rosario Strait with oldies on the box. Nowhere else either of us cared to be at the time....

[sailortjk1]

The ones that are the most memorable and the ones that you never forget are the white knuckle hair raising standing on your ear spray in your face with thunder and lightening overhead. The relaxing sitting in the sun on a beam reach for mile after mile all blend together over time.
It's the others that stick with you.

[T37Chef]

To date, I would have to say our first extended night sail on the bay a few years ago.

We left Crisfield, Maryland a bit before dusk heading North on Tangier Sound though Kedges Straights, and Northwest to Solomons Island. Winds were set for a perfect beam reach. The kids were asleep in their bunks and my wife and I enjoyed an absolutely beautiful sail. A refreshing cool breeze in July, clear skies, and felt like we had the bay to ourselves.