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OK - so for those of you who frequent this forum, this will not be a 'must-read' - for those of you who are new to this site, new to sailing, or just dreaming of sailing, this note might interest you.
We bought our boat, a 1981 Islander Bahama 30 as a project boat - it was full of mosquitos, water, mold and dead mice - and those were her good points! To her credit, she was floating, and the original Volvo MD7A cranked and started with nothing more than a new battery and good wishes. Thus began a 2 yr process of cleaning, repairs, replacements, upgrades and all of the other aspects of new-to-us, old boat ownership.
Last spring, after literally hours of work, blood, sweat and tears, we splashed her back in the Chesapeake at the same marina we hauled her from. In a sidebar conversation, the marina owner and my wife (aka the Admiral) chatted about the transformation - she telling him she was worried this boat was to be a giant planter in the yard, and he telling her that the vast percentage of boats that looked like ours never see the water again - he could not believe this was the same boat he had hauled for us!
But I digress - this post is about our maiden voyage under sail, so fast forward past a summer of motoring about, ordering a new headsail, finishing the final bits to get the rigging right and we arrive at May 31st, 2014.
It almost did not happen - we were debating whether we even had time to go out. A friend (and fellow sailor) offered to go with to lend support and encouragement, and we pulled the trigger and went. We cast off and left the berth under power, and made our way south from Kent Narrows into the mouth of Prospect Bay. We turned the bow into the wind, and with the Admiral holding her steady on a northerly heading, Mat and I hoisted the Main and unfurled the Genoa. We were soon sailing along at approx 5.5 knots (according to the GPS). We spent the next hours practicing our tacks, trimming sails and remembering how much fun sailing really is -
So if you've read this far, thanks - for the newbies in the room, the first five minutes under sail make all of the work, toil, busted knuckles, boat-yoga, endless trips to the chandlery, worth the trouble. It is a joy that cannot be explained - only experienced first hand. My take away for you is this - Beg for a ride, buy a boat, join a club, take a lesson - what ever it is you need to do to get sailing - if you're reading this you are already hooked, so act on it!
....and lastly, for Smack who always reminds us that if there aren't pictures, it didn't happen - well, pictures.
![]()
The Admiral at the helm
![]()
....I get to drive!
![]()
and finally proof the sails were up and we were actually sailing!
We bought our boat, a 1981 Islander Bahama 30 as a project boat - it was full of mosquitos, water, mold and dead mice - and those were her good points! To her credit, she was floating, and the original Volvo MD7A cranked and started with nothing more than a new battery and good wishes. Thus began a 2 yr process of cleaning, repairs, replacements, upgrades and all of the other aspects of new-to-us, old boat ownership.
Last spring, after literally hours of work, blood, sweat and tears, we splashed her back in the Chesapeake at the same marina we hauled her from. In a sidebar conversation, the marina owner and my wife (aka the Admiral) chatted about the transformation - she telling him she was worried this boat was to be a giant planter in the yard, and he telling her that the vast percentage of boats that looked like ours never see the water again - he could not believe this was the same boat he had hauled for us!
But I digress - this post is about our maiden voyage under sail, so fast forward past a summer of motoring about, ordering a new headsail, finishing the final bits to get the rigging right and we arrive at May 31st, 2014.
It almost did not happen - we were debating whether we even had time to go out. A friend (and fellow sailor) offered to go with to lend support and encouragement, and we pulled the trigger and went. We cast off and left the berth under power, and made our way south from Kent Narrows into the mouth of Prospect Bay. We turned the bow into the wind, and with the Admiral holding her steady on a northerly heading, Mat and I hoisted the Main and unfurled the Genoa. We were soon sailing along at approx 5.5 knots (according to the GPS). We spent the next hours practicing our tacks, trimming sails and remembering how much fun sailing really is -
So if you've read this far, thanks - for the newbies in the room, the first five minutes under sail make all of the work, toil, busted knuckles, boat-yoga, endless trips to the chandlery, worth the trouble. It is a joy that cannot be explained - only experienced first hand. My take away for you is this - Beg for a ride, buy a boat, join a club, take a lesson - what ever it is you need to do to get sailing - if you're reading this you are already hooked, so act on it!
....and lastly, for Smack who always reminds us that if there aren't pictures, it didn't happen - well, pictures.
The Admiral at the helm
....I get to drive!
and finally proof the sails were up and we were actually sailing!
