Spring Break!

Cruise #8 - Crew : Chief Engineer Boston, Acting Ensign Dabby, occasional rope pullers or looseners - Jacque, Smellen and Wheelie Guy Mark.

Weather : Warm! Felt like high 60s in the marina, a little cooler in the wind, which was blowing lightly but steadily from the east or upstream, which I guess is the norm. 

We tacked back and forth for a few hours. It felt like we were going fast through the water but we barely made any progress upstream. When we turned around we were back at the marina before we knew it. That current is some serious business.

 Boston steady at the tiller. There were a few other sailboats out and we watched what they were doing and sometimes tried to match headings or point slightly off to catch up.

Grace O'Malley

Cruise #7 - Spring Sailing

Crew : Chief Engineer Boston, Assistant Helmsperson Tricia, Chief Rigger Cory the Kid, Honorary Admiral Eric Spence with Shelley and Ingrid.

Weather : Balmy. Light winds from the west at first, so we motored upstream for a while then caught some moderate wind from the south.

The voyage started with a tiny bit of panic. "Why is the inside of the boat filling up with water?" Not my favorite phrase. It turned out it was because the fresh water outlet from the engine was leaking into the cockpit locker. Boston jumped right in there and fixed it, displaying exactly the qualities I look for in a chief engineer.

 Once the boat was no longer actively sinking we raised the sails and had a very pleasant cruise back and forth across the river.

 The wind freshened from the south and we got going pretty fast a few times, I'm looking forward to a good season of sailing.