18 April 2011 | Alexandria, VA
11 May 2010
31 July 2009
26 April 2009
24 January 2009 | Cadle Creek
27 December 2008 | Chesapeake Bay
09 November 2008
13 October 2008
30 September 2008
13 July 2008 | Warehouse Creek
30 May 2008 | St. Mary's River
26 May 2008 | Rhode River & Chesapeake Bay
24 May 2008 | Chesapeake Bay
04 May 2008 | Chesapeake Bay
29 April 2008

First day of great sailing!

15 April 2006 | Chesapeake Bay
Today I intended on primarily sailing, not working on the boat. Dave joined me as crew and helped me out. Dave noticed that we set up my jib on the furler incorrectly and we removed it and put back on correctly. We initially had the incorrect end of the halyard attached to the head of the sail. Now the sail is a few inches higher off the deck giving a better view from the cockpit. Thanks Dave for figuring that out and the help! We had a great day on the water, set sail around noon and came back around 5pm. For a good amount of time we were sailing 5-6 knots, our top speed was around 6.25 knots! That's about hull speed and can't get much faster than that. We sailed north towards the Thomas Point light house and sailed about 30 minutes past it. We had some steady winds the entire way north, but then it died down for about 20-30 minutes when we decided to head back to port. We started up the Honda and motored for during that time. The wind soon picked up again and we were back to some more adventurous sailing. There were some strong gusts and sometimes we furled the head sail to a smaller size. Even with my genoa 135% furled to around 100-110% we were easily hitting 5 knots. We were heeling the boat with the port rail probably about 6-12" from the water. Hard to tell exactly, but if you were on that side of the boat, you would easily be able to touch the water and would get wet with the waves. I have to get used to the way my boat handles and what her limits are. She feels pretty stable, but I have to get used to the heeling. It's a little daunting at first, but as you get used to it, it sure is a lot of fun. The weather was beautiful, around 80F, and partly sunny. They forecasted a 30% chance of isolated thunder storms which we did not encounter. We did have a little rain even though we would look up and see blue sky, sun, and only a few clouds. It made for a great day of sailing on the bay.
Here are some pictures:
Thomas Point Light House
DSCN1643

Heeling on a starboard tack.
DSCN1648

It was a great time out on the water. I can't wait until next weekend!
Comments
Vessel Name: Sapphire Breeze
Vessel Make/Model: 1982 Catalina 25 SK/SR
Hailing Port: Mayo, MD
Crew: Justin
Extra: This site is all about my experiences with my first boat; from restoring it, to my sailing adventures. I enjoy hearing from my readers, so feel free to send me an email. I'm also interested in meeting new people in the area, especially people in my age range since I hardly know any that sail.

Who: Justin
Port: Mayo, MD