09/16/2009, Key Biscayne, Florida (United States)
Total Distance: 18 Miles Under Sail: 16
Average Speed: 4.5 kts
Conditions: Light Rain, 75-80 F, Wind Northwest at 5-10 kts, Seas 1-2 ft
Play Time: It was a nice day for a change here in Miami. The forecast was light winds and no rain for a change. Light winds it was 5-8 knots. After leaving the marina I raised sails for a casual sail down the bay. I was pleasantly surprised how well the boat move with light winds. I was seeing 5 knots with 8 knots of wind. Not to bad. The winds were in the sweet spot about 70 degrees off the nose. Enjoying the soft ride was nice without all the hassles of trimming for gusty winds or reefing the sails to keep the heeling down.
Just west of the sandbar I spotted a pod of dolphins. I head for them directly. There was about 11 of them playing in the water. When the boat came up to them they rushed on over to play with the bow wave of the boat. I rushed forward to watch the play time. What a thrill it is to watch them. We hung out together for awhile before they got bored to move on. When they did I tacked the boat over to rejoin the group. When the boat was near them I heave-to. I went to the swim platform, put my feet in the water and made some splashing noises. Believe it or not they came over to investigate the noise. Now my heart was racing as they all come over to check out the crazy women. I discovered one of the dolphins had a baby with her. A little thing, soo cute I wanted to take it home. I didn't enter the water but next time I think I will.
The sail home was just as enjoyable. Gill my dockmate helped with the lines as I pulled in the dock. He commented on how I was the only one here that can do what I do in docking the boat. My believe is the great Hunter rudder allowing me to back up the boat like a car on a dime.
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08/31/2009, Key Biscayne, Florida (United States)
Total Distance: 21 Miles Under Sail: 17
Average Speed: 4.2 kts
Conditions: Light Rain, 75-80 F, Wind Northeast at 5-10 kts, Seas 1-2 ft
BoneHead -
It is funny, down here in Miami summer sailing isn't fun nor do we go out much vs up in the NE with the very short season we go out as much as we can. The differences makes me shake my head. Having said that, I really haven't been sailing much, just go out when the sailing habit gets so bad like I junkie I need a fix. Today was such a day.
Rhapsody in Blue has been tied to the dock in hurricane mode; double and triple tied down, roller furling I wrap a line around the sail to keep it from unfurling, tie down the helm, all the sheets are properly wrapped, etc. A major pain to undo just to go out day sailing. But today was such a day. Winds were real light, 5 knots, rain and occasional thunderstorms. Typical summer day here. I untied all the lines, undid all the sheets, started the motor and launched out. When I started my turn down the fairway, the helm wheel won't move. Not a good thing. After what seemed like an eternity, the big clue light came on where I looked down at my feet to see the wheel double tied down to the deck. @#$%***%#!!!.. That is sailor talk for OMG (Oh My God). With a quick reverse the boat went partial back into the slip, fending off the boat next door. Quick as bunny, I untied the lines with no damage to boats, just my ego and poor heart. Can we all said "Major Bonehead Emee!"
Ghosting Along - After about 10 minutes my heart starting to work again. The next 5 hours Rhapsody and I just ghosting along around 4 knots. I went out into the Atlantic in hopes of finding wind. There was. At Foley Rocks, the wind piped up to 10 knots.I was getting the downdraft from the cumlius clouds that were building. For the next hour life was grand. The thunderstorms were building again as they usually do in the afternoon. I was threading my way thru them as they rolled in heading back to port. I just beat the storm in as I docked the boat.
Just another summer day here in Miami.
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08/15/2009, Key Biscayne, Florida (United States)
Total Distance: 19 Miles Under Sail: 19
Average Speed: 6.33 kts
Conditions: Rain, 85-90 F, Wind Southeast at 20-25 kts, Seas 2-4 ft
Blustery Day ��" It was a frightful day on Key Biscayne. There was a cold front moving in from the west, with forecast winds 20-25 knots, rain and moderate chop on the bay. I cannot remember the last time the winds were like this. Can you say a perfect sailing day for the insane sailors? Well, I wanted to get out sailing at all cost to get out some frustrations from the crazy passengers and flight schedule I just finished up. It was a perfect day to do this.
With a warm cup of Joe in hand, we launch out of the slip with no problems.
The mainsail was unfurled to ½ the sail area and off we went. The only time I have to leave the cockpit is to move the furling ratchet lever from Free to Ratchet. Rhapsody was moving along nicely at 5.5 knots beating into the wind at 25 degrees. The helm was balanced with about 2-4 degrees of weather helm. She still doesn't like gusty winds, for she takes off, gets ahead of herself, than gets overpowered. It was all manageable. I watch the nose dig in as the gust come and I than either put the helm down right away or head up to around 15 degrees off the wind to control the gust. If the gusts come strong , fast and often I let out the mainsail to spill the wind. While I don't like to abuse the sail this way, it is the only option I have other than to reef some more and lose another knot of boat speed. About an hour into this fun time, I let out ¾ of jib. With this set up Rhapsody in Blue went charging through the water at 6-7 knots. Now this girl was having way to much fun. With the way the jib is furled clockwise, on the port tack the jib was just right but on the starboard tack there was just a little too much jib out. It is hard to image just that little bit more of sail area makes such a difference. So on a long run the jib was squeaked in a touch. I played with different sail shapes using the traveler and main sheet to find the right sail shape and twist. With only ½ the mainsail out it was difficult to tell in these winding conditions. I have been noticing the heeling angles now that I have an Clinometer on the boat. It seems the boat is fastest at around 18 degrees of heel. Might have to ask the Hunter folks at what heel angle is the longest waterline. However a girl isn't having any fun unless the rail was buried in the water. So since this was a fun trip, the rail was buried. Yahooooo.
The only great news, was the sails got a fresh water rinse because of the heavy down pours. I got a bath too. Thank god only one other sailboat was crazy enough to sail out there. Another Hunter BTW. I looked like a drown rat and that is not a pretty sight. Even the Saturday races were canceled. The Coconut Yacht Club set up the buoys and a few boats were at the starting line but cancel when the dark ugly clouds moved in. I was able to avoid most of the real nasty stuff by sailing in the pockets of clear air and timing the sequence of rain clouds. It wasn't until the end that I got hammered as I was heading back home. I was pretty proud of myself here in able to do this. The sail back home was a downwind sail so the gusting winds just moved me faster through the water. I saw 7.5 knots which is great for this boat. We were flying, good thing I have a pilot license.
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