Wednesday, May 12, 2010

DAY FIVE - Back to the Dock

You can't tell from this photo but I was sailing backwards under just the mizzen as I backed out of the little creek on the edge of Spencer Bay on the last morning of the trip. Sailing backwards is one of the cool things you can do with a yawl.
The wind had in fact swung from SE to SW and gotten a little stronger too. Later that day it was supposed to really kick up and swing to the NW. A good time to be heading to the dock.
It took just about an hour to get back to the dock, an easy downwind sail under mizzen and jib. I got a few waves from crabbers heading out to check their pots. Just about a hundred yards from the marina I dropped the sails and cranked up the outboard, tying up in one of the crabber's docks while I brought the trailer around to the ramp.


With such a short ride I didn't really have anything to photograph. But below are some detail photos of the gear on board Spartina that I shot throughout the trip. Below is the light/notebook kit that gets stored on the port side.

And there is the cook kit that is tied down on the starboard side. That is a filet knife on top, never got to use it on this trip.

And there is my sleeping gear which all stores up under the foredeck. From left to right are my pillow, sleeping pad, sleeping bag and, in the grey stuffsack, my bivy.

And this is the area above the day storage at the aft end of the cockpit. You'll see my watch and my radio (which I never turned on during the trip - the only voices I heard throughout the trip were the voices on weather radio). At left is my rope boarding ladder which I can reach from outside the cockpit if I need to. And at the bottom is my waterproof notebook and my Virginia State Lottery pencil tied to the notebook with a string (with all the tickets I have bought over the years the least they could donate to the boat is one of those little pencils). That's were I jot down all my notes about time, wind, location, etc that I use to put together this log.

So that's the trip. It was a great one, I had a lot of fun and found it all very relaxing. I like the idea of the long weekend sail. I hope to do more in the future. Five weeks until the next trip, I can't wait.
Thanks to everyone who has taken some time to look at the log, I do appreciate it.

steve

For the trip.............

Total distance 93.5 nautical miles (107 statute miles)

Moving Average 2.7 knots

Moving Time 33 hours 59 minutes

5 comments:

Baydog said...

Who cares about speed. While you were sailing, I was working.

And, Tupperware tubs do rule, no?
The ultimate in organizing and waterproofing. All of my manuals and first aid and toiletries are stored in the same, even though they would probably never get wet.
Piece of mind I suppose. Nice trip, steve!

WV: mendehar. Fixing an Afghani city

S R Wood said...

Steve, this is fantastic. And I agree on the tupperware tubs.

Did you already do a posting on the centerboard well cap? That looks like a pretty smart addition to keep down splashing. Is it loose / removeable?

Beautiful pictures.

Steve said...

I thought I had done a post on the cb trunk cap but can't find it just now. I made the cape when I built the boat but was never completely happy with the cb pennant (or is it pendant) block. I changed the block arrangement this past winter and finally installed the cap. It is held in place by bungee looks and a couple of hooks, can be pulled off in about 30 seconds. It does make a nice little place to sit when anchored and I like the looks.

steve

MaryLou said...

Great report on a great cruise! Thanks for taking us along.

Steve said...

Mary Lou,

good to hear from you. Bruce and I are discussing the fall trip on Chesapeake Bay. Still negotiating dates, times, places. Maybe we'll see you and Fred in the Fall.
Enjoy your summer on the bay!

steve