A Singlehanded Sail on a Calm Day

It doesn't get much better than this.  A calm day... time by yourself... time to enjoy your boat...

Well, it could get better.  We could actually have some wind.  If you look closely above, you see the wind speed is 1.4 kts and speed over ground is 1 kt (most likely due to current... I'm not that efficient of a sailor).  Read below for more details.


So after photographing the Jr. Sailing regatta on Friday, I spend Friday evening and all of Saturday morning working up those photos.  My eyes were shot, so I spent the afternoon on Saturday on the couch watching Delos sailing videos on YouTube.  You got to look those up... get past the first 15 or so to where they get serious about travel vlogging and it's an incredible trip around the world.

I'm lying there watching the videos and thinking it must be nice to be able to just go sailing whenever you want and the following thought suddenly hit me...

"George, you effing idiot, you OWN A BOAT!  Get off the freaking couch, drive up the NJ TPK and GO SAILING!"

I kid you not, it was that sudden and a kind of epiphany.  So this morning I got up and did just that.


It was a beautiful day... mid 70s... low humidity... light clouds.  I motored out, and passed some friendly faces on the way.  Of course the wind died as we passed the Keyport #3 buoy (that seems to be a "feature" of this summer).

 But from time to time, we did get a little puff and the sails filled for a few minutes.

I was able to get a video of "Sailing" (on a calm day).

I spent some time trying to take a few "artistic" photos only to hear a splash and see a manta ray passing (I think that is what it was... wide sea creature with two parallel bumps on the back... just barely surfaced and was gone before I could swing the iPhone into position.  I did, however, catch a dragonfly.

I also worked on my selfies!  (John has been complaining that I don't do them correctly.)

On the way back I was able to get a vidoe of "Otto" steering...

Finally, I tied up to the moorning and was able to get a few shots of Seas The Day on the trip back to the KYC bar.

Finished the whole day with a nice dinner with John at Neil Michael's Steakhouse.