Cold and Stormy

After a couple of days working from the boat, I was eager to get sailing this weekend.   

Eager, but not willing - at least on Saturday... it was tooooo coooolllllldddd!!!

I woke up Saturday to temps in the low 50s.  Winds were brisk, the water on Swan Creek was stirred up and after poking my head up out of the companionway like a prairie dog, I went back inside.  

After watching a Raymarine seminar on YouTube, I decided it was time for breakfast and headed over to Java Rock Cafe... this place looks great and the bagel I got was... well OK.  (Maryland bagels just can't hold a candle to the ones from NJ - especially from people who learned to make them in NYC).

After another Raymarine seminar (with the heat pumps going full blast), I decided to go out for lunch and drove around the beautiful farmland on the DelMarVa.  As I was returning, I saw some scary clouds and realized there would be no sailing this afternoon.

This one had lightening off in the distance.

As I arrived back at Osprey Point, the squall was coming in from the bay.

It was quick and not too intense, and soon I settled down to more YouTube.  I noticed the light outside brightening and was thinking about going out for a late afternoon sail, when it suddenly got dark (and you could hear the wind picking up outside).  I went outside to find these conditions.

Click here for the video

(Remember this is a protected creek!)

I turned on the electronics to measure the wind speed... 27
(Less than the other day when a friend recorded 47.)

After this squall ended, conditions improved, but there was no way I was going to go out... you could still see darkness in the distance.

I had a quick fish sandwich at Anchor and Plow, but I can't say that I recommend it.  They do seem to do a brisk take out business.  

After dinner, it was back to more Raymarine seminars.  (Not all YouTube rabbit-holes are time wasters.)

Sunday morning I decided I'd just cook my own breakfast... spam and veggie hash with a banana chip muffin!

With breakfast out of the way, I completed two projects.  First, using my newfound Raymarine knowledge, I updated my Navionics card for the MFD.  Second, I replaced "Vicky's" dock line with a longer line... this allows me to drop it over the rope separating the two slips and in turn allows me to take care of this dock line before departure.  By draping it over the other line like shown, it's easier for me to snag it with the boat hook... so I'm now pretty self-sufficient for single-handing.

And yes, this is a sailing blog... 

I FINALLY managed to get out Sunday morning.  It was the warmer of the two weekend days, but it was still COLD.

I've been having trouble trimming my jib (headsail) so these next few photos were taken so a few friends can  give me some pointers.

I'm having trouble trimming my jib...

I got back in time for a late lunch from Rock Hall Liquors.  They had apple dumplings, so I celebrated Mother's Day with an apple dumpling.  Sorry... I was so excited I forgot to take the photo before stirring it all up.

Following lunch it was time to be lazy... I just lounged in the cockpit for an hour before heading below for a nap.  This guy was out sailing on Swan Creek and I liked his intense blue sails.

After the nap, I filled the water and added the start of year shock treatment.  While it was filling, I double checked the mast and rigging (input for the friends helping me with my jib).

And that was it!  It was a fun few days.