Sailing with Tao and Song Lei

 

This was the weekend that Tao and Song Lei would finally be able to sail with me.   I wanted to get down early to make sure everything was "ship shape", but I had a lot to do during the week this week and an appointment with my dentist on Friday during lunch.  So in the end, I left from the dentist and headed down to Rock Hall to finish working into Friday evening.

The big news down at Osprey Point is that Captain Gary (a dock-mate who also was our delivery captain on my delivery trip to get Seas The Day down to Rock Hall) has sold Elusive (his 50 ft Beneteau).  He and Patty have plans to tour the US and Canada by land over the next couple of years.  As I was rushing to get set up for working, I saw him giving lessons to the new owners.

One of the last times Gary was on Elusive

After finishing work Friday evening, I had just enough time to swab the decks before sunset.  During my final rinse I tried to capture the beautiful colors in the sky at sunset and ended up getting a great sunset photo of Silver Eagle, Frank & Linda's Catalina.

Silver Eagle at sunset

Just as I was closing up, I noticed that the moon had incredible coloration -- almost like during a lunar eclipse.  I realized this was from all the soot in the air from the huge wildfires in Oregon and Canada.  The iPhone photo captures the orange color, but doesn't do the scene justice.

Saturday morning, I woke up right before sunrise and did another early morning walk.  This time I walked out to the beach to see how calm the bay was.  It was very calm... weather prediction was for 3-inch waves mid-day.  The photo at the top and the next few from from early morning at Osprey Point.

I walked to the beach to double check the sea state since the last time Tao came sailing she felt a bit of motion sickness, so we had searched for a calm day when they were available.  After we rounded the #3 buoy I was monitoring her (she was fine), but noticed that Song Lei was showing some signs of discomfort.  I hopped below and brought out the wrist bands, some ginger gum and my new puke bucket just in case. (I'm happy to report it remains unused).

The combination of wrist bands, gum, and taking the helm seemed to be working.  But when I asked where to go from here, he jumped at the chance to turn back. 

We spent some time visiting while playing a game of chess.  Despite them both being new to the game, I blundered and they trounced me.  I'll have to stop reading chess books and start playing some more games.

After Tao and Song Lei left, I introduced myself to Pat & Sonia (Elusive's new owners) and caught a photo of them taking out their first guests on their boat.  I later went to dinner at the Osprey Point Inn before relaxing in the cockpit with my nightcap before turning in.

Pat & Sonia taking out Elusive

I was lazy on Sunday morning.  I did walk to Muskrat Alley for breakfast.  It was hot and humid and since I had no guests coming, I decided to spend the morning watching Netflix before eating lunch and then heading home. 

A Breaking Heat Wave

 

We had yet another heat wave this past week, so I had mixed feelings about heading down to Rock Hall.  Heat Indices during the past week were close to (or over) 100F... not something I'd like to go sailing in.  Still, it offered a break from life in Newark, so I headed down in the wee hours of Friday morning.

Friday was spent just working from the boat, ending with a really nice dinner at Osprey Point - pistachio encrusted salmon and... confession time... their bread pudding as well.

The first bit of daylight woke me on Saturday morning, and with a heat advisory already in effect, I decided to get out and do an early morning walk while I could.  I walked across the dock just as the sun was rising and caught these following photos.

After a nice walk down to Gratitude and back, I went to Java Rock for breakfast and coffee.

I started back to Osprey Point around 7:30 AM.  The heat was already oppressive and the humidity rapidly climbing.  Looking at the weather forecast, seeing a large storm breaking the heat wave Saturday afternoon, and not particularly enjoying the thought of going out while the heat was so high, I made an executive decision and decided that Saturday was best spent testing the HDTV feature in Seas The Day.

As evening came on Saturday, the storm shifted so it would mostly go slightly north of us.  Still, it was an impressive display.  The wind suddenly picked up a bit after 6:00 PM and there was an impressive lightning show to the north as well.  (Some reports said there was pea-size hail out over the bay.)  

I sat in the cockpit and enjoyed a ham and brie sandwich I got at Java Rock earlier, while watching nature's fireworks.

On Sunday morning I woke up and repeated my walk.  During my walk, the wind was too strong for me to want to try single handing.  I decided to head back and have breakfast (spam hash) before deciding if today would be a sailing day. 

And in the end, I decided to veg a bit for the morning and then head back home and getting lunch on the road.  I'm not sure why I didn't sail... the wind was a tad strong, and it would be blowing me away from the finger pier (complicating departure and return - especially single-handed).  

In the end it was just because I didn't want to.  

A Day Out with Jie and Her Friends

Today I took Jie (a colleague from work) out for a day of sailing with her friends Mili, Jing and Pete & Liz.  Unfortunately, they were delayed and we missed the best wind so it was a day of a brief attempt at sailing and mostly motoring.  We did manage to make it across the bay to the Baltimore Harbor Light.

Jie has joined me for a daysail several times since June of 2019, and always brings a cadre of nice and interesting friends.  Here are the links to her other trips...

A Day on Seas The Day 315

The first day sail on our new Seas The Day 425

Last summer fishing with Vicky

I don't know who's photo this is
(I stole it from WeChat moments)

I'll let the photos tell the story.  It was a beautiful day and a fun time!

We slowed down so we could enjoy a calm lunch before setting sail.

Jie, Pete & Liz, Mili and Jing

Pete & Liz in front of Love Point.

A few of the ladies are single and I suspect some additions to dating profiles were photographed today (especially among the bonus photos submitted by the crew).

I actually had to call this guy on the radio... as we were approaching the east channel, he kept turning towards me.  I called him on Ch13 and identified myself... he said he was just getting ready to drop the hook and anchor, so we continued on our way.  It was a bit unnerving, however.

Quite the photo shoot for captain Liz!

We returned, pumped out, and then retired to the salon, where my guests enjoyed a game of Splendor in the AC and I worked on my photos prior to dinner.  Later, we went to Waterman's Crab House for an early dinner before everyone headed back home.

After returning from dinner, I couldn't pass by the Adirondack chairs, so I sat and vegged for a bit, enjoying a calm and perfect evening.  Later, I filled the water tanks.  While filling the tanks, I had a wonderful conversation on the dock with Carl & Anne and later joined by Frank & Linda.  It was a nice ending to a busy and fulfilling day.

 Bonus!  Extra photos from WeChat moments.

Bonus!  Extra photos from Mili.