Vince Takes the Helm

We promised Vince a turn at the helm and this is his last weekend with us, so Vicky and I took him and Mama out for a short trip.  (I think Baba was a little unnerved from the heeling when John was at the helm.)

There was no wind, so there was no heeling and we were limited to using the "Iron Genoa" (engine).  Vince had never handled a ship before so we started out going in all sorts of directions, but once we passed the last green buoy and aimed him out to a fuel barge anchored out in the bay, he started getting the hang of it.

He sailed us out to the barge, I took us around it, and we tested the autopilot on the way back.  Then we picked up our mooring, found Baba and headed in to Nemo's Asian Fusion for dinner.

Seas The Day From the Water

I forgot to post these... I had the chance to photograph Seas The Day from the RYC boat at the Junior Sailing regatta... here she is in the water at her mooring ball.

John at the Helm

On the launch that came to pick up Joe, the USCG inspector, was John and Vicky's family (Vicky had to work... they decided they wanted to try sailing one more time while they are here).  We headed out towards Old Orchard Shoal.  As we got ready to set sail, John wanted a turn at the helm.  Since he had ASA 101, I figured he can't hurt it too badly and gave it to him.

It was nice to relax (a little), and he did a great job.  He stayed at the helm until we rounded Old Orchard Shoal and got back to the Keyport #3 buoy.

I could actually focus a little on photography with my new camera...

USCG Inspection

After our cruise, I took an extra day vacation to have some warranty issues looked at on the boat.  (Sorry... I was too engrossed in the repair work to take photos.)

In the afternoon, I scheduled a US Coast Guard inspection (part of their Vessel Safety Check program). Joe came out, we went through all the safety equipment and systems and Seas The Day now sports an orange VSC sticker on the mast that will hopefully let the state police know that their efforts are better spent elsewhere.

A Different Kind of Sailing

Before we even started the discussions about buying a yacht, we had signed up for this family cruise.  So last Friday we boarded the Carnival Splendor and set sail for St. John, New Brunswick (Canada).  It was a pleasant time... a great chance to reconnect with my brother and sister, nieces and nephews and cousin Roy.

But I can't recommend it.  It was cool... foggy... and St. John is a relatively boring city to visit (even only for a day).  However, we made the best of it, toured the area a little and had a nice lobster dinner.

It did give us a preview of NY Harbor.  We still hope to sail there sometime this season (which is rapidly passing).  The chop and churn under the narrows did give me pause, though.

Oh, my pet peeve from the trip was the lousy lighting from the ship's photographers.  This was the best one they did of us.

An Evening With John

One neat thing about having a boat ready and at your disposal is being able to go out on the spur of the moment.  Vicky's family didn't seem to enjoy the boat so much, so we have backed off the sailing a bit.  My son had the evening off from delivering pizzas so he grabbed some sandwiches from Wawa and we headed out for a pleasant evening on the water followed by some drinks together at KYC afterwards.

Photographing the Junior Sailors

(Note:  I've been lazy about the blog for the past few weeks, so there are a slew of updates today.)

I was asked to photograph the Junior Sailing Regatta at KYC.  What an event!  Yacht clubs from all around hold sailing instruction programs for youngsters (for KYC it's ages 8 to 17) and on Fridays, each club hosts a sailing competition.  It's amazing to watch all the activity as 60 small boats converge on a place.  Here are a few photos (go to www.georgereiner.smugmug.com for the full set).  Special thanks to the folks from Raritan Yacht Club in Perth Amboy for letting me ride along on their boat.

Of course, as soon as they said "Race!", the wind stopped...

And kids being kids, will come up with their own activities to fill the time...

It was an enjoyable vacation day...