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.

New Anchor Installed

 

My new Mantus M1 Anchor was installed this week!  You can read about the rationale behind my purchases in the post from a few weeks ago.  Above you can see the 65 lb. Mantus M1, below is a close up of the Mantus S1 Swivel that connects the chain to the anchor, and below that is the 275' of G4 5/15 HDG chain that connects the anchor to the boat (with 50' of nylon 3 strand at the end).

With the Anchor Bungee installed

I had Wade at Gratitude save the old anchor which I will use as a backup/stern anchor.  To stow it, I had to re-attach the shackle and while I could, I used B-dock to lay out and untwist the anchor rode.

I had recently purchased a laundry basked from Amazon... they shipped a box of 5 and when I called them on it, they said I should just keep these ($20) baskets (I'll never understand Amazon's finances).   So I stowed the backup anchor in a laundry basket to keep the rode from going all over the stern locker.  A friend from B-dock helped me lift it into the "garage" in the stern of Seas The Day.

My dansforth-style anchor remains at home in my garage.  I know it does me no good there but I just can't imagine where I would stow it aboard Seas The Day.

Fourth of July Weekend with Deb & Nathan (and Fireworks from the boat!)

I headed down to Rock Hall late Thursday evening and arrived right at sunset, and just before a storm came through.  Seas The Day strained at her docklines and tilted a few degrees making the unpacking just a bit of a challenge.

Taken at sunset, but it's a view to the NorthEast
(just a hole in the clouds)

My world is tilting (from the storm)

New "Seas The Day" pillow

I set up in the Salon for a day of working from the boat on Friday, and after a day of being cooped up inside (it was quite rainy), I splurged with a pork shank from Osprey Point Inn.

You HAVE to try this (if you can get a reservation)!

Deb (my cousin's daughter), Nathan and their family (Marianne and Brian) came for their yearly sailing adventure on Saturday morning.  Typically, their visit means that day will be the hottest day of the year and I'm glad to report that this year they were off by a few days.  (We had a brutal heat wave earlier in the week, but the storms I encountered on Thursday and Friday seem to have broken it.)

Marianne claimed her reading chair

Brian worked the jib sheet winch

With Brian aboard, I usually look for something interesting to observe and this year the Chesapeake cooperated wonderfully.  As we headed out of Swan Creek, I noticed that active dredging operations were well underway in the East Channel.  So we ventured over to that general vicinity while maintaining enough of a distance so as not to get in their way.

We had the sails out (hasn't happened on a Deb & Nathan visit for a while) and it was a wonderful sail, reaching across the bay at a gentle 4 to 5 kts.

After being out for an hour or so, I noticed that some of the clouds looked a little ominous and a few minutes later, a little micro squall hit.  The winds went up to around 20kts, Seas The Day leaned into it and picked up to 7.5 kts.  At that moment, I needed to make a quick decision and it appears the wind was continuing to build.  I rounded up and went into irons to settle the boat and looked around.  The squall seemed to be very local - just our section of the bay, but I also noticed a worried look on a face or two (maybe even mine).  I started the engine and Nathan and I quickly pulled in the sails.  I motored slowly (in case the squall was short) back towards the Green #3 heading into Swan Creek.

As we motored back, I noticed that there was a rainstorm over Baltimore and another small one a bit to the south.  The seas state had also risen significantly with a few whitecaps visible.  Assuming they might head our way, we continued on back to Osprey Point, where we had our lunch a bit later than usual (around 1:40 PM).

Relaxing after lunch

After a bit of visiting, they headed home and I headed for a nap.  

The rain did arrive but later in the afternoon (around 5:00).  Several more showers arrived throughout the evening.

Later, I went out on the foredeck to watch Rock Hall's fireworks display (which always happens on July 3rd).  We're about 3/4 of a mile from Rock Hall harbor (as the crow flies), a perfect distance.

I woke up early on Sunday morning and was able to go out and catch the sunrise before heading home.