Impromptu Trip

It was the day after Danielle's recital. I have, as I have done almost every year, taken the day off to enjoy the first real days of the summer together. This time I took both Monday and Tuesday off. After doing some errands and shopping, we decided to go out for a quick sail.
As it happens often, there was no real win in Boston Harbor. As soon as we got out into Cape Cod Bay, we had a great easterly wind. So we decided to do some lazy sailing. I pulled out the Yankee Jib, put on the Autopilot to 60 degrees, and let everything else happen by itself.

Leaving Boston Behind

At one point, we would have to turn back. Wait .. Why ??? I have tomorrow off, we are like turtles, we have our home, our dogs with us. So let's just go. So we decided to sail up to Salem.
Eventually I decided to move and pulled up the main. We had a wonderful lazy sail at 5.5 knots up to Salem. Once we got close we had to go into a run (wind behind) so we pulled in the jib and started the iron genny. We had talked to Hawthorne Cove and secured a mooring.

Relaxed sail

Buzz met us, and after hanging out on Waterdancer for a while, we went ashore on Buzz's dinghy to Victoria Station. There we met with our friends Jeff and his father-in-law (and friend) George. Jeff and Kristi are fellow liveaboards who made the jump and moved down to the Carribbean on their Irwin 43. Now they are living there in the winters, occasionaly chartering their boat and up in New Hampshire with Krist's parents George and Sandy.

Danielle encountering my Lobser claw

After a great night with friends, Buzz dropped us back on Waterdancer, and we are enjoying a wonderful night under the stars in Salem harbor as I type into this blog.

First Sail of the Year

Well it was recital day, so like every year, Danielle got dressed up and left early in the morning. I decided to take Monday and Tuesday off from work, since she usually is off the days after recital. We hope to get some sailing time in.

In the meantime, I decided to get some sailing done. So I hooked up with Alla and another member of MassBaySailors and showed them around Boston Harbor. We took out an Albin 28 which is a solid little boat and did some good sailing. It is nice to be able to bury the rail and not worry about the dogs, frogs, ovens kitchen and books flying all over the cabin.



Although I love our little Whaler, which we use often to put around in the harbor, sometimes I am tempted to get a little 20 ft keelboat on the mooring and sail her around at sunsets.

Summer is here

Well, Summer is here, and we moved into Winthrop. We have a great location for our slip this year, and are preparing Waterdancer to go out cruising. Meanwhile we enjoy small local trips on Tapalong, our 13 Whaler Dauntless.

Chris up on the mast of French Lessions

Our dock neighbor fellow liveaboard Chris is hanging out on his mast quite often these days. So he took this great picture of Waterdancer, that I made my desktop and also the image for this blog. 

S/V Waterdancer

Below are a few pictures taken from our cockpit. I promise I will add to this blog as things move on. Currently we are busy stripping the toerail to bare wood and re-varnishing.

And of course, my never-ending quest to find an organization for my tools is still continuing. I think I found a workable solution. 

Sailing in Winthrop Harbor

 I am still volunteering as the Dockmaster at the WInthrop Yacht Club. We did a significant amount of  work on the docks and replaced the hardware. The main I am at, A dock, has all brand new brackets which make me feel somewhat safer. Although it is a great location, we are exposed to Southwesterlies, and things can get bumpy.

A view from our deck