Captain’s log 10-16-06
Departure Point / Start Time Delaware River DE() 12PM
Arrival Point / End Time Salem NJ() 5PM
Distance Traveled / Engine
Water was magically flat and the next mornings sunrise in the mist made water and sky look like one. Fair tide was afternoon and the winds were out of southeast. Crystal made nice smelling raisin bread while I motorsailed downwind. When I realized that the winds would stay between 5 and 15 knots, I decided to try and raise the radial floater. It took us few tries to do it with couple of them failing miserably. Finally the wet sail got up in the air and we were magically riding the small rollers with a magnificent parachute ahead of us. Who says two people can’t fly a spinnaker. Autopilot was steering, Crystal was baking and I was tending the sheets. When the situations allowed I would adjust the halyard so that the foot would not end up in the water. We picked up almost two knots and the engine was shut off. Brief moment of puffs of over 15 knots made me worry a bit, but they were rare and few. For the most part I was very glad we brought the extra sails. We sailed under chute alone all the way in passed the nuclear power plant whose smoke is visible all the way from Cape May. We consulted the guide and found a quiet spot to anchor in Salem river. It was quiet indeed. The ghost town of Salem scared us a bit. We wondered helplessly trying to find gas station and some food. Finally did after about mile and a half. I made a mistake of filling both 6.5 gallon tanks and had to carry them all the way back to the dinghy. We stopped by a pizza place and had dinner. The walk back was hard and I had to take a break every 200 yards or so. By the time we made it back to the dinghy I couldn’t feel my forearms. We spent that night peacefully and got plenty of sleep. The next day’s forecast called for rain and wind during our C&D canal trip.
Arrival Point / End Time Salem NJ() 5PM
Distance Traveled / Engine
Water was magically flat and the next mornings sunrise in the mist made water and sky look like one. Fair tide was afternoon and the winds were out of southeast. Crystal made nice smelling raisin bread while I motorsailed downwind. When I realized that the winds would stay between 5 and 15 knots, I decided to try and raise the radial floater. It took us few tries to do it with couple of them failing miserably. Finally the wet sail got up in the air and we were magically riding the small rollers with a magnificent parachute ahead of us. Who says two people can’t fly a spinnaker. Autopilot was steering, Crystal was baking and I was tending the sheets. When the situations allowed I would adjust the halyard so that the foot would not end up in the water. We picked up almost two knots and the engine was shut off. Brief moment of puffs of over 15 knots made me worry a bit, but they were rare and few. For the most part I was very glad we brought the extra sails. We sailed under chute alone all the way in passed the nuclear power plant whose smoke is visible all the way from Cape May. We consulted the guide and found a quiet spot to anchor in Salem river. It was quiet indeed. The ghost town of Salem scared us a bit. We wondered helplessly trying to find gas station and some food. Finally did after about mile and a half. I made a mistake of filling both 6.5 gallon tanks and had to carry them all the way back to the dinghy. We stopped by a pizza place and had dinner. The walk back was hard and I had to take a break every 200 yards or so. By the time we made it back to the dinghy I couldn’t feel my forearms. We spent that night peacefully and got plenty of sleep. The next day’s forecast called for rain and wind during our C&D canal trip.
posted by sundowner-cruise at 10:36 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home