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Winter Harbor ~ Marsh Sailing video

 

direct youtube link

A compilation of sailing clips taken over several days. A cold north wind made for some blustery conditions at first, then calmed down as the front moved through.

Really lovely stuff, marsh sailing.

If you watch to the end, there’s an explanation of how I smashed the stem nose back in October at the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival in Saint Michaels. I still haven’t quite got over a wave of nervousness when trying to sail and take photos at the same time.

Surprised it took this long to have a mishap, but definitely shifts the balance from taking photos back to more attention to sailing.

 

 

 

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Winter Harbor ~ Ghosting Up the Canal Video

 

direct youtube link

 

Sailing up the narrow canal at sunset.  Details at:

Winter Harbor ~ Crossing Over

 

 

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Janes Island ~ Bright Sun, Big Wind

Harris at the tiller of Mabu 

 

Unlike last time we were here, there is no argument over which direction we’ll go today: North. The wind will continue out of the Northwest – sensible in the morning but build steadily throughout the day to something very unsensible. I’ve always heard old sailors say the wind is strongest on the backside of a cold front. This prediction bears that out.

Based on the forecast, I plan to explore the marshes inside Janes Island in the Melonseed, staying clear of big water, but Harris suggests I ride with him. He has a sparkling new Caledonia Yawl, Mabu, bulit by Geoff Kerr of Two Daughters Boatworks in Maine. Sounds good to both of us. I’ll be free to take photos again, and he might like two sets of hands when the wind pipes up, especially in a new ride. Continue reading “Janes Island ~ Bright Sun, Big Wind”

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Schooner Gallery

Spirit of Independence at Thomas Point Lighthouse

 Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race 

Got the whole gallery of images from the Schooner Race uploaded – all 394 of them. You can find it here:

Continue reading “Schooner Gallery”

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Cape May Morning ~ Video Postcard

Youtube Link

 

Nice morning after the tow into Cape May Harbor the night before. Nice antidote to all that excitement.

Coffee in a paper cup. Time to kill.

For some reason, cameras make everyone at Utsch’s very nervous. Three times different people stood in front of my lens and demanded to know what I was doing. The last time it was the owner. When I explained, he laughed and gave me a hug.

Never got far from the marina. All this is from there.

 

 

 

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Returning ~ The C&D Canal

Motoring into the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

 

One of the easiest ways to spot the handiwork of man, especially engineers, is to to look for straight lines. Humans love straight lines. Nature, not so much. We think in a linear fashion, prefer to travel that way, even measure time along a single line either forward or back. Simple geometry imparts order and efficiency to our world in a manner we admire with almost spiritual piety: the shortest distance between two points, walk the straight and narrow path, etc.. To the ancient greeks, geometry was indeed an expression of the divine. We don’t even build things out of trees until we’ve sawed them into straight boards. Continue reading “Returning ~ The C&D Canal”

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Returning ~ North from Solomon’s Island

Motoring out of Solomon’s Island

 

Mike jumped ship in Portsmouth, though I could tell he wanted to keep going. We picked up George Doby at the airport on our way back to the boat. George has sailed with Paul several times, and was glad to get a spot on board for the long trip back. He has family near the coast in New Jersey, and planned to stay on for a visit when we got there. Continue reading “Returning ~ North from Solomon’s Island”