Shrink Wrap 8-27-10

Here is Domingoman all ready for winter! We had her shrink wrapped to protect her from the elements.

The hole in the stern is actually a zipper access panel. I had to go aboard to take the batteries out and check on her one last time!

Shiloh's New Home 8-26-10

Eileen and I made the trip to NC to help Leah, Matthew, and Abby move to Columbia, SC. The Nickoloffs will be Shiloh's caregiver until we return from Kuala Lumpur. We are so grateful to them for doing this!

The Nickoloffs new apartment in Columbia

We love you guys!

Saying Goodbye 8-23-10

Today, we hauled Domingoman to get her ready for her long winter's nap! It was a day of work and grieving for me. So many memories of our first season on the Chesapeake, all coming to an end. This is really really early to be thinking about pulling your boat out of the water, and even earlier when you actually have to do it. I really appreciated the help that I received from my son-in-law Brad over the past two days. He helped with taking down the sails, bimini, flag, etc. Today I gave her a good bath, changed the oil, etc. We will launch again in April 2011 and the sailing adventures will continue! For now, we will invoke the "and other" adventures as the blog title suggests! We are off to Malaysia in just two short weeks! Stay tuned!

Captain, First Mate, and Scallywag!

Up on the travel lift

Heading toward dry dock

Stephanie said "this is like a boat graveyard. She is in her resting place...Purgatory!!!"

This was when I had a lump in my throat. I had to go back to our slip to take the fenders and dock lines off of the pilings. We look forward to more adventures next season!

Last Sail 8-21-10

Domingoman is scheduled to be hauled on Monday morning, so Eileen and I went back out for our final sail of the season...just the two of us. We beat across the Bay in 8-12 knot winds, perfect conditions. However, when we came about and headed back toward port on a reach, it hit us both. This is it! Things got kind of quiet on board as we were both taking it in. For the next hour-plus, we didn't say much. Eileen went up on the port rail and I remained in the cockpit. As Annapolis came into clear view and we got closer to the mouth of Back Creek, I did everything I could to capture this in my mind's eye. Eileen said "this is a holy moment" and I agreed!

I thought about how great this sailing season was on our new boat, and how many guests we had on board. We filled 3 1/2 pages in the guest log and sailed over 400 NM. Thanks to all who joined us this year. We have been enriched by your presence.

The Deschaines 08-21-10

Steph, Brad, and Alexander came for a weekend visit as this will be the last opportunity to see each other before we head overseas. This was Alex's first time on a sailboat. Well...second time. The first time was in Michigan when he was still growing in his mommy's belly! He did remarkably well on the short adventure. God's gift to Stephanie today was light winds and no waves! Steph was bound and determined to go swimming. She got her chance alright, but it was not voluntary!

Alex checking out the boat before we left the dock




Stephanie prepared for the worst!

Steph and Alex on the starboard rail

This is fun Cappy!

Family shot

Daddy's little girl

Uncle Jamie...you have too many silly bands!

Steph at the helm

Eileen and Jamie on "jelly watch" as the Bay is full of them, which is common for this time of year

The guys on the swim platform

So here goes. Jamie's drink was in the drink holder in the port stern perch. Alex picked it up and into the drink it went. Eileen said "did something just fall in?" After Brad affirmed that it was Jamie's drink bottle, we flipped around in a rescue attempt. Eileen was on the bow, no way to reach it. Steph was on the swim platform, reaching around. I should have taken Brad's queue when he said "why is the one with the shortest arms on the swim platform?" Well...I didn't! Steph reaches around, grabs the drink bottle and says "got it" right before the inertia of her reach caught up with her and she was in the drink herself! We managed to get Steph and the bottle on board safely. Mission accomplished...sort of!

Pirates and Wenches Weekend 8-14-10

This weekend, Eileen and I escaped for a sail up to Rock Hall, MD. Since it was Pirates and Wenches Fantasy Weekend, we were not able to get a slip on the Bay side of Rock Hall. We had to transit the Chester River to get to the only marina in the area that had slips available. It was a lot of fun talking like pirates all weekend and enjoying each other.

On the sail North to Rock Hall, we enjoyed a steady 12 knot breeze from the East. We were underway for 7 hours, averaging 4.5 knots on the 30.5 NM trip. The handheld GPS that I recently acquired via a West Marine gift card from Sue sure came in handy. I had plotted our course before our trip and it made navigating the Chester much easier.

On the return sail, we encountered winds of 18 - 20 knots with gusts up to 24 knots out of the South. This proved to be one of the more challenging of our trips. The waves were impressive at 4 feet and steep, each one breaking. We made it back to port in 5 hours and were able to shave 6 miles off of the prior day route. All in all, we sailed 56 Nautical Miles this weekend. Here are some pics of the weekend...

We got underway on Saturday at 07:30. Here is my first mate with coffee in hand!

Since we were going to Pirates and Wenches Weekend, we had to fly the appropriate colors! "Surrender the Booty!"

After our 7-hour sail, we borrowed bikes from the marina and rode through the countryside. It was country that is for sure!

Main Street in Rock Hall, MD

A pirate band playing on the second floor deck.

This was hysterical. This guy had a ton of parrots and for a donation, you could get your picture taken with the birds. He kept putting more and more birds on these kids. I told the one in the brown shirt...Arrrgh, he's poopin! The expression was priceless.

Give me a kiss ya wench!

One of the locals

Waterman's Crab House and Dock Barrrrrrrrr. We had dinner here. Notice the dink on the right...there was a contest for the best decorated dinghy.

This is prior to the 24 knot winds and horizontal rain we encountered on the way home! Once again, Eileen gets the first mate of the year award. She was incredible on this trip! She even made herself into a human dodger to allow me to navigate in challenging conditions. We were happy to have our foul weather gear on board! All in all, it was a great trip and I would sail anywhere with my mate!

1st Annual Leadership Meeting 8-12-10

A beautiful Thursday afternoon for a work meeting out on the Bay! Amit, Tom, Jeff, and I took the opportunity to get away from the office and do some male bonding! We sailed 14 NM in 8-13 kts of wind. We had to keep an eye on the weather as we had severe thunderstorms roll through in the morning. I second-guessed the weather channel girl (as Jimmy Buffett would say) and it was a good call! That weather and climate class that I took back in college continues to pay dividends!

Amit at the helm, Jeff to starboard and Tom in the companionway.

"Dr Marvin...I'm sailing!!"

Tom's turn at the helm

Tom and I enjoying the Hemmingway cigars that Stephen left for me last week.

Usually PIW stands for "person in water." This was the first approach on the rescue misison as we had a "pillow in water." This is not Jeff's better side!

Jeff at the helm, heading back to port. It was a great afternoon! Thanks guys!

Lynn and Stefan 8-11-10

Lynn and Stefan joined us for an evening out. Unfortunately, there was absolutely no wind. We motored South to the Thomas Point lighthouse and back. We had good food, good drinks, and a good visit! I really enjoyed getting to know Stefan a little more.

Lynn and Stefan

First mate giving some love to the captain!

Girl time on the bow

Dog Day Afternoon 8-8-10

Today was Shiloh's turn!

This boat should look familiar! This is "Duet," another Hunter 306! We were sailing along together, half way across the Bay!

Island Packet 8-7-2010

On Saturday, I went out on Robert's boat (one of my friends from my Saturday morning men's group at church). She is a 1988 38' Island Packet, a classic sailboat! With the Bowsprit, she is 41' overall. She is new to Robert as he just bought it this year in Marathon, FL and he sailed it up to the Chesapeake in late Spring of this year.

This is Robert's dock at his house which is on Spa Creek, the next creek North from Back Creek.

Robert at the Helm and our friend Dick to port.

Pat & Catlain 8-6-2010

More friends from Ithaca, NY were here for a visit. We sailed on Friday night in beautiful conditions! My first mate had dinner packed in a cooler and it was delicious as usual. We ended up sailing just over 11 NM. It is good to have my speedometer back in operation. I have been relying on the handheld GPS as I have been trying to figure out what the problem was. I ended up having to repolace the thru-hull transducer. Anyway, here are the pics from our sail...

Heading out of Back Creek. Catlain left, Pat right.

D'Eileen and Catlain on the bow

Catlain at the helm as the sun was setting

Swim platform time. So far, no Jellyfish stings!