Team Asia

On Saturday, it was all about Team Asia!  It was a gorgeous afternoon.  Could have used a little more wind, but we had a good sail. 

We grabbed lunch at the Portside Cafe and headed up to the Chessie Lounge to partake! 

Christina and Eliot prior to departure.

 Getting ready to hoist the sails

Han Jon out on the bow taking it all in.  He was our resident photographer for this excursion!  Han Jon is from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and has been in the States since last Sunday.  He goes back this coming weekend.  I am really glad that he was able to join us!

Hey Chris, do you have a spare pair of sunglasses on board?

Do you have any men's sunglasses?  Sorry mate, that's all I have! 

Captain Kate!  We went by a boat and the skipper had on one of these hats.  Kate said, "you need to get one of those hats!"  Truth be told...already have one!

Christina at the helm

It was a great afternoon.  Thanks to all four of you for participating in (dare I call it) The First Annual Team Asia sail!

PAM Rendezvous

We had our own sailabration this weekend as we took part in the second annual Port Annapolis Marina Rendezvous.  Twenty six boats from our marina set sail for Queenstown Creek on Maryland's eastern shore.  We enjoyed meeting several new members of our boating community. 

Jamie's new favorite spot on the boat! Not sure if it is the extra space or that our new stereo (within his reach) has an iPod-direct connection!

My first mate hanging out with Jamie and Shiloh is on break from her watchdog duties 

Domingoman tied up at Queenstown creek 

This is one group of boats at the dock.  The rest were anchored out and came by dinghy 

The sun settng on the Chester River, just beyond Queenstown Creek 

Star Spangled Sailabration

The Star-Spangled Sailabration, June 13-19, is an international parade of more than 40 tall ships and naval vessels.  These ships sailed into Baltimore for the national launch of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 and the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner. These ships are truly incredible! 

Pictured above is a view of the Inner Harbor from the 30th floor of the Marriott Hotel.  I attended a breakfast reception here on Friday and the views were amazing.  Below are various shots of the tall ships.  You can click on the photos to enlarge them or click on the highlighted text to see more information.

NVe Cisne Branco, Brazilian Navy

BAE Guayas, Ecuadorian Navy 

Those are men standing on the various booms!

The Lady Maryland, a living classroom.

 ...and we have representation from Asia!

KRI Dewaruci, Indonesian Navy

Pride of Baltimore II, USA 

USCGC Eagle, USA

The bowsprit and eagle are impressive!

 KRI Dewaruci bow shot

Aboard the KRI Dewaruci, which was closed to visitors as the crew was preparing for a reception to be held later today.  As I approached the vessel, the aroma of clove cigarettes wafted from her deck. I greeted some of the crew in Bahasa and welcomed them in their local language.  Selamat Pagi (good morning) they eagerly shouted back!  I was quite surprised to be invited aboard for a picture!  Who knew my limited Bahasa language skills would ever come in handy here in the States?  This vessel was absolutely amazing.  The detail in the woodwork is totally not captured here.  It was really a treat to take hold of that wheel and imagine what it would be like to be at the helm while underway.  It took the crew five months to sail her here from Indonesia!  Selamat Datang (happy welcome) Dewaruci!  

 NVe Cisne Branco

ARC Gloria, Colombian Navy

Sailabration 2012 will continue throughout the weekend and the ships will set sail again on Tuesday.  This is the biggest sailing event that Baltimore has ever hosted.  What a neat experience to be a part of it! 

2nd Annual Sail Fish'n Trip

I picked up my brother Steve and friend Paul from BWI at 09:30 on May 17th and headed for Port Annapolis where Domingoman was fully provisioned and ready for our four-day trip. Her sails were up before 10:15 and we headed South. For the first couple of days, the winds were great for sailing, but not so good for fishing. We need to be sailing below 3 knots if we want to catch fish. Since we had 15-20 knots of wind, we were sailing way too fast. We dragged two lines anyway.

Whenever the wind is up, I am always thinking…I hope nothing breaks! The only thing that broke was the genoa furler. Actually, it was the furler line that pulled out of the drum so we had to furl the headsail by hand.

We made our way to the mouth of Slaughter Creek (about a 40 NM sail), but we could not get through the channel as the water was too shallow. After running aground in 2.9’ of water (should have been 7’) we decided to head to Solomon’s Island, another 20 NM sail South, a 5-hour proposition. We cooked steaks on the grill while underway and reached Solomons around 22:00, tired and pretty much ready for some sleep.

The first matter of business on Friday was to have coffee and fix the furler. Steve headed right to the bow and got to work and had his coffee delivered. A half hour later, the furler was fixed and we were ready to shove off.

On the way out of the Patuxent River, we foul-hooked a cownose ray. These are potentially dangerous as they can sting you with their poisonous tail. As we were about to bring the fish on board, the line snapped and the ray swam away with a $15 parachute rig in its wing.

We made our way North, undecided as to where we would make next port. We thought we would stop at Herrington Harbor or Knapps Narrows which was another aggressive sail, beating into 15 knots out of the North. Steve checked the Chesapeake Bay guide book and found Chesapeake Beach, just south of Herring Bay on the Western shore. We made port there at approximately 18:00 hours, had dinner and then shot some bean bags (cornhole toss) until Paul lost 7 six-packs to Steve. Steve called Paul “Seven” for the rest of the trip! Chesapeake Beach was an awesome port. Our $50-ish slip fee gave us access to a resort hotel and its facilities (sauna, swimming pool, showers, continental breakfast, etc.). Great find Steve!

We left port around 08:30, raised a glass for Eileen’s birthday, and headed for our planned stop at Pirates Cove on West River. We started out with great wind, but around 12:00 or so, the wind started to taper off to 4-5 knots. This slowed us down to 1.8 to 2.2 knots, which is perfect for fishing. Within one hour, we had a 29.5” Rockfish on the boat. We iced it down and planned dinner around this fish! In another 45 minutes, we had our second Rockfish on the boat! This one was 34” and weighed about 25 lbs. We had to make room in the cooler and get creative to get this thing on ice. Since we were now out of cooler space, we hauled in the lines and made our way to West River.

West River is absolutely beautiful. Another great place to stop. Paul did a nice job on the fillets and the restaurant manager gave us some Cajun spices. The fish being only hours old and cooked out on the grill was fabulous!

Our last leg of the trip was from West River to Port Annapolis. We again encountered North winds 16-18 knots, so it was another beat home. Steve and Paul had a 15:30 flight, so we had to get back by 13:00. We made it with time to spare.

This trip was absolutely fantastic, sailing 151 NM in 3 1/2 days. It was really a pleasure to get to know Paul a little better, and it is always a joy for me to be with my brother. I look forward to our “third annual” trip! It was difficult narrowing down the photos to 10 when I started with 250+.  Here are some highlights of our trip...

On a beat 

 Sunrise at Chesapeake Beach



Steve working on the furler 

Paul fighting the ray 

Way too fast to fish! 

 "Fish-on"...again!

This fish was a slob! 

 Cajun Rockfish

 Headed back to Port Annapolis

Back safely in her slip, the crew having blue yummies!

Thanks Steve and Paul for making the trip up here.  I had a blast with you guys!

Annual Maintenance

Each year, it takes a lot of effort to get a sailboat ready for the new season. I maintain a commissioning list of all the things that need to be done. Most of the things can be done with the boat in the water, but there are a few things that have to be done on land. Many dread these annual chores, but for me, it is a labor of love. It is such a departure from my daily grind in the office to get out in the fresh air and work.

Last year, I had the old bottom paint ground down to the gelcoat, added three barrier coats and then two coats of ablative antifouling paint, which will make the annual maintenance easier. I only have to rough up the bottom with 80-grit sandpaper and re-apply one coat of Micron Extra with Biolux. This paint is designed to wear away like a bar of soap so marine growth, algae and slime can't really attach to the bottom, which makes for faster sailing! I had the boat hauled out on Wednesday, with a plan to tackle the bottom on Saturday, the better of the two weekend days weather wise. I also waxed the hull which is much easier to do on land, but can be done in the water. Yes, every muscle in my body hurts, but it is a good hurt! She is all shiny and ready to be re-launched on Tuesday.

1st Day of Spring 3.20.2012

The first day of Spring brought with it another day off from work and another day out on the water! I invited a work colleague Eliot to go sailing. We enjoyed our time together, even though the sailing conditions were not optimal. We started out in heavy fog and no wind and ended up under a brilliant blue sky with no wind! In between, we found 5-7 knots of wind which were still on the light side. We dragged a spoon around for 14.1 NM but didn't catch anything. You pick...bad day of sailing, bad day of fishing, or going to work. I will take the first two all week long and twice on Sunday!

Early Start to Sailing Season 2012

Captain's log March 19, 2012...Abundant sunshine, winds SSE at 8-10 kts, waves less than one foot and air temp 62 at Thomas Point Lighthouse. A great day to start the 2012 sailing season and a good use of a day off from work! This is the first time we ever sailed in March! We added 10.5 NM to the permanent log today averaging 4-5 kts of boat speed on a reach across the bay and back. Just a lovely time together! Guess the total nautical miles that we will clock on Domingoman this season...prize to be determined!

First mate all bundled up!

The Captain, not so bundled up!


Looking forward to more days like this!