Bought the domain "SailingThanksDad.com" and will be blogging there from now on.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Move from the marina to the boat yard for the winter
On Sunday my brother and I moved the boat from our slip at the Waukegan Harbor Marina to Larsen’s Boat Yard.
Larsen’s will be hauling the boat next week for winter storage.
It was a quick trip.
When we arrived at the boat yard they were waiting for us and had us dock at one of the launch ramps. We did have a “soft” touch of the bottom at we came in. Hopefully it didn’t scratch the keel too much. We’ll see next week after it has been hauled out of the water.
The weather turned out to be pretty nice and if we hadn’t removed the sails last weekend we would have gone sailing.
Click here for- >Google Earth GPS Track 2013-10-27
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| Thanks Dad waiting to leave the marina. |
Larsen’s will be hauling the boat next week for winter storage.
It was a quick trip.
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| Short trip from the marina to the boat yard. |
When we arrived at the boat yard they were waiting for us and had us dock at one of the launch ramps. We did have a “soft” touch of the bottom at we came in. Hopefully it didn’t scratch the keel too much. We’ll see next week after it has been hauled out of the water.
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| Docked at one of the launch ramps waiting to get hauled out of the water. |
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| Locking the cabin hatch prior to heading home. |
Click here for- >Google Earth GPS Track 2013-10-27
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Last sail of the season
On Saturday the forecast included rain so we didn't go sailing, but on Sunday my brother and I went out.
Before we headed out, we stopped at the fuel dock to top off the diesel tank. It only took 7 gallons of fuel. That is the amount of fuel we used for the entire season. Not too bad considering we motored about 5 hours on our trip to Chicago back in July and we motored roughly an average of about 45 minutes each time we went out, going out of and back into the marina.
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| My brother at the helm |
It was a bit on the chilly side with a temp of ~48 degrees when we left the marina. We had a couple sprinkles of rain with waves less than 1 foot that built to about 2-3 feet. The winds started out in the 5-8 knot range, but finished nicely in the 10-15 knot range.
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| I brought out my "Third Reef" foul weather jacket when it started to sprinkle a little rain. |
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| Winds started in the 5-8 knot range |
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| Winds finished nicely in the 10-15 knot range. The rail was almost in the water. |
We practiced the "heave to" maneuver a couple times. I was aware of it and had a basic understanding of what it meant, but had never done it before. Heaving to is a bit like "parking" the boat on idle speed in the middle of the lake (or ocean). It can bring the boat to a stop very fast (and calmly) and would be good in a man-overboard situation. It is also good if you just want to take a break to use the head or for eating lunch.
Since this was the last sail of the season and the weather forecast for the coming week includes temps below freezing and some snow, we removed the sails before we departed in preparation for having the boat hauled out of the water next weekend.
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| Removed the mainsail in preparation for winter storage |
Click here for- >Google Earth GPS Track 2013-10-20
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Great day for a fall sail.
My brother and I went sailing on Sunday. Winds were in the 5–12 knot range, waves were 1-3 feet, temps were around 60 degrees and the skies were sunny.
We had a brief period when we got to 6.1 knots, but spent most of the time in the 4-5 knot range.
I played around a little bit by hoisting the camera to the top of the mast and hanging it out in front of the boat.
We were out for about 4.5 hours and had a great day.
We had a brief period when we got to 6.1 knots, but spent most of the time in the 4-5 knot range.
I played around a little bit by hoisting the camera to the top of the mast and hanging it out in front of the boat.
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| Looking aft |
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| Straight down |
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| Looking forward |
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| Coming at you |
Click here for- >Google Earth GPS Track 2013-10-13
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Finished strong
Saturday was rained out, but Sunday was a good day for sailing.
On Sunday I went sailing with my wife, my brother and a couple friends.
Winds started in the 8 knot range and finished strong during the last hour of the sail with gusts to 18 knots. We were sailing right at 6.0 knots for a while towards the end of the day. Our max speed was 6.1 knots according to the iPad sailing GPS app I have been using for the past two seasons. The Garmin GPS 72, which I brought out for the first time, indicated the max speed was 6.3 knots.
We got the rail in the water for a short while, but a couple members of the crew didn’t appreciate that too much, so we eased out the main sheet to spill some wind and kept the rail out of the water.
The temp was 56 degrees when we left the dock at 11:45 and felt good for most of the day. Clouds came in and the winds picked up towards the end of the sail and everyone put their jackets on.
All in all a very good sail.
Click here for- >Google Earth GPS Track 2013-10-06
On Sunday I went sailing with my wife, my brother and a couple friends.
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| Some enjoyed a "Bloody Mary" |
Winds started in the 8 knot range and finished strong during the last hour of the sail with gusts to 18 knots. We were sailing right at 6.0 knots for a while towards the end of the day. Our max speed was 6.1 knots according to the iPad sailing GPS app I have been using for the past two seasons. The Garmin GPS 72, which I brought out for the first time, indicated the max speed was 6.3 knots.
We got the rail in the water for a short while, but a couple members of the crew didn’t appreciate that too much, so we eased out the main sheet to spill some wind and kept the rail out of the water.
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| Rail in the water |
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| A couple of the crew members that didn't like the "rail-in-the-water" |
The temp was 56 degrees when we left the dock at 11:45 and felt good for most of the day. Clouds came in and the winds picked up towards the end of the sail and everyone put their jackets on.
All in all a very good sail.
Click here for- >Google Earth GPS Track 2013-10-06
Sunday, September 29, 2013
A Ying and Yang Weekend
As usual, I don’t use the weather forecast to determine if we go sailing or not. I go and see for myself what the actual conditions are in our part of the lake. Well, the weather forecasters got it right on Saturday. They forecasted big winds (20-25 knots) and big waves (to 9 feet) and the winds and waves were both big. So we did not venture out, mainly due to the wave heights.
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| The split view shows a boat that ventured out of the harbor. On the right side she is on the crest of a wave and on the left side she has dipped into the trough. |
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| Waves crashing over the breakwater |
On Sunday, my brother, a friend and I went out. The winds were much lighter at 5 – 8 knots and the waves were in the 1 – 3 foot range. It was not an exciting sail, but a casual one.
I did try out the waterproof feature of my video camera by dipping it along side the boat to see what the bottom of the hull looks like.
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| Relaxing on the foredeck |
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Bright, Breezy, Brisk, Sailing
On Saturday I went sailing with a couple friends.
It was a bright mostly sunny day, breezy with winds that started out in the 5-8 knot range then grew to the 8-12 knot range and a brisk temperature of 70 degrees.
It was very enjoyable.
Click here for- > Google Earth GPS Track 2013-09-14
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| Joe at the helm |
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| Bright, Breezy, and Brisk |
It was very enjoyable.
Click here for- > Google Earth GPS Track 2013-09-14
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Small Craft Advisory Again!?
On Saturday I went sailing with my wife. We were delayed a few hours waiting for a storm to pass and were not able to leave the marina until 4:00 pm. While we waited, we did a couple tasks in the cabin, did a little touch up painting on the port rub rail and saw a few WWII era fighter planes fly over from a nearby air show. When we finally got out the winds were light but picked up to about 10 knots after about a half hour. We had an short but enjoyable sail.
On Sunday I went sailing with my brother and a friend. The forecast was identical to last Sunday’s with a small craft advisory and forecasted winds 20 – 25 knots and waves 5 – 6 feet with an occasional 10 footer. Again, the forecast wasn’t accurate for the Waukegan area and we actually had winds 15-20 knots with 2-3 foot waves with an occasional 5 footer. We had an excellent sail with the rail in the water a few times.
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| RADAR Progression |
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| Turned out to be a nice sail |
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| Rail in the water |
Monday, September 2, 2013
Small Craft Advisory? Really?
On Saturday I went sailing with friends from work. The morning brought storms across the entire area, but had passed over the Waukegan area by 9:00. We left the dock at 11:30 to overcast skies, but they cleared after about an hour and a half. Winds started out light in the 5 knot range and then grew a bit to the 10 knot range. Wave were in the 1-2 foot range.
It was a nice leisurely sail.
On Sunday my brother and I went out. The day started out with little wind then dropped to zero for a while. At 1:00, as if someone turned on a fan, the winds went from 0 to about 10 knots and then to 15 knots for the rest of the afternoon. Waves were in the 1-3 foot range.
It was a good sail.
On Sunday, the NOAA marine forecast had a small craft advisory in effect. For Lake Michigan that means “Sustained winds or frequent gusts between 22 and 33 knots inclusive, and/or seas or waves greater than 4 feet.” The forecast was for winds in the 20-25 knot range and waves 5-6 feet with an occasional 10 footer with winds and waves decreasing throughout the afternoon.
If the waves were actually getting to 10 feet, we would not have gone out sailing. Based on my experience though, over the last couple years, I know better than to base my sailing on a NOAA weather forecast. So, my brother and I decided to go to the boat and see for ourselves what the weather was like.
When we got there winds were less than 10 knots and waves were in the 1-3 foot range.
So we went out, had an excellent sail and had the “rail in the water” a couple times.
Even though the forecast called for decreasing winds and wave through the afternoon, we experienced just the opposite. While we were out winds built to 20 knots and waves to 2-4 feet with an occasional 6 footer thrown in for good measure.
Click here for- > Google Earth GPS Track 2013-08-31
Click here for- > Google Earth GPS Track 2013-09-01
Click here for- > Google Earth GPS Track 2013-09-02
It was a nice leisurely sail.
On Sunday my brother and I went out. The day started out with little wind then dropped to zero for a while. At 1:00, as if someone turned on a fan, the winds went from 0 to about 10 knots and then to 15 knots for the rest of the afternoon. Waves were in the 1-3 foot range.
It was a good sail.
On Sunday, the NOAA marine forecast had a small craft advisory in effect. For Lake Michigan that means “Sustained winds or frequent gusts between 22 and 33 knots inclusive, and/or seas or waves greater than 4 feet.” The forecast was for winds in the 20-25 knot range and waves 5-6 feet with an occasional 10 footer with winds and waves decreasing throughout the afternoon.
If the waves were actually getting to 10 feet, we would not have gone out sailing. Based on my experience though, over the last couple years, I know better than to base my sailing on a NOAA weather forecast. So, my brother and I decided to go to the boat and see for ourselves what the weather was like.
When we got there winds were less than 10 knots and waves were in the 1-3 foot range.
So we went out, had an excellent sail and had the “rail in the water” a couple times.
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| Rail in the Water |
Even though the forecast called for decreasing winds and wave through the afternoon, we experienced just the opposite. While we were out winds built to 20 knots and waves to 2-4 feet with an occasional 6 footer thrown in for good measure.
Click here for- > Google Earth GPS Track 2013-08-31
Click here for- > Google Earth GPS Track 2013-09-01
Click here for- > Google Earth GPS Track 2013-09-02
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Great Wednesday Evening Sail
My brother and I enjoyed a great sail.
Winds 15-20 knots, waves 2-4 feet, mostly overcast skies and temps in the mid 70s.
Click here for- > Google Earth GPS Track 2013-08-28
Winds 15-20 knots, waves 2-4 feet, mostly overcast skies and temps in the mid 70s.
Click here for- > Google Earth GPS Track 2013-08-28
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