Bigger water and the Clearwater

A long fetch coming straight up the river, out of the south, force 3 to force 4
                    close hauled, the flat bottomed hull wants to pound when we drop off the wave tops and land in the troughs
I try to steer us to softer landings                We tack and come off the wind sailing into the Marina basin
We ghost along UNICORN, the hands on deck wave and say hello
we come back on our course to sail under The CLEARWATER and the crew waves and admires the little red skiff
                    Back out in the river and we run back up to the next bay, our home, the rolling waves lifting the stern
the main sheet eased out            I worried about control off the wind but needn't be.  It's a fun ride back home

On the approach to the dock I decide that I'm not ready to be done for the day and veer off and sail up to the light house as the sun gets low in the sky
even in the gusts the little sail seems to pull the boat along but not over press it
            It's just the right size for this kind of sailing          We sail right up to the dock and I reach out and loop the painter around a cleat.  3or 4 hours of easy, fun, sweet sailing, running, close hauled, beam reach, spray
This boat fits kind of like a kayak fits.

DDP Clearwater

rowing boat-sail boat

Glassy river, so just a row
to the point, to the light house
and back
                    the tide is ebbing and almost slack
row up river and let the current carry me back
                                                                            Out into the channel           the seagulls dive
the surface shimmers and a breeze is on the rise
                            The current helps us home, raise a sail, raise a hope, raise my spirits
at the bow the water sings                 close hauled, ease the sheet come off the wind
make myself comfortable, no shoes, no hat the sun is warm
come about and it's one long tack,
                                    past a beach, past a marina, past a yacht club, past people I go unnoticed
I must be invisible, a ghost ship, bright red hull, big white sail, bright sunshine
no one sees me
                      I'm a ghost, ghosting by right up to the landing with full sail raised
reach out and catch the cleat with my painter. 
A nice breeze is filling in but a couple of hours is enough today, there's always tomorrow, I hope.

I forgot how well this boat rows

row or sail the little skiff is becoming more and more cherished with each outing.  I want to take care of her, get her things, new, longer oars, a tent for the cockpit, better arrangements of everything.  I want to pamper her, which is really pampering me isn't it?
The chair at my desk rises on the swell that the tug that passed me going down river hours ago, left behind.  It's a giddy kind of instability, like a shot of single malt scotch.

WhispDDP

Debauched UNICORN Triptych

I missed getting a photo of the ship today, but I snagged these older images off the internet and DDP'ed them.

Whisp, the sailing skiff!

Skiff at Dock, DDP

It's good to be Back

Went out yesterday evening for a nice 3 hour sail.  I had meant to test out the rudder on the skiff but realized I had bent one of the gudgeons by dropping the stern of the boat while trying to off load it from the pick up sometime ago.  The up side was that I didn't need to worry about how the rudder and steering stick worked, and just enjoyed an evening sail to the light house and back.  It was gusty but I think I just about got it right for the amount of sail I have on the rig now.  The boat has weather helm, good, but not so much as to loose control.  The big gusts are easily spilled by easing the mainsheet, and yet, the boat moves along in a light breeze.

Today the weather was even better and I wanted to fix the rudder rig and test it out.  I have been under the belief that steering with the oars works very well and makes for one less bit of gear in the boat to have to control and store and carry, but, I had built this rudder and wanted to try it out.  The rudder is made our of cedar (formerly somebodies decking material for their house) and has positive buoyancy.  The tiller, or rather, the steering stick is yellow pine and works by pulling fore and aft.
Though it does add a complication to the rig, it does work nicely.  I was concerned that the rudder might not have enough wet surface area to provide steerage but at least in moderate winds, it's just fine.  The steering stick could be a bit longer, maybe a foot or foot and a half, and I need to replace the toggle that locks the rudder pintles into the gudgeons, I just tied them together today.
Power sailing for this boat is rowing with the sail up, and it works great.  The transition from rowing to just sailing is quick and easy, just pull in the oars, don't even need to pull them out of their oarlocks.  Steering from the rowing position is easy with the tiller and main sheet easily within reach.

sailing rig ready to go in a matter of minutes, 2 minutes at the most.

Dagger board trunk being built

Dagger board in use.  A bungee cord allows for adjusting to any amount of board depth.

 The mainsheet comes from the clue of the sail down to a detachable block on a ring seized to the stern painter on the transom, then is bent around the forward oarlock sockets then to a cleat on the daggerboard, though I don't cleat it off much.

An Ocean going canoe catamaran at the local marina. Really amazing and beautiful.

I also saw the sailing vessel UNICORN  today, and the skipper was kind enough to invite me aboard to take a look see.  She is about 108' LOA with square sails and fore and aft sails.  I need to look up what that makes her, windjammer, full rigged ship, clipper???????  Great boat.  Enjoyed meeting the Skipper,  If this were a month ago, or things were just a bit different, I'd be pleading for a berth to get the ship down to the Chesapeake.  It would be what some people call a "BUCKETLIST" item for me, sailing a tall ship.
Waiting out Hurricane Matthew by going on perfect daysails here and knowing that people down south are dying a losing their homes, land, is kind of strange.  I guess somewhere in the world something really hard is always happening while something wonderful is also going on.

Vincent van Gogh Debauched

A Van Gogh that's already been stolen once.  Now I'm stealing it and twisting it a bit.

VvG DDP