Sailing Trip Part 5

After breakfast, the instructor had us see what is involved in a 'pump out', which is where you hook up a vaccuum cleaner like hose to the bathroom holding tanks and pump out the contents to a big holding tank at the marina. Pretty gross - we used lots of chlorox bleach hand wipes I'll tell you. Then we got to practice docking the 40 footer in an empty slip at the marina. Very daring of him to let a bunch of rookies steer the boat into a narrow slip bounded by wooden pilings. I will brag and say that I didn't hit one piling coming in or out of the slip. This was most likely due to two things: it is my job here at home to bring our sailboat into our slip, and I tended to ignore the instructor's directions and just did what I felt was best, which was go slow and pretend I don't have a reverse gear. Mary bashed into several pilings pretty hard but luckily Andrew, Arlin and I were stationed around the boat ready to fend off, so no damage was done to the boat. Next it was a quick sail to Ingram's Bayou where we dropped anchor and went below to take the 2 hour written test. Time flew by and then it was time to mark our tests. We all passed (Arlin just barely!) and then it was off back to Perdido Bay for, you guessed it, more tacking, jibing, heave-to, and man-over-board drills. The wind was pretty good that day and we were really heeled over. I was navigator/galley duty that day and Andrew was helm duty, so I got to navigate for Andrew which was fun. I shot a short video of the navigator's view from down below. We learned a new man-over-board method called the 'Quick Stop', which is basically stopping the boat quickly by turning up into the wind, then sailing a slow circle back to the victim in the water (we used a lifejacket as the victim). This is a good method for a 2 person boat since the helmsman can keep the victim in sight at all times. Andrew tried doing the whole thing by himself, steering and working the lines, which simulates me having fallen in and Andrew having to rescue me. The first time he bashed the lifejacket on the head but he got a good pickup the second time. In the photos you can see Mary at the helm and me acting as her spotter and linesman. We then sailed over to Robert's Bayou to drop anchor for the night. Andrew was helmsman so he had to follow the anchor instructions from Arlin. There was a pub nearby so we all rode over in the dinghy (Mary drove) for a bushwacker (a rum and milkshake type drink, Andrew liked it, too sweet for me). Then we cooked up spicy chicken breasts on the BBQ with spanish rice and caesar salad for sides. A very nice meal - wine and beer for beverages, and chocolate for dessert. After dishes were done we were sitting in the cockpit outside in the darkness and could hear the "puff" of dolphins coming up to breathe in the still water. Neat. Then we started coming up with name suggestions for Lanier's next boat. Their current boats are named with an 'adventure' theme: Endless Adventure and Splendid Adventure (our boat). I came up with "Carefree Adventure", and based on our first experience this morning, Arlin came up with "The 'I'm not touching that' Adventure", and then Mary cracked me up so bad with her suggestion "Final Adventure". By this time we'd all had a few too many beers and wines and it was time to hit the bunks - we didn't want to be too hungover for our Gulf sail the next day.

Sailing Trip Part 4

Tuesday morning I supervised the raising of the anchor and then we motored and sailed down the intercoastal waterway into Perdido Bay. Along the way we got 'buzzed' by an army boat. This guy was rather rude and Arlin (in the airforce) muttered 'those damn army guys!' Andrew was on navigator and galley duty, so he learned how to plot our course headings on the chart using the compass rose, and then how to plot our current location using triangulation fixes. This way he was able to confirm whether we were on course or not. Even though the helmsman can be sailing the proper compass direction, there is current and wind to consider that potentially can move us off course. So it is important to verify your true location and plot that on the chart, and then make course corrections if necessary. Of course, in this modern era we would all be using GPS and computer charts, but this class is about teaching the fundamental paper methods so we were doing everything the old fashioned way. Perdido Bay is a really nice bay for practicing sailing, there were only a few other boats out there and we basically had the place to ourselves. A nice wind and not much chop on the water either. Once again we all took turns at the helm, tacking and jibing and heaving-to. And once again there were more turns at the man-over-board drills as well. We were able to sail wing on wing a little as we headed back out of the bay towards the intercoastal waterway. We spent the night at the Bear Point Marina which is in Alabama. After showering and freshening up, we caught a cab to Tacky Jack's in Orange Beach for dinner and beers. On the way back to the boat we stopped at a grocery store to stock up on the necessities: beer, wine, and chocolate. Back at the boat there was more review and studying in preparation for our exam the next morning. Luckily the instructor was practically feeding us the questions that night so I wasn't super worried that I hadn't read the book.

Sailing Trip Part 3

We all woke up around 6:30am and had showers at the marina. Each day we will need to be ready for action by 8:00am. These are very long days with instruction going well into the night until around 9:00pm. Breakfast each morning was coffee, toasted bagels with cream cheese, fruit, cereal, and yogurt. After getting acquainted with the major systems on the boat we were ready to head out. Arlin was on the helm and safety duty, so he backed us out and we headed into Pensacola Bay for our first day of sailing lessons. We did lots of tacking and jibing and man-over-board drills (the figure 8 method). Everyone got turns at the helm and working the lines. About 2 hours before sunset we headed out west down the intercoastal waterway to find the night's anchorage. It was a 'spoil area' just inside Big Lagoon and right by Perdido Key. Andrew was anchor duty, so he learned to take charge of setting the bow anchor in about 10 feet of water. He had to give hand signals to Arlin at the helm to maneuver the boat into the right spot, and then he had to drop the anchor and pay out the right amount of scope so the anchor would set properly.
Afterwards we took the dinghy to the shore to look around. I was dinghy captain that day, so I got to drive! It was a scrubby little part of Perdido Key but there was a pretty sunset and it was nice to stretch our legs after being on the boat all day. There were some remnants of an old gun battery but it wasn't all that great really. I saw some pelicans - they are my favorite seabird. I love the way they hover low to the waves in formation like a bunch of bomber airplanes, and they way they dive and crash into the ocean to fish. Ron grilled us barbecue hamburgers for dinner and Mary made a coleslaw salad. After dinner there was lots of textbook type instruction and then it was off to bed.

Sailing Trip Part 2

Sunday morning we woke up and drove to the end of Pensacola Beach just to look around, and then we made our way back across the 2 bridges to downtown Pensacola and found the Seville Harbor Marina. We had brunch at the Fish House restaurant on the left of this picture. I had a nice eggs benedict with spinach and artichoke - very fancy and delicious!
We all met up at the boat around 2:00pm and got introduced to each other. Our instructor was Ron. He is a retired telephone company worker now well into his second career as a sailing instructor. He tells us that you don't make any money being a sailing instructor but it is fantastic to be out on the water almost everyday. He is very grateful that his wife has a good paying job as a physical therapist so they can pay the bills. Our crew mates were Arlin and Mary. Arlin is about 38 years old and he works on satellite systems as an Air Force officer. He is also a low carb dieter and lost about 60 pounds over the last year and is now fanatical about jogging everyday. We never did learn that much about Mary except that she is a retired school teacher. She is very soft spoken and very private and mysterious. We got the feeling she knew a lot more about sailing than she was letting on. Finally she opened up a little during our last night together and told us she had crossed the Atlantic on a 35 foot boat. She has also owned her own 35 footer and sailed on the Chesapeake Bay for several years. The reason she was taking this class is that it is required so she can participate in some group charter trips via the sailing school. We really liked Mary and I kinda felt that she was secretly telling the instructor to stuff it half the time which made me laugh. The boat is a 393 Benneteau (just short of 40 feet long), with 3 cabins and 2 bathrooms. Andrew and I got the v-berth cabin at the front of the boat that had its own bathroom. Mary and Arlin each got their own cabin and the instructor slept outside in the cockpit or pulled out the salon cushions to make a queen size bed. So the sleeping and bathroom situation was great. There is a nice kitchen with a stove and fridge. We had to get used to stowing things in small spaces which means that anytime you want to get something, you have to move a hundred things out of the way first, grab what you want, and then put everything back again. Kinda a hassle but we got used to it. One of the first things we did as a group was setup the duty roster. Each of us students had a specific thing that we were responsible for each day: Helm and Safety, Anchor and Lines, Dinghy and Lines, and Navigation and Galley. Of course each day we all got turns at the helm and working the lines. We all went for dinner to an irish restaurant called McGuire's that has over 1/4 million dollar bills hanging from the ceiling. No kidding. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera so I don't have a shot of it. Pretty neat though. We all slept on the boat that night. It was pretty squishy since I am now used to a king size bed that I can hang my feet over the end of. Also a crazy mockingbird kept singing all through the night - over and over with his whole repertoire of songs. Drove us nuts!

Sailing Trip Part 1

What a great time we had on our sailing trip. I wish I had taken more pictures and more movies but there just wasn't much time since we were kept very busy from sun up to sun down. We were so busy in fact that both me and Andrew actually forgot all about work, and that has got to be the gold standard for defining a great vacation. We drove down without incident (about 8 hours or so) and checked into our hotel room on Pensacola Beach. We soon realized that it was Saint Patrick's Day. Party time! Lots of crazy drunk people dressed in green. Lots of bikers. Lots of student spring breakers. It was pretty cold so we put on our jackets and headed straight to the beach for a quick bite and a couple of beers. Then it was off to Paddy O'Leary's for a couple of pints of guiness. Andrew declared that he was cured of his head cold. We managed to get to bed at a reasonable time and woke up the next morning without hangovers and ready to drive to the boat.

Road Trip

Well, this morning we are off to Pensacola FL for a week of sailing lesson from Lanier Sail. We'll be learning coastal cruising and bareboat chartering. And the whole trip is being paid for with our savings from quitting smoking, so it is like a free vacation. We are driving down and staying tonight at Pensacola Beach right on the Gulf of Mexico so I'll be able to put my toes in the sand, and then for the next 5 nights we'll be sleeping on a 40 foot sailboat. We have no idea what to expect - will it be squishy? will we get seasick? will we pass the tests? will I not freak out when the boat heels over? Unfortunately Andrew's cold is still hanging around which is such a drag. I haven't caught it yet thankfully, I am taking tons of vitamin C to try to ward it off. The cats are staying at Miss Kitty's for the week, such a lovely holiday for them, stuck in a little room, but at least they are safe and looked after. I will be taking lots of photos and a few movies, I can't take the computer so I must be careful not to use up my memory cards too quickly - I want to get a few movies of the actual sailing in the Gulf. The weather looks to be ok for the week so it should be fun!! See ya later.....

The Professor

Today the professor was very excited to find out they make a special chocolate easter bunny for smart intellectuals just like him. He ate it in about 15 minutes. That was dinner for him. For me, it was a bag of Cape Cod salt and vinegar potato chips. Yummy.

I Love Spring!

I know that spring isn't officially here yet, but we've been in a bit of a warm spell and garden flowers are starting to pop. I was super thrilled to discover after work today that my first ever successfully blooming tulip has opened up. Previous winters I have planted tulips, both in the ground and in pots on the deck, but they have died or otherwise failed to come up. This winter I bought the tulips and kept them in the fridge until around late January or so, at which time I planted them in these old window boxes I made years ago but never put up under my windows. How great to see the bloom, and I can see that many more are on their way. Success!! The chilling period in the fridge must be the trick, just like the books say. I should be a better student! Lots of other things in bloom in the yard right now. The saucer magnolia is out and smelling great. You need to bring a bloom to your nose to smell the fragrance, but it is really nice and I wish it permeated the yard a little better. The grape hyacinths are up and poking their purple noses through the red bamboo leaves in the circle garden. Lots of daffodils are up and there are more to come. The 'sizzling pink' lorapetalum shrubs are blooming as well. I can see very tiny leaf buds on the trees everywhere, so it won't be too long until the forest is greened up again. It always amazes me that these almost dead looking trees I see from our deck will in a short time be covered with vibrant green leaves. I love mother nature!!! Over the past few weeks I've been planting quite a few things. Lots of conifers in the front yard area and some new peony stalks which I hope will come up (nothing yet but my fingers are crossed - those peony roots look rather dead when you plant them in the ground). I've planted up some baby hostas in pots which I'll hold over for a year and plant them out next spring when they've matured a bit. Doing it this way I get a hosta plant for about 1 dollar, whereas they normally cost around 6-10 dollars at the nursery. The savings doesn't sound like much, but you multiply that by 100 plants and it adds up quickly. Ok, Andrew calls me cheap but if I spent what I wanted to on the yard we would be dead broke. I think the gardening books and magazines really give me spring fever! I planted up some osteospermums for the deck this year. I haven't tried them before but they are supposed to be drought and heat tolerant, which is exactly what happens on our deck in the summer. It is brutal out here in the dead of summer and hopefully these plants will do ok. I love the purple and white blends on each flower and they should get about 2 feet across for each plant, so it should be a good showing. Sidney wanted to help me show you the plants. Well, it is time to go in and make dinner. I'm making a baked eggplant and ziti pasta dish that Andrew and I just love. Excellent recipe which I will email if you want it. I'm out on the deck right now entering this blog - you just gotta love wireless internet and laptop computers. A mockingbird was singing so loud that I heard it over my headphones (I'm listening to internet radio 'Radio Paradise') and I had to record it for you all. I love the way they go through a whole repertoire of other bird songs - very funny to me. Andrew is feeling a little sick right now so he is sleeping on the couch, which is why I've got my headphones on - normally the music would be coming from the stereo. I hope he feels better soon! We have our spring break sailing trip coming up so with some TLC and lots of rest he should be in ship shape (ha ha ha, or I guess that should be har har har).

Hard at Work

Andrew stopped by my office yesterday and caught me reading my Cruising Fundamentals textbook. We both need to study and prepare for our upcoming sailing class in Pensacola during spring break. I am really looking forward to the holiday and I hope we get good weather. So far it looks like the temps will be a little warmer than here and there could be rain showers as well.

Windy Days

We had a really windy Saturday. A gorgeous day for yard work and I got a lot done outside. Of course I had to take a forest walk with the cats to investigate the downed trees. There was an old pine that came down on our path, and a small tree knocked over onto our dock gangway. I also got a shot of Harley under the canoe. She always slinks underneath it and this time I stuck the camera in after her to see what she was up to. A funny cat she is.