Skip to main content

Training Hard


Good morning everyone. The past few days have been fog-free. We had
a great sail yesterday with WSW winds piping right up. We spent the
morning touring the Wooden Boat School. We sailed off the anchor at
1100 and beat our way out of Jericho Bay with some help from the
tide. A few tacks carried us through the Merchant Row past all the
islands we missed in Tuesday's fog. Once again the southerly breeze
under Isle Au Haut was humming as we plowed along at 9+ knots,
upwind! We reeled off 10+ knots as we scampered down the bay on a
broad reach to our anchorage here in Holbrook Harbor.

Watch groups have continued to focus on the basics. Steering a
schooner in a straight line is not as easy as it may appear.
Steering by compass is really hard. The bow watch has explored sail
theory as well as anchor theory. Navigators worked on position
fixing to confirm DR plots and our favorite 6 minute rule. Hand
crafted ditty bags and fancy knots were started in the marlinspike
watch. Getting going, staying going, and stopping going at the day's
end is all it takes to sail a boat, right? After sailing off the
anchor yesterday morning we sailed onto the anchor with all sails
flying 'til the end. Quite a dramatic sight and great practice for
the crew following commands with alacrity.

Here is a wonderful weather forecast as reported by the Green Team
yesterday morning:

This is your weather report, recorded for your log,
Feel free to add it to your blog,
Today is going to be sunny and hot,
Don't forget your sun block.

The winds re 10-15 from the west,
For sailing we think this is best,
We might run into some patchy fog,
Not to be confused with the LA smog.

The waves today are 2-4 feet,
but Mary Day won't skip a beat,
This is your weather report and all we have to say,
Have a great day sailing the Mary Day.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.
Photos by Tom Haraden.

Comments

Anonymous said…
haha i remember that, we missed the start of breakfast for it. You know how it is, just cant wait to mound on some of Mary's cooking.

well thats all for today,
Im sure your still having fun sailing the Mary Day. haha

Popular posts from this blog

Hail Mary

My heart is heavy with sadness as I write this particular blog. Since the beginning of August our dear friend and cook for the last 12 years, Mary Barney, had been struggling with cancer. I have intentionally respected Mary’s privacy and I apologize to you for not sharing any news about Mary’s health sooner. On Monday afternoon Mary passed away very peacefully at home, surrounded by friends and “family”. Her departure was as graceful as the rest of her life. Many people, including Jen, have been doing heroic work to support Mary these last few weeks. Oddly enough Mary was never very excited about transitions though this was about the fastest transition she ever made. And as I struggle to let go of Mary I realize I am terrible with transitions as well. We used to joke about how we liked things just the way they are, thank you very much, so why change what is working already even if it might be less labor intensive. Hard works is its own reward. I used to joke about getting Mary a Cui...

Swimming Anyone?

Good morning everyone. Winter is still here in New England though it seems to be taking a rest these days. We have enjoyed a little bit of a thaw. We still have snow covering our field but it is thinning out in the sunny patches. Mary Day rests comfortably in the harbor, bilges dry, cover intact, waiting for the crew to return. Another busy week has passed so I will get you up to speed on everything that is happening here at the global headquarters. Jen is putting the finishing touches on year end taxes. Blockfest 2008 is finally finished. The blocks have received quite the massaging. And while we have the off-white paint out we are starting in on the lifeline stanchions, the davits, and a few other miscellaneous parts. Alex asked me last night how we were doing with our pace. We are doing great but in the back of my mind I know that there is never enough time to do it all. Having perfectionist tendencies is a curse. I want to do it all and know we will never have enough time. There se...

Fall Maintenance

Good morning everyone. The sun has been kind to us these past few days and the crew has been spending much time aloft prepping and painting the mast heads and tarring the rig as part of our annual fall maintenance schedule. They were a little silly on tar fumes by the end of the day hence the rat board dance moves. Am I the only one who is reminded of Willy Wonka's little friends at the sight of the crew in their tyvek suits? Schoona-loompas? The smell of tar, after all, is what we sailors live for. Extracted from the stumps and roots of pine trees through dry distillation pine tar will cure what ails you especially some skin conditions and any emotional maladies from being too long away from the sea. All we know for sure is that Mary Day’s rigging is kept hail and hearty by coats of tar mixed with boiled linseed oil. Notice that I specified boiled linseed oil and not raw linseed oil. Tar mix with raw linseed oil will not “kick”. Don’t ask me how I know this… just take my wo...