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.