06-23-2008, 07:07 AM
Finally, five years and six months since the first cut, we got our Weekender in the water. My wife and I launched from the public boat ramp in Silverdale Washington 2 hours after high tide. After a short christening ceremony at the dock we set out for Port Orchard, about 8 miles away. The winds were very light as predicted so we motored with our 2hp Honda. Every once and a while the wind picked up to about five mph. We shut the motor down and sailed until the wind died. The current was in our favor through the Port Washington Narrows so we zipped through to Bremerton just in time to see the car ferry leaving for Seattle. As we approached the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard there were some buoys marking the boundaries of the Navy base. I noticed a small gray patrol boat shadowing us as we motored along just outside the markers. We decided it would be a good time to make the one mile dash across Sinclair Inlet over to Port Orchard. After dodging the passenger ferry wake we killed the motor and sailed right in to the harbor. The boat sailed beautifully! Even the infamous "club footed jib" was well behaved. We stopped in a small cove and celebrated our maiden voyage with a picnic lunch.
The trip back was not quite so smooth. That favorable current that pushed us through the Narrows into Bremerton was now against us. We started the motor and powered through at half throttle. As we broke out of the Narrows into Dyes Inlet the wind started to build. We pulled the motor up and got ready for some serious sailing. The wind was blowing steady at about 10 knots. We were tacking through the Inlet back toward Silverdale. Without much warning the wind started to gust. At first just a little. I eased the mainsheet and things were back to normal. Then..... a BIG GUST I'm sure it was at least 25 knots. The boat healed over hard, I eased the main and it slammed against the starboard shroud. I uncleated the jib and headed up into the wind. After regaining some control I started the motor and headed in. With two miles to go I decided to stay within "swimming distance" of the shore .
By the time we got to the dock the winds had calmed down somewhat so we decided to get some pictures of our new boat under sail. As I approached the dock I saw two teen aged boys standing there. I told them what we were trying to do, and they agreed to help. We motored to the dock with the sails up and they caught the mooring lines. My wife got off with the camera, and they let me loose. She got a few pictures and I came back in.
Just as we got the sails down the wind started to gust again. It was really blowing hard so we figured we would wait until it calmed down before we tried to get the boat back on the trailer. After an hour or so we decided it wasn't going to get any better. With the aid of our new teen aged friends we left the dock and I motored over to the ramp. The kids ran over to catch our lines again, Thank God, I don't know how we would have done this by ourselves.
So ....... a few small dents in the rubrails and a couple of gouges in the bowsprit, and the boat was back on the trailer.
Wow what a day!
Here are some pictures of our launching
http://picasaweb.google.com/jsacho/SVIsl...6244200674
joel
The trip back was not quite so smooth. That favorable current that pushed us through the Narrows into Bremerton was now against us. We started the motor and powered through at half throttle. As we broke out of the Narrows into Dyes Inlet the wind started to build. We pulled the motor up and got ready for some serious sailing. The wind was blowing steady at about 10 knots. We were tacking through the Inlet back toward Silverdale. Without much warning the wind started to gust. At first just a little. I eased the mainsheet and things were back to normal. Then..... a BIG GUST I'm sure it was at least 25 knots. The boat healed over hard, I eased the main and it slammed against the starboard shroud. I uncleated the jib and headed up into the wind. After regaining some control I started the motor and headed in. With two miles to go I decided to stay within "swimming distance" of the shore .
By the time we got to the dock the winds had calmed down somewhat so we decided to get some pictures of our new boat under sail. As I approached the dock I saw two teen aged boys standing there. I told them what we were trying to do, and they agreed to help. We motored to the dock with the sails up and they caught the mooring lines. My wife got off with the camera, and they let me loose. She got a few pictures and I came back in.
Just as we got the sails down the wind started to gust again. It was really blowing hard so we figured we would wait until it calmed down before we tried to get the boat back on the trailer. After an hour or so we decided it wasn't going to get any better. With the aid of our new teen aged friends we left the dock and I motored over to the ramp. The kids ran over to catch our lines again, Thank God, I don't know how we would have done this by ourselves.
So ....... a few small dents in the rubrails and a couple of gouges in the bowsprit, and the boat was back on the trailer.
Wow what a day!
Here are some pictures of our launching
http://picasaweb.google.com/jsacho/SVIsl...6244200674
joel