Blog of S/V Salty Beach

 It was another beautiful day for a little sail, so Devin and I went. We went barely out of the harbor before Devin got nervous from much powerboat wake and we turned around. On the way back to the mooring we noted the unusually tall sailing vessel pictured below.

 His first sail on Salty Beach that is. It was a decently nice day, a bit cloudy with temps in the 70s (F). The breeze was forecast as 10-15 knots, gusting to 25 from the northwest, but we found it more like 10-12. We went out for a short sail just across the bay to the house on the rock (aka Clingstone). Devin gets nervous whenever the boat heels much so he objected to my suggestion we put up the jib and we went under main alone. Leaving the mooring under sail was calm and uneventful, but sailing back to it was a little nerve-wracking. The main issue was that northwest winds are fairly unusual here and it caused the neighboring boat to be just 10 feet or so upwind of our mooring ball, not allowing much room for excess momentum. Twice I failed to carry enough momentum and the boat stalled just out of reach of the mooring pennant. The third time I made it. Quickly looping the pennant over the bow cleat, I ran back to lower the main. It was about halfway down when I realized the penn...

It was a beautiful, mostly sunny day with temps in the 70s (F) and a 5-10 knot breeze from the southwest. I had chaperoned a field trip for my stepdaughter, to see 11th Hour Racing at Fort Adams in Newport. We got to see their new IMOCA 60, Malama , up close, as well as an impressive holographic display along with a movie. There were several activities for the kids, all centered around taking care of the ocean. The weather was just perfect to be on the water. Later that afternoon, I talked with Tiffany and we decided to go for the first sail of the season, a low-key harbor cruise to Fort Adams for the kids to swim. I warned everyone it would take a bit longer than typical to depart since I had to finish adjusting and taping up the rigging. About 45 minutes after arriving on the boat by launch, we raised the main and sailed off the mooring. The breeze was dying at this point, closer to 5 knots, so going was slow. I started the little outboard, but the kids were already complaining of...

After a much longer time prepping than I ever expected, the boat is finally on the mooring in Newport Harbor (RI)! My next-door neighbor offered to tow it with his truck, and I followed in my car over to the boat ramp at Fort Adams in Newport, about 20 miles from my house in South Kingstown. Last season, I used the hoist at the Newport Yacht Club to launch, but it took some effort to get the straps positioned since the trailer has bunks. This time, I decided to try ramp launching as the trailer was designed for it. Just in case we couldn't get the trailer deep enough to float the boat without getting the truck wet, I brought heavy-duty wheel chocks and a 20 foot long tow strap to put distance between the truck and trailer once on the ramp if needed. When we arrived at Fort Adams, I was thrilled to find the boat ramp deserted! It was a beautiful evening with mostly clear skies and about 10 knots of breeze from the southwest. This is typically a very busy site in the season, but on ...