Blog of S/V Salty Beach

My neighbor who helped with launching was out of town, and my dad and brother were busy so I was alone for haulout. I wasn't too worried; I made a plan: Tow the empty trailer over with my Corolla to get the U-Haul pickup I had reserved Switch the trailer over to the truck Drive the truck and trailer to the Fort Adams boat ramp Ride my folding bike from Fort Adams to Newport Yacht Club Take the launch out to Salty Beach Motor the boat to the boat ramp at Fort Adams Load the boat on the trailer Drop the rig and prep for transport Tow the boat home Park the trailer Return the pickup Drive home in my car Things went pretty well according to plan, except when dropping the rig I may have bent the mast slightly when I stumbled and dropped it the last little bit with the base still bolted through the tabernacle. The wind blew it slightly off to starboard so it missed the stern pulpit and levered against the cabin top. It may have been slightly bent previously, but I can see a slight bend w...

Payne's Dock, Block Island  As one of the organizers of the Mitchell Regattas I was looking forward to taking Salty Beach to Block Island with the race. I didn't have the boat ready in time for Memorial Day and simply took the ferry out with my bicycle and a trailer filled with trophies to run the awards, but I was really looking forward to sailing the new boat this time. We had pretty ideal conditions for a quick trip, at least initially. The wind was forecast to be and started out NW, but after Point Judith things got light and shifty. Still, we had a pretty great sail and finished around 14:30 after starting at 9:00. We had just three of us aboard: my youngest son, the dog, and myself. My wife had to work and none of the other kids wanted to go. The weather was considerably cooler than typical, starting off in the upper 40s F in the early-morning of Saturday, but quickly warming to about the mid 50s. My son was unusually nervous when the boat heeled, perhaps due to some l...