09.23.16 The Great Chase Race

One of my favorite activities during the summer months is racing. I am crew on a beautiful Saber 34 named "Pajama Girl". Her skipper is Charlie and the crew on this race included Richard, Don, Theresa and me. The last big race of the season is the "Great Chase" is hosted by the yacht club in Hull. This yer 117 sailboats of all classes were registered and it is quite fun if not a little hair raising to jostle around the start line waiting for the gun. At the end of the day, there is a great barbeque with a band and a slide show of the boats.

Here are a few photos of the competing sailboats! And yes, it rained a little, hence the gray skies.

 

 

The ferry went right threw the race! Many ferries would go around the sailboats.

This was a great dog! He loved being on the sailboat!

 

 

 

And we were treated to a beautiful sunset on the sail back home.

 

09.24.16 Summer is over and a good day for a sail

It is now officially autumn - where has the summer gone? I had not written many posts as work has been quite busy and I was doing a fair amount of traveling. I will try to make up for this with a few updates.

You all have been introduced to my "boys" Fionnegan and Gunnarr and of course, Shorty, but you have not met my girl.  Here is Mimì, my Rhodes 19 sailboat. She is the little boat in the front. Just a day sailer, she entered her first race this year and we came in fourth. And we have a trophy for our efforts!

 

 

 

 

Her mooring is near the airport with a gorgeous view of the Boston skyline. Today just the two of us went out for a lovely sail in the harbor. The wind was perfect and it was a great afternoon. My only concern is that I am able to pick up the mooring when we are finished - just a bit of a challenge when we are going against wind and tide under sail power. But I did it! Am getting better at it everytime.


Here is a picture taken from Deer Island of a fisherman and the Boston skyline. You can see airplanes on the runway. I think it is really cool when I am sailing with Mimì and the plane takes off directly overhead.

CPYC, where we have our mooring, is a wonderful and congenial club. A couple of weeks ago they held the rubber ducky races. My duck won the first year the race was held. so I try to make the whenever I am in town. Once the first duck makes it to the pier, the kids scoop them up in nets. It really is a lot of fun.

 

 

08.18.16 Sailing races in Boston Harbor

One of the activities I really enjoy is racing. There are Wednesday night races at Cottage Park Yacht Club and weekend races with all sailing clubs in the Boston area.  Last night was a great race - it was a rumble with a lot of really beautiful sail boats participating.

But can you believe it - I did not have a camera last night! Left it on the counter at home. So I am posting a few from my last few races from before I left for Yap. If friends from last night email me any pictures from last night, I will post them later. There is still a fair amount of racing to do this season.

 

 

 

 

 

"Shout" is one of our favorite boats because of her very clever spinnaker. Shout raced last night, too.

 

 

 

 

 2014 weekend races - national competitors. We were sitting up on a hillside on Deer Island to watch the races - a completely different prospective to be able to see all of the action.

 

Rounding the mark.

Sometimes a little help is needed to extend the main sail and boom. This is Don on Pajama Girl.

"Spirit". I raced on her last night. Great crew and skipper. It was a fun night and they were very kind for allowing me to join them. We might not have won, but we all had a great time.

Beautiful sunsets on Boston Harbor.

 

Entering CPYC. My Mimi is far in the background.

 

 

"Pajama Girl" at sunset. Skipper is Charlie, a very kind man and a very good skipper. One of my favorite pictures taken while I was volunteering on the race committee boat. Working on the RC boat really helped me understand racing and it was a great way to meet other members of the club and helping with an important component of racing. I usually race on Pajama Girl, but she left the dock before I got there. Traffic in Boston is sometimes a challenge. Who am I kidding - it is always a challenge!

 

 

Even Fionnegan and Gunnarr got into sailing. Here they are wearing their lifejackets as we went out for an afternoon with a friend Richard. They had a great time and were very good. Sit, stay.

 

 

Post sailing beverages are an important ritual, even for the pups.

 



 

08.14.16 Beautiful summer morning

A beautiful early morning on the Concord River. No one else on the water. Peace and quiet and calm waters and a very gentle breeze. Saw an osprey, several great blue herons, and a few other common birds and a couple of turtles sunning themselves on a logs on the river edge. The turtles are fun to watch as they stretch their necks out to enjoy the morning sun. I try to be very quiet as the kayak slips close to the logs so I do not disturb them.

Enjoyed the quiet time alone and this was one of those rare times when I am at home that I do not have 8 paws with me. Although when I took the kayak off the car wen I came home I think Fionnegan and Gunnarr figured out there were left behind while I was out having fun! They had gone out last year with me and as predicted, Gunnarr was afraid and actually jumped out of the kayak in the middle of the river and he had to swim to shore while Fionn had a great time sitting in the cockpit with me. They both had lifejackets and a very heavy leash so Gunnarr was never in harms way. I held on very gently but let him swim to shore on his own steam. He did a great job swimming but I picked him up by the lifejacket when we got to shore and said - OK let's try this again - sit, stay. He did better the second time. So when they saw the kayak on the car, I suspect they wanted to go again. Maybe next time. Maybe!

Later in the afternoon I took them on a nice, cool walk in the woods so they could get some exercise. Fionn got tired and I had to carry him for a while. For every walk, I also judge how far we will go by how likely I can carry them back to the car if they tire. Sometimes when one wants picked up, the other one will want up, too, and I have to carry both of them. Today, Gunnarr walked right by my - such a  good boy.

How do you like the bright pink kayak? Motor boats should be able to spot me a mile away!

Wildebeest - spare parts

The wildebeest (gnu) is a really curios animal and frequently is found feeding with zebras. While fairly common, I do enjoy watching them very much, even when others start to become tired or "used" to seeing them. A while ago a ranger  had told me the story of how God created the wildebeest and I found the story online. Hope you enjoy this characterization of one strange looking animal.

"I heard a Kalengin man once say that God created the wildebeest last using leftover parts from five animals. He said that God used:

- the horns of a buffalo,

- the head of a locust,

- the body of a cow,

- the tail of a lion and

- the legs of a goat."

 

Can you see these characteristic features in the wildebeest?

 

These lions had their eyes on the wildebeest as their next feast.

He finally picked up their scent and fled. The single animals, the very young and the old and sick are common prey for the lions. This wildebeest appeared to be quite healthy and watching him run was a real treat.

Here is us, now very much aware of the lions stalking him.

 
But as intrigued as I am with the wildebeest, I do find the zebra to be an all time favorite. Each zebra has a unique stripe pattern, and I am always checking to be certain no two are identical!