Free at Last!

I've been working long hours, but we were finally able to do some sailing this weekend. Our friend Rae Anne joined us. Matthew did a good job on bow watch. It was a very good day to be out on the water. Hopefully, we'll be able to do some racing soon with our new Genoa.

Blessing of the Fleet

We watched the Blessing of the Fleet at the Pontchartrain Yacht Club on Saturday. Not many boats blessed, and we got ours out too late for a blessing. But we did have a nice sail. Shown in this picture is Last Herrah, which is owned by Ms. Joyce, the lady that owns the harbor where Bliss is.

Gotta Be Resourceful

I'm between assignments at work. Translation: no $ coming in right now. So when my tiller handle broke, the $200.00 price tag for a new laminated one was not a good option. Instead, I went to the hardware store and got a hickory handle for $12.00. Put some marine varnish on it, and it looks pretty good. Works even better. My handrails and toe rails had been sanded so many times that I feared one more sanding would sand them in two. I priced some teak, but it was expensive. And using it depletes the rainforest. So I cut some new rails out of oak (cost about $12.00), put marine varnish on them, and am in the process of making covers for them out of Sunbrella. They look good. One of my friends who claims to know all things wood is skeptical that they'll hold up for long, but we shall see.

Missing My Crew

I didn't have crew for last week's race. Meg was out of town, and Matt was playing soccer. I was on my own, and it wasn't real pretty. You can see from this picture that my sail was not properly trimmed at this point. But I did finish. Eventually

Race Called on Account of Fog

My fair weather crew had bailed on me Saturday, so I showed up to crew on Fast Idle. Unfortunately, a thick fog was over the lake. Visibility was two boat lengths. We sailed around for a bit, waiting to see if things would clear up. By 12:30, we were still fogged in, so the Commodore called off the race. The make up date is 1/26. The picture below is from another day that I was crewing on Fast Idle.

Getting More Serious About Sailing

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We've gotten a PHRF rating for Bliss, and we're getting ready to race with the Corinthian Sailing Association on the Northshore. Although Bliss will never be a speed queen, the competition is not what it's really about. I have learned more about sailing in the past few months just by being on Fast Idle's crew than I learned in the last few years combined. When you can see a bunch of boats around you, watch what they're doing, and see how you're doing in relation, you just figure things out. A couple of weeks ago, we did a "fun" race with 3 other boats, and we hope to do another this weekend.

Running Downwind

Megan and I went out a couple of weeks ago to learn how to run wing-and-wing downwind. The wind didn't cooperate, but we were able to figure it out.

A Little Too Rough

I wanted to sail last weekend, but the weather just wouldn't cooperate.

Out of the Water

Hauled Bliss out of the water to have the bottom sanded and painted. She was in good shape but about due for a painting.

We had gone to Baton Rouge on Saturday and were planning to have her put back in the water, but Tropical Storm Lee had other plans. Bayou Castine had flooded, and water was over the docks at the boat yard.

Planning to go back next week before the LSU/Northwestern game and bring her back to Indian Landing.

Captain Megan

We had a very good sail on Sunday evening with Megan, our oldest daughter. We headed out around 4:30, and the wind picked up a bit at about 5:30 p.m.

Megan wanted to sail, so I have her the helm.



Principessa came along, looking like Jackie O.



Matthew bounced around the boat, alternatively telling Megan how to sail, then squealing at each tack or jibe.



We left the genoa up until the first bend in Bayou Castine, just to show off a bit.

We spent a lot of this trip doing maintenance, including installation of two blocks on the cabin top to route the main halyard aft to the cockpit. Made a couple of bids on used winches on ebay, so hopefully I'll have another winch to install next time. I also had a lot of cleaning to do for our guests this time.

Left Monday morning to return to Shreveport. Until returning to Mandeville, my hobbies are limited to growing heirloom tomatoes and home brewing beer. We hope to be sailing again in a couple of weeks, though.

Fond Memories

On Saturday, we were privileged to host Dr. Burford’s family aboard Bliss. In accord with his wishes, we took him sailing aboard his beloved Bliss one last time. Words are inadequate to describe the experience, made possible by events both magic and tragic. Suffice it to say that the events of June 25, 2011, are burned into my memory for as long as memory can last.

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Graduation Day

Well, Matthew finished his Polliwogs class at the Shreveport Yacht Club. I cannot say enough good things about the club and its programs. Matthew learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed himself. Through Polliwogs, we felt richly welcomed by Shreveport's sailing community.

Principessa and I really enjoy the company of sailing enthusiasts. They are an interesting, helpful, and friendly group of folks. Unlike the stereotypes that "yacht club" conjures, sailors and yacht club members are mostly unassuming people whose company we greatly enjoy. If things change and our sojourn in Shreveport continues, I will be pestering them to make me a member of the Shreveport Yacht Club. What a great bunch of folks!

At the graduation get-together, Matthew's teacher told a story on him. On Matthew's first solo sail, winds began gusting to 15 knots or so. Matthew screamed (continually), pointed his Optimist dinghy toward the dock, trimmed the sail, and went back in. As I sailed out in another Optimist (for an adult, it's sort of like trying to sail your bathtub), he made a beeline past me in the opposite direction.

John, Matthew's teacher, told how Matthew, despite his fear, knew exactly what to do to get right back to the dock. John took pride in that, and he well should have. John, a middle school teacher during the school year, is an excellent sailing instructor and a great guy.

It was good for Matthew to get some experience in a more appropriately sized vessel. He likes to steer Bliss on Bayou Castine, but it will be a long time before he can sail her.

Matthew's First Solo Sail

Polliwogs

Matthew is taking sailing lessons this week on Cross Lake. The Shreveport Yacht Club has a really top notch sailing school, and Matthew is having a lot of fun.

Lesson No. 3 Learned the Hard Way

Lesson: In rough water, don't take down your sails until you get inside the jetties.

Price of the Lesson: a shortened main halyard, delay, and frustration

How I Learned It: On the way back from New Orleans Mardi Gras last year, the winds were high and the waters were rough, at least for me on my first solo sail. The waves on Lake Pontchartrain were at about 2-3 feet.

I had been pinching the NW wind but still had ended up a bit to the East (downwind) of the mouth of Bayou Castine. So I dropped the sails and cranked the motor. Bad idea.

Unfortunately, the pitching and rolling pulled the motor out of the water, making it difficult to make any headway or to navigate. The sound of the outboard's cavitation was distressing.

Also, I had not properly cleated the main halyard to the mast. It came loose, swung around the back of the boat, and promptly got fouled in my outboard's propeller. The motor was dead as a doornail, and I was drifting to the shallow waters off Goose Point. Not a good feeling.

It is not much fun to hang off the back of your boat and cut the halyard line while your boat is pitching and rolling, but I now know that it can be done.

Eventually, I made it into the Bayou and back to Indian Landing. Had I simply tacked once more, worked upwind a bit, and kept the sails up until I was inside the jetties, I would have saved about 1 hour, 4 feet of halyard, and much anxiety.

Lonely, Dirty Girls

We finally were able to do some sailing over the weekend. Met up with some friends we had not seen in a while and took them sailing also. It is always good just to get out on the lake for awhile.

Our boat has been in Mandeville since February, and we have sailed 5 or more times since then. However, we had never seen anyone else on our pier until Saturday. On that day, two of the other boat owners were showing their boats to potential buyers. One was giving his boat a much needed washing.

Before Saturday, we had seen no evidence that any of the other boats had moved for months. Several do not even have their masts stepped. All of them look dirty.

At Pass Christian and Long Beach, we saw a lot more activity. Nevertheless, there were a lot of neglected boats. They just sat in the slip.

It seems like a lot of people have sailboats, but fairly few really sail them. Wonder why that is?

A Sailor’s Farewell

While taking inventory of all the “extras” on board, I ran across the name of Roger Burford, Bliss’ first owner. Wanting to know more about her, I contacted Dr. Burford with the help of Google. He emailed me back immediately.

Dr. Burford, a retired Q.B.A. professor from L.S.U.,purchased Bliss new. He had kept her moored on Bayou Castine for thirty (30) years or so. He was a wealth of information and advice. Over the past year, we traded many emails and one long phone call.

It was more than evident that the day he sold her was a very sad day for him. He spoke fondly of sailing with his son and granddaughter.

He emailed me a magazine article reviewing the Helms 24 Dolphin.



The boat reviewed in the article, it turns out, is hull no. 330, our very own Bliss.



Each time we corresponded, I offered to crew for him. I really wanted him to sail with me. That was not to be.

I sent email twice in the last few months, but they went unanswered. I heard from him last on February 1, 2010. He acknowledged receiving the link to this blog. Here is what he said:

"Thank you. I appreciate your sending me this. It reminds me very much of some of my trips from Mandeville to Pass Christian and the rest of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and back. When I bought Bliss back in 1978 it was love at first sight, and the love never faded. . . . The reason I sold her was that my health took a turn for the worse and I couldn’t spend the time with her that I did previously. I couldn’t stand to see her just sit there and deteriorate . . . . I was disappointed that I never heard from the person who bought her from me, but you have more than made up for that."

Dr. Burford died March 17, 2010. His obituary said that “[h]e loved to sail and tell sailing tales.”

To Dr. Burford, I offer a sailor’s farewell: "Fair winds and a following sea and long may your big jib draw!"

Vendredi Gras

We planned for me to go to Mandeville to ready the boat on Friday, then sail it to New Orleans on Saturday. Principessa and Matthew were to meet me in New Orleans on Saturday.

But we got a surprise. Snow in Shreveport, and schools were closed.



So Principessa and Matthew rode down with me. They went to a hotel, and I fixed the door to the head, the vent on the holding tank, and a couple of other things.

Samedi Gras

Saturday morning was brisk and beautiful. Slipped the moorings at about 9 am, then sailed solo from Bayou Castine in Mandeville to Southshore Harbor Marina in New Orleans, about 20 miles. First time I had sailed Bliss solo.

Winds were light, so motorsailing was the best option. Made about 4 kts, arriving about 2 pm. Principessa and Matthew drove across the Causeway and were waiting when I got there.



Secured the boat then tried to make our way to Orleans Avenue to meet Don & Angela and Steve & Regina and their kids. The roads were already blocked, and we were hungry. We went over to Oak Street and picked up barbecue at a place called Squeal.

Meandered around New Orleans until we found open roads to get us close to the parade. Met up with our friends just as Endymion had started to roll by, and Matthew got his first taste of “real” Mardi Gras.

Principessa shot some video of a float and her finger:





Went back to the boat for a good night’s rest.

Dimanche Gras

Slept in. Awakened by sunshine gleaming through the companionway. Stuck my head out to see brown pelicans, seagulls, a view of the harbor and Lake Ponchartrain, and perfect weather. It’s gonna be a great day!

Went to mass at St. Maria Goretti in New Orleans East. The area is slow to rebuild from Katrina, but the Parish was lively and friendly. Despite what Republicans would have us believe, New Orleanians are survivors. The parishioners are energetic, friendly, and committed to their parish church .

All of this in the midst of boarded-up businesses and neglected public facilities. These folks have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and without a lot of help from government. They enthusiastically rebuild despite the blight around them.

Slowly meandered Uptown. Tried to get to Magazine Street, but mostly sat in traffic. Arrghh! We finally parked in the Garden District and walked to Magazine. Saw Thoth on the way.

Principessa has been wanting to go to Sucre, a patisserie. Matthew and I brought her there for her Valentines day treat, French macaroons. The macaroons were okay, but Matthew’s Sour Cherry Champagne Sorbet was exquisite.

Magazine Street is a wonderful place. We could spend days just wandering around.

Watched Bacchus in the Garden District. The people around us were extremely nice. New Orleans was absolutely ebullient this Carnival season. Here's a video and a picture:





Went back to the harbor just in time for the weather to change. Winds were quite gusty, and we rocked and rolled all night long. Principessa said the wind in the boats’ rigging sounded like a hurricane, and her sleep was restless.