MacGregorSailors.com

Took my buddy with the West Wight Potter 19 out for a ride on my Mac today. Now I only owe him 39 more...
Me in the foreground. My buddy with the Potter 19 is at the helm, and one of my neighbors (also a friend) on the low side.



Sporty day. Started slow in the morning, 5-10kts. Built to 10-15kts, gusting to 20+ by the time we turned back north. Came out of Dog River and sailed almost to Fowl River, passing just west of Gaillard Island. Started to tack out and go east of the island on the way back, but we'd have had to tack several times, and the breeze was just too tempting. So, we headed back to the north and let it run. We were able to stay between 5.5 and 6.5kts the whole way back. We even ventured into the low 7's a couple of times while surfing. 30 minute setup (mostly due to excessive visiting and little concentration on the task at hand); and 52 minute takedown (not hurrying). Neither of my buddies had ever done it before, so I was visiting, trying to figure out how to explain what I needed each one to do (which they did well once they could figure out what I was trying to tell them), and trying not to forget anything.

I did have one mishap. Left the rudders down while coming up the ramp. That's a new one for me. Note to self; try not to do that too often...

Great day on the bay. One other sailboat, one crew boat, one guy running crab traps, and one guy pushing a pier-building barge. Otherwise we had the bay to ourselves.

Got a few more images, but my upload has stopped working... will try again later.

Edit: working now...



My neighbor got one shot of the dolphins that came out to check on us. They were all around the boat for about 5 minutes, then left for other entertainment. They got so close, the blowhole mist wet the side of the boat. The two he was able to "capture", are on either side of the bow pulpit aft port stanchion, very close to the boat.

I am so jealous. I hope to finish my refit by summer so I can enjoy the bay like you have!

We jealous too ….. :cry
Sounds like you had a wonderful day out on Mobile Bay JimmyT!
Congrats!

NH is now in “stick” season as all the colorful leaves are fallen….Frost is a daily morning occurrence…Daytimes have been nice though
Will soon be headed to SC so hopefully we can time it to sneak out to a marina slip for a week or when there aren’t any hurricanes looking

Best Regards
Over Easy

It looks like you had a great trip. I'm really happy for you.

I just have one question. Every time I plan a trip this time of year I cause a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico (sorry about that). Why doesn't that happen to you?

kenfyoozed wrote: ↑Fri Nov 04, 2022 4:53 pm I am so jealous. I hope to finish my refit by summer so I can enjoy the bay like you have!

Looks like you are making good progress. You'll be out there soon, I'm sure. And, your boat will likely be faster under sail.

Going during the week is nice. Ramps aren't too busy, nor is the bay. River fishing, not so much... We sailed back in under the Dog River Bridge so I could furl the Genoa and Main in less breezy conditions. At least that was the idea. As we approached the bridge, a pier building barge going just slightly slower than us, cut us off in the channel. I didn't want to go through side by side, so I had to reduce speed and try to stay behind him. Unfortunately, with an ESE breeze, we were almost dead downwind for the run under the bridge, so letting out the sheets was no help. Good news was, we weren't wing on wing, so the main blanketed the Genoa enough to get it furled. I didn't have the outboard steering connected, so I dropped the power tilt to get the foot drag for a little speed reduction. Then, wound up cranking the engine and reversing periodically to stay behind him. As we came through the bridge, there must have been 5-6 boats anchored in the channel fishing. But we threaded our way through the fishing boats, didn't rear-end the barge, and got to a clear, wide, spot in the river to furl the main sail. The trees and structures dramatically reduce the wind, making the sail dousing much easier. The lack of chop is a nice bonus, also.

All of that to say, if it picks up out of the east, or close to it; and gets too rowdy for your tastes; sailing into Dog River is an option to get some relief. You can do it when it's blowing north or south, but there is a real "pucker point" when coming through the bridge, where the wind goes away. So, best to have the motor down and running if you do it in a north or south breeze.

Be Free wrote: ↑Fri Nov 04, 2022 8:29 pm It looks like you had a great trip. I'm really happy for you.

I just have one question. Every time I plan a trip this time of year I cause a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico (sorry about that). Why doesn't that happen to you?

We had a good breeze. Filled in a little later than forecast, but was nice once it got there.

Do you think you could scale back from hurricane strength to a steady 15-20kts?

OverEasy wrote: ↑Fri Nov 04, 2022 6:07 pm
NH is now in “stick” season as all the colorful leaves are fallen….Frost is a daily morning occurrence…Daytimes have been nice though
Will soon be headed to SC so hopefully we can time it to sneak out to a marina slip for a week or when there aren’t any hurricanes looking

Best Regards
Over Easy

No frost here. If you aren't worried about the sun, short sleeves and short pants by mid morning. Lows in 50s and 60s. Highs in the 80s.

Glad you have SC to do some fall recreation boating!

A few more shots for the "season's-over" crowd to enjoy...

Rigging beside River Shack Restaurant. Overhead power restricts movement with mast up at this ramp.


Headed out in the morning under the Dog River Bridge.


Beginning close-order drill with the barge... realizing he's not going to let me go in ahead of him and matching my speed...


Putting on the "brakes" and falling in behind him...

Jimmyt wrote: ↑Sat Nov 05, 2022 6:19 am

Be Free wrote: ↑Fri Nov 04, 2022 8:29 pm It looks like you had a great trip. I'm really happy for you.

I just have one question. Every time I plan a trip this time of year I cause a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico (sorry about that). Why doesn't that happen to you?

We had a good breeze. Filled in a little later than forecast, but was nice once it got there.

Do you think you could scale back from hurricane strength to a steady 15-20kts?

I don't know. It might work if I plan a trip to Miami and then switch to the Gulf at the last minute. That way I might be able to keep the winds down to a reasonable speed between here and Mobile.

When I see my looking like this in November


I get envious of those who are able to get use of their Macs. Squeeez what you can out of the times you get, and keep us informed.

It could be worse than being in the N.E., we could be in Montana

Sorry Russ

Ramp rash. Public humiliation for the win. Fortunately, only my crew watched it happen. Made a lot of noise with both rudders dragging up the ramp. I was actually relieved when I saw the damage was so minimal.

That will buff right out.

I've flattened the bottom of my rudders on the boat ramp, drove through a gas station with the engine down (flattened the bottom of the engine skeg), and jacked up the hitch while the left rudder was on the ground (that caused the most damage). Whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger (or hopefully a little smarter).

I've always told folks, "I'm not smarter than you. I've just been doing this longer and have already made the mistakes you haven't thought of yet."

Ive got plenty of supplies to make that go away...

Be Free wrote: ↑Sat Nov 05, 2022 1:06 pm That will buff right out.

The thing is, I had to fix the rudder tips when I first bought the boat due to previous damage. I thought to myself, "what kind of dufus lets his rudders get scraped up". Now I am that kind of dufus...

kenfyoozed wrote: ↑Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:52 pm Ive got plenty of supplies to make that go away...

I'm going to take a crack at it. If I get into a bind, I'll call you. I can tell you've got lots of fiberglass repair game!

By the way, how's it going?