Sailing Fun With Clyde

In lieu of all of the fun boat work that we've been doing, we have actually managed to do some sailing too! Not necessarily on our boat, but still..sailing is sailing!

Last week some time...not sure exactly when because days blend together...our buddy Dan invited us to go sailing with him on his boat, Clyde.

Clyde is a Nonsuch 26, which is a unique boat because it only has one sail and a 'wishbone' shaped boom. Clyde's owner, Dan, is a solo-sailor / liveaboard with limited sailing experience. But his adventurous spirit makes up for that tenfold.

It was an EXCRUCIATINGLY hot and humid day; around 95 degrees with strong winds up to 20-25 knots. We were all about getting some fresh air out on the water and some wind beneath Clyde's wings.

We left dock around 1PM, during the hottest part of the day. Dan wanted us to get comfortable maneuvering his boat, because he plans to convoy with us when we head to the Caribbean this winter. This way should something happen to him, we could get his boat to safety without issue.

Jake took the helm and took us out of the marina for the first time ever! We got to our range marker and raised the sails and we were off...It felt glorious on the water. The waves were higher today, 2-3 feet and winds stronger, so we put a reef in Clyde. Once we got her sails trimmed, she flew like a champ.

Dan was in heaven because he's only been out on his boat a handful of times, and obviously loves it! Plus he could experience just sitting back and relaxing instead of being in charge of everything. He left that to Jake and I for the most part...which was super fun for us! Clyde is so easy to sail once we figured out all of her intricacies.

We spent the better part of 3 hours heading out into the channel, and across it...almost to the other side of the bay! We jammed out to Johnny Cash and Dire Straits on Dan's amazing MegaBoom, sipping our icy-cold water and soaking in the sun, wind and waves!

We decided to turn back before colliding with a large cruise ship out in the bay. The way back was much the same, perhaps a bit choppier water than before, and stronger wind. I was completely zoned out on the way back until I saw something large floating in the water. I realized it was a sting ray...a HUGE sing ray! As I perked up I noticed sting rays everywhere. Sting ray mania! We also passed several jumping fish, large heron and osprey, even a huge sea turtle. Nature at its finest!

As we sailed our way closer to the inner harbor, Dan said Jake would be docking us this evening. Jake was pretty hesitant but manned up to the challenge. We got the sails down, motor up and headed in. Dan began giving Jake a crash course on Clyde's throttle controls. It took a little finessing in and out of the slip a few times before Jake sort of got the hang of it. He managed to back Clyde in on his third pass without issue, besides some nervousness.

We ended up sailing over 15 miles in about 6 hours. It was fun to sail Clyde and feel comfortable on a different boat than ours. Though it will be even more fun when we get to sail Bosco like this on a daily basis!