By Rich

(Photos under sail credit to Lex B on s/v Acadia!)

We’ve been having a ball staying local for some daysailing and three weekends aboard. Two of those we enjoyed just picking up a mooring right in our own home town harbor! We enjoyed dingy rides in for takeout and then peaceful nights sleeping aboard during unseasonably cool and lovely nights.

We got in one weekend cruise to St Michaels but had to motor both ways in a flat calm and dreadful heat, but we still had fun rafting up with great friends and enjoying our first blue crabs of the season.

We sailed both days this weekend and enjoyed a brisk 18-20 knots of wind on a broad reach Sunday. We are learning that we can throttle this boat down substantially and still make great speeds through the water. Here we are reaching at 8-8.5 knots of boat speed with just the main, the staysail, and a scrap of jib out (resulting in only 10-15 degrees of heel!):

Because we come from a racing background, we are usually inclined to put every available scrap of sail out and only reduce when we are over powered, but we are retraining ourselves to sail more like this!

Next up: a haul out for a new bottom and a prop upgrade!