captain crunch's blog

Yup, thats ice.   On a tender boat like the Hobie 33, water ballast has been added (Green Hornet) to good effect.  

Winter sailing can give the benefits of water ballast without all the expense and plumbing. As one sails along, ice coats the windward side of the hull, adding weight where its needed. Tacking submerges the ice and melts it off, while new water ballast magically grows on the other side.  Just be careful to control the spray by controlling speed. Otherwise, ice coated running rigging like jibsheets or halyards can cause problems.

Pushed a little too hard crossing the stream.  In the 12 hours before the rig came down we'd gained 11 miles on the class leader.  Chucked the mast overboard, and now we're sailing with the boom in its place, about 200 miles from the finish at Newport.   Had an illegal experimental kitesail  spinnaker which needed no mast, but the winds didn't cooperate.  Two days later we made port in beautiful Clam Cove, hard by the casinos of Atlantic City.

The Energy Pride coming out of Narragansett Bay like a playful dog.

Always a good feeling to see 'em go by.  Sometimes the deckhands will throw 'gifts', so its a good idea to have a baseball glove handy

In Bermuda after the singlehanded leg of the Bermuda 1-2.   St Georges Dinghy Club was brave enough to host us cowboy sailors.  My vessel, Topaz, is race #4 behind the skiff.