I took Holland to the boat yesterday in hopes of taking her out. The weather was perfect for December - 60s and 10 knot winds. Unfortunately, the batteries would not take a charge, and we couldn't even get out of the slip. I was disappointed, but upon inspection of the batteries, I discovered that one was bought in 2000 and the other in 2003. Guess we'll have to blame this non-sail on the captain!

We puttered around on the boat, and got some advice from Ron in the office who brought Cole's Point's big battery charger to the rescue, but they were just no longer able to take a charge. We explored the property a bit, including a tour of the cabin on the river, had a late lunch at AC's, and headed home.

Not much exciting to report in this entry, but since it's been almost three months since my last post, I thought I ought to say something! Here are a few highlights:

• I got my first solo sail in on Sept.10. I was unable to sail the courses that I'd planned, but I did manage to get her out of the slip, into the river, sailed for about an hour, and back in the slip without any damage or sinking! The thrill of turning that engine off and sailing alone with only the sounds of wind, water, and your heartbeat is almost magical!
• I sailed single-handedly (with Patsy aboard) on Oct.22, and what I thought would be 10-15 winds suddenly became gusts probably over 20. It was frightening and thrilling all at the same time, but I seem to have done a passable job considering the compliments I got from the "Nova" crew.
• I've gotten a good bit of work done over the last three months, but it's mostly dull stuff like cleaning, replacing the compass, installing a drink holder for the cockpit, and repairing and servicing the head. (Hopefully, the ladies will be pleased!)
• The "dig" at the Cole's Point marina is mostly done, enlarging the size of the harbor by over double by my estimation.

Labor Day Weekend, 2006 - I arrived at Cole's Point Saturday morning to find downed trees, no power, no water, and debris everywhere that had washed in from God knows where thanks to tropical storm Ernesto. I had planned to get the boat cleaned and ready for the Goober's first passengers, but with no power or water, I couldn't get much done.



After what clean-up I could manage, I drove to Tappahannock to meet Chuck & Peggy, Gary & Jean, and Patsy. We got settled into luxurious accommodations, shared a libation or two, and set out for dinner and a visit to the boat. We ended up visiting the boat first and then sharing a great dinner at the Driftwood - the only resturaunt we could find with power!
Sunday, we sailed for 4-5 hours down to the mouth of the St. Mary's on the Maryland side of the Potomac. A good time seemed to be had by all, but the captain was encouraged by the ladies to get the head fixed before the next trip!

I've been having trouble posting pictures, so I'm trying a new entry to see if that works. Here's a picture of Chuck that I was unable to add to the last post. (Well, seems to have worked this time!)

Aug.5&6 - Chuck & I made another trip to Cole's Point. The winds Saturday were good, but we managed to get a line hung up on a winch and had to take the winch apart to get it free. Having done that, we found that our legal and financial minds did not quite have the capacity to get the damned thing back together again! With the help of a new friend 3-4 slips down from me, however, we managed to get it fixed back at the marina.

That new friend is Marc who sings and plays wonderful guitar in a duo from Charlottesville called Scuffletown Road. His partner Jon (harmonica, flute, & acccordian) and wife Marty are the nice folks that took me sailing back in June when I had a boat, but no mast.

They invited us down the dock for dinner and music that night and we had a blast. Chuck joind in for most of the "concert" and I even managed to not embarass myself too badly on a couple of tunes.





Sunday, amid great plans to sail to the bay and back, we motored out into the river to find almost no wind! (As you can see in the droopy-sail picture below, when you can see the clouds reflected in the water, it's probably not windy enough to sail!) After sweltering in that for as long as we could stand, we headed back, only to discover that my rookie knowledge of my boat's electrical system had run down the batteries to the point that the engine would not start. Marc again came to the rescue with a tow back to the slip and a quick tutorial over a few beers on how to avoid the problem in the future!



Thanks to Marc & Lisa and Jon & Marty for their technical assistance, hospitality, music, and pizza, but mostly for not making too much fun of a couple of rookies!!

July 8&9, Chuck R. and I took Goober on her maiden (with me anyway) voyage! These pictures show two sails: The first (without the bimini) was a short, jib only sail on Saturday. It was late in the afternoon, and we didn't really have time for much of a sail, so we just took her out & back in the Potomac for about 30-45 minutes. On Sunday, after putting on the bimini, we saied down river about 8-9 miles to the mouth of the St. Mary's River. A perfect day with 5-10kt winds, low humidity, and calm water. Thanks to Chuck for all his help; I'd have probably never gotten out of the slip without him!

Here are some pitures taken the day Goober was put in the water (6/2/6):

I'm starting this log partly to give family and friends a way to keep up with my experiences on my new boat - the good ship Goober. (Yeah, I know it's a silly name; sue me!)  But I'm primarily starting it as a place where I can keep my sailing adventures.

I'll add more details later, but for now, here's her picture! This photo was taken the weekend she was put in the water. You might note that her mast is missing. That's because at that time her mast had been removed in preparation for a full replacement of her rigging.