April 21st: The day after Easter, Orion is in the water! The mainsail still needs to be bent on, but at least she's afloat.
Jay Sullivan's boat, BUCCANEER, is on a mooring on the Waterford side of the Niantic River. Nice to have another Mariner in the neighborhood!
May 6th: Took a very fast sail to Shennecossett Yacht Club in Groton. 20-knot winds made it a quick trip!
The beautiful building on UCONN's Avery Point campus (left) is somewhat overshadowed by the more modern Project Oceanology shoreside facility.
Here I am tied up to the fuel dock at Shennecossett Yacht Club. Not many boats in the water yet, so I have the place to myself!
Back on the mooring after a tough slog home in winds gusting 25-30 knots. The Mariner sure can take a beating!
May 20th: Took a short sail over to Niantic Bay Yacht Club. I grabbed an empty mooring stick and took a few minutes to replace my defunct solar vent.
It's the week before Memorial Day, and only a handful of boats are in the water. Looks like people are having a slow start after the incredibly long winter.
June 12th: Met up with friend Chris Albert (#2714 Flotsam) for a trip out in Long Island Sound in heavy weather to see the Charles W. Morgan under sail.
Recently restored by Mystic Seaport, this 1841 whaler has not sailed on her own since 1922. Click here to read more about her incredible story.
July 1st: Revisited the area by the Niantic Bay Yacht Club in light winds. Nice to have the Mariner burgee flying on the starboard upper shroud.
I decided to anchor just south of the Club and put up the awning to get out of the hot sun. I also took the opportunity to fix a ripped-off sail cover buckle.
August 1-3: After the success of last year's 50th Anniversary Mariner Rendezvous, we had to do it again!
17 boats participated with over 40 sailors. It was great to have Mystic turn into "Mariner Country" once more!
Everybody got together at the Seaport bandstand Saturday evening to talk for awhile and introduce themselves.
Despite light winds on Friday and Sunday, and rain on Saturday morning, people still had a good time. A lot more pictures can be found here.
August 19th: Had a great sail in the afternoon with absolutely perfect winds and calm seas.
My old nemesis, the MIJOY 747, got awfully close to me before bearing off. Perhaps we have unresolved business I am unaware of.
I looped around Ledge Light and saw the MYSTIC WHALER tied up there. Perhaps her guests are having a lighthouse tour.
I took advantage of the conditions and flew the asymmetrical spinnaker on the way home. It sure is a lot of fun to play with!
September 6th: My two-year-old son went on the boat for the first time! We motored around a little, and he liked sitting in the cabin with his grandpa.
We got back to the mooring just in time; the skies turned dark as a cold front made its way through. A good first sailboat trip!
September 15th: I received a visit from current Mariner Class Association President Russ Schuss (left) and Secretary/Treasurer Bill D'Autrechy!
They drove all the way from Pennsylvania and New Jersey to present me with an award on behalf of the Association for my work as President from 2010-2014!
September 23rd: I sailed to Giant's Neck for the first time this year. On the way, I passed this newly-arrived ketch from Seattle on a mooring.
The winds were on the nose and fairly light, and the current was against me. It took me forever to get around Black Point.
I sailed over extremely thin water to anchor in the lee of Griswold Island. It's such a beautiful area; it was worth the trouble getting here.
There are a few places I like to sail to every year, and this is one of them. After a short lunch, I weighed anchor and sailed home.
October 21st: After getting in a few last short sails, I finally pulled ORION out for the season with help from my father. It was a perfect day to do it.
She stayed at my parents' house for a few days before going to her garage in Northford to await winter maintenance. So ends the 2014 sailing season!
