Maiden Voyage - Annapolis MD to Martha's Vineyard MA - Aug 2012

 We left Annapolis an hour before sunset, and had a beautiful full moon sail all night long up the Chesapeake Bay. For the first voyage I had a four man crew, with four-hour watches, two crew on deck at a time to keep a lookout for shipping traffic and crab pots. It was a bit scary to turn around and see a seven-story-tall tanker silently bearing down on you in the darkness. 'Why are half the stars gone? That's not good.'

 First Mate Ian (left), who I've know since we did a wooden boat building apprenticeship in Rockport, Maine when we were eighteen. Ian is the best first mate possible - always good for a laugh, handy with the rum bottle, quick to take the helm and make breakfast pancakes, even when its rough.

 The sail from Annapolis to Cape Cod took 3.5 days, most of it spent sailing, with only 10 gallons of diesel used. Conditions were very rough on the Delaware Bay, as they often can be, with short steep waves. We then headed offshore, straight for Cape Cod, and had light to moderate winds for two days, with an ocean as calm as a lake.

 The Crew - Ian, Dave, The Cowboy, and myself (aka Captain Jack). Dave and The Cowboy were found through a Crew Wanted posting on Cruisers Net, and they worked out well, despite the very different personalities (one was extremely cautious, the other a bit reckless - so they balanced each other out nicely).

 We reached Martha's Vineyard on the evening of the third day, in the dark, in a pretty bad storm. Due to unfamiliar waters and channels, darkness and notoriously shifting sand shoals, we decided the safest course was to tack offshore all night long, waiting for first light. The wind gusted up to 45 knots, the seas tossed the boat around like it was in a washing machine, sleep was nearly impossible, and an hour at the helm, fighting waves, was exhausting. With a scrap of sail up the size of a large beach towel, Aquinnah was going her hull speed of over 7 knots. It was a very long night. The morning dawned clear and calm, and we reached Cape Cod safely, greeted with flower leis and champagne at the dock.