Yesterday, my wife and I and the venerable Captain Terry Griggs took our recently purchased CD 26 (hull no. 17) from the docks of Havre de Grace down the Chesapeake Bay to our slip along Frog Mortar Creek.
Folks - I've got to tell you - we had an excellent day. This was our maiden voyage and shakedown cruise and the boat performed magnificently.
We left Havre de Grace at 8:35 am, spent 90 minutes motoring through the narrow channel to the Bay. Around 10:00 am we unfurled the genoa, caught about an 8 knot breeze and headed southeast until we needed to tack to avoid a bevy of bass fisherman.
Later, with main and genoa up, we took off for a slightly faster ride in a southwesterly direction. Captain Terry and I handled the sails, and gave the tiller to my wife, Jenny. Normally, Jenny gets a little skittish when we heel too much. Not this time. She dipped the starboard rails in the water once or twice, while we heard clothing bags and the companionway boards tossing around down below. What a rush!
We took the shortcut around the top of Poole's island, past the mouth of the Gunpowder River and into the Middle River proper. Steady winds helped us get past Red 6, where we then fired up the motor and came on in. We had the boat in the slip at 4:35, so it was about an 8 hour trip overall.
The weather was perfect and the so was this maiden voyage. Captain Terry taught us a few new tricks, and we learned how "Sea Mist" would feel. It feels smooth, tracks straight, and provides wonderful accomodations. We're really happy we moved up from our CD 25 to this.
Best of all - we're back on the water for the next 6 months, winter is officially over and we can look forward to more exciting cruises around the Bay. Once again, I am a true believer in CD sailboats.
Patrick
patrick_meyer@vanguard.com
It's Great to be Back on the Water
Moderator: Jim Walsh