Captain Blaine’s Blog

Friday, May 15, 2009

Lat/Lon
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Tied to the docks at Red Hook, St. Thomas
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Hello Family and Friends,

There are times, as Captain, that I have moments of brilliance.  In this case, it was my suggestion that with a little work, some sail trim and a piece of good ‘ol Neptune luck – we might be able to make last call at the bars in Red Hook.  But we needed to shave about 10 hours off of our estimated arrival time.  Possible with this boat, but it was a stretch. (more…)

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Lat/Lon
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N 22 degrees 01 minutes
W 064 degrees 45 minutes
Sailing 182T under reefed sails
217 nm to St. Thomas
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Hello Family and Friends,

Today’s blog entry will be very short as you will notice.  But when I tell you that my laptop – perched without a single mishap for days on end – has been tossed onto the floor by a rogue wave out of nowhere.  Prognosis – hard drive shattered, all data lost.

So – From Ervin’s laptop I send you this news and will write again tomorrow.  I guess we just had that NASCAR crash I spoke of earlier.

Sailing beautifully – Feeling horrible,

Cap’n Blaine, Ervin and Andrew
S/V Aurora

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Lat/Lon
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N 24 degrees 53 minutes
W 064 degrees 32 minutes
Sailing 190T under reefed sails
389 nm to St. Thomas
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Hello Family and Friends,

For all our astute readers, you are absolutely correct if you noticed that we missed an entry for yesterday (Tuesday).  The day was absolutely more beautiful than the day before and, well, we just couldn’t bring ourselves to pour more salt on your shore-bound wounds.  That and we sat out way too long enjoying the sunset and then watched the afterglow as the sky turned a million brilliant shades of pink, purple and orange.  And did I mention the huge rainbow off to the east of us?

See – it’s better if we just don’t rub it in. (more…)

Monday, May 11, 2009

Lat/Lon

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N 30 degrees 07 minutes
W 065 degrees 51 minutes
Sailing 160T under full sail
704 nm to St. Thomas
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Hello Family and Friends,

There were times today when it was difficult to tell where the sky stopped and the ocean began.  Both shared that sapphire blue color with only a few clouds or the occasional whitecap as pockmarked contrast on Mother Nature’s perfect portrait. It was as though She was so proud of her creation that she simply mirrored one against the other.  The temperature hovered in the low 80’s with 15 knots of cool breeze to push Aurora along at an agreeable 7 knots under full sail.  Even with over 80,000 ocean miles under my keel, I’m at a loss as to what might be changed to make the day more perfect. (more…)

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Lat/Lon
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N 32 degrees 32 minutes
W 067 degrees 39 minutes
Sailing 140T under reefed sail
139 nm to our first turn
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Hello Family and Friends,

Happy Mother’s Day!  Our mothers may begin to disbelieve the genuine nature of our wishes since Ervin and I have both sent that greeting home from sea the last three years.  Looking back, we have been sailing together offshore on some ocean each of the last three years.  And to add insult to injury – we’ve also missed Ervin’s father, Tom’s, birthday (today) each of those years.  Thankfully, I have some wonderful people in my life who are making sure my mom is remembered even in my absence.  Only Andrew is really off the hook since this is the first year he has joined us on some ocean adventure. (more…)

Satuday, May 09, 2009

Lat/Lon
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N 34 degrees 28 minutes
W 070 degrees 40 minutes
Sailing 125T under reefed sail
298 nm to our first turn
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Hello Family and Friends,

There are days at sea that exceed your expectations and imagination.  Today was one of those days with a cloudless pale blue sky, dark blue water and crisp white caps for contrast.   On most days like this – perfect days – there is little or no wind to propel a sailboat.  Yet today we were given two gifts – perfect weather and enough wind to make Aurora skip across the whitecaps as though dancing in her school play. (more…)

Friday, May 08, 2009

Lat/Lon

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N 36 degrees 05 minutes
W 073 degrees 56 minutes
Sailing 108T under full sail
481 nm to our first turn
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Hello Family and Friends,

We write to you today while sailing across a beautiful deep blue and benign Gulf Stream.  This great giant of a river within the ocean isn’t always such a nice place to be, but with today’s southwest winds, we are being treated to gentle three-foot rollers as opposed to the huge and dangerous breaking waves that make this piece of water so feared and respected.  Our crew is unanimous in their gratitude for such an easy crossing. (more…)

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Lat/Lon Position

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N 37 degrees 07 minutes
W 076 degrees 10 minutes
Just north of Hampton Roads
1270 miles to go (as the crow flies)
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Hello Family and Friends,

The day of departure for a passage always starts early and today was no different.  My alarm went off at 5:30.  I rolled over with a groan and waited for the next reminder ten minutes later.  I heard the first sounds of movement from Ervin and Andrew around 6ish.  Their groans were about as enthusiastic as my own.

The passage was about to get underway. (more…)

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Lat/Lon Position
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N 38 degrees 41 minutes
W 076 degrees 10 minutes
Oxford, Maryland
(still) Tied to docks at Oxford Boatyard
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Hello Family and Friends,

Provisioning was the game plan for today.  With an expected 11-day journey and two growing college boys for crew, I made the list – and made it BIG!  Luckily, I have some experience in this area after taking Ervin along for a 14-day ride home from St. Thomas to Beaufort and then again on a 43-day passage across the Atlantic (both aboard S/V Gemima). (more…)