Day 2: 9-September-2017

When we all had woken up, Captain Jon had already brewed the first batch of coffee. He was out on the deck having a smoke and listening to the weather report on the VHF radio. We didn’t need to use the toilet or shower on the boat, because the Marina where we were docked had bathrooms equipped with showers. So after we freshened up & emptied our bowels, we cracked open the bagels & cream cheese, and ate our breakfast over coffee.

The plan for the day was in two parts. In the morning, we could use the area just outside of the Marina to complete our anchoring lesson and exercises. Then we would sail off towards the Gulf, where we would get in more sail time and do our man overboard (MOB) drills. We’d dock back at the same marina in Galveston the second evening.

Morning at the Anchorage

I manned the helm and took us out to the anchorage site. We circled around for awhile as Captain Jon gave us the instruction, and then we prepared for anchoring. We decided on using the all-chain anchor rode, and Eddie would helm as all others would manage dropping the anchor. Here you realize the importance of hand signals, to communicate to the helmsman to back up, stop, point in the direction of the anchor, etc. Everything went smoothly, except for the windlass accidentally letting the anchor drop just after it had been 100% hauled in. It was not really a windlass failure, but a mishandling of the rode as we were tidying up. But nobody was hurt, and we were able to quickly recover and get on our way. Before we had raised anchor though, we made sandwiches, opened the bag of chips and ate lunch.

Out to the Gulf

As soon as Captain Jon had finished eating, he broke out the tether, harness, and jacklines, and explained that we would need them as the seas were quite choppy in the Gulf that day.

So with all of our equipment prepared, we began motoring out of the bay and along the outside of the Ship Channel in the direction of the open sea. Once we cleared and rounded the end of the jetty with a wide berth for safety, we raised sails and headed out into the Gulf of Mexico under sail. We had good wind, but it became decidedly more tame and easier to manage after a 1/2 hour or so. But no worries, because there was still plenty of wind to sail in and man, was it beautiful weather! It was just before the end of the summer, and it was the first weekend where the sun had relented a bit and gave us a glimpse of the more moderate temperatures of Houston winter & fall. What a great experience!

Man Overboard Drills

After a few rotations at the helm, we each were to try our hand at the Man Overboard drill. Captain Jon taught us a new method, which involves sailing past the MOB and heaving-to to stop the boat upwind of the MOB. This is a much more pleasant and controlled method, when compared to the method of letting go of the sails and hoping the flogging lines don’t injure the crew or the MOB. I was able to pick up the MOB on my first pass, and the other students also managed just fine. After the MOB drills, we turned to head back to Galveston — we had sailed out to sea for a long time, and we wanted to ensure we got back to the marina before nightfall.

Technique: MOB Drill
In the MOB heave-to technique, you approach the MOB on a close reach. as soon as the bow reaches the MOB, you can tack the boat, leaving the jib back-winded, and complete the heave-to maneuver.

Back to the Marina

The long way back to the marina gave each of us lots of sailing time at the helm. For me, this was a great help because it takes awhile to strike the right balance and to not be forced to over-steer and correct, over steer and correct, on infinite loop. All it took was Captain Jon to take the wheel from me, steer for 60 seconds or so, then show me how well the boat and rudder were balanced by letting go of the wheel and watching the wheel stay in its close to neutral position. If I had let go of the wheel, the boat would have definitely veered wildly off course. So that gave me a good goal to work towards, and I’ll always remember that lesson as I helm in the future.

After a bit of struggle to find the end-of-jetty marker, we rounded the jetty and headed back to the marina on a downwind course. Steve took us in to the slip this time. Once we were all settled in and freshened up, we laid back, cracked a few beers, and got cracking on preparing our dinner. We had planned to make chicken fajitas, chips, and salsa, so while Steve cooked up the fare, the rest of us drank and swapped stories out in the cockpit of the boat. With the food eaten, dishes were washed up and then we went for bed.