Dinghy Painter

When it comes to tying off your dinghy, most people will automatically tie it off at the stern of the yacht. I would like to propose a different place to tie it off. 

Instead of tying at the stern with a short painter, consider tying midship with a long painter. When you need to board the dinghy, the painter is already tied midship, making it easy to pull it up to the gate in the lifelines. When arriving back to the boat by dinghy, you can tie the long painter up as you arrive at the gate as well. All of a sudden, you don't have to go to the stern to reach your dinghy every time you come and go.

The last reason to tie up midship has to do with areas with strong winds and currents. If you tie up at the stern, all will be fine when the wind and tide are in the same direction. When you get wind over tide, the boat will point into the current but drift in the direction of the wind. This means that your dinghy that is tied to the stern will now be midship and smack into your hull for the next 6 hours.  

If you tie the dinghy up midship with a painter long enough to reach beyond the ends of the boat, your dinghy will always hang out (bow or stern) just past the end of the boat and never smack into the side of your hull. 

Moonrise

I always enjoy it when the sun and moon overlap in their passing of the sky. Watching the moonrise before the sun has set gives a strange sensation to the experience. This was our first night anchored in Slaughter Harbor in the Berry Islands as we awaited a strong easterly wind to approach. 

Toe Rail Cleat Hitch

A cleat hitch is nothing more than a clove hitch tied around a cleat. Just as a Sampson Post Hitch is a clove hitch tied around a Sampson Post.

If you have a perforated toe rail, you can use this trick to tie a cleat hitch anywhere on your toerail, whether you have a cleat available or not! 

All you need to do is picture the toerail as a cleat, and begin from there. Now, the end that runs towards our dinghy painter is coming off the wrong side (the current switched and winds didn't) but I'm sure you won't make that same mistake.

Simply lead the line through the toerail and back along the side of the toerail just like you would make the first pass on a cleat. Then instead of going under the horns, you simply pass the line through the perforations in the toerail. The last step is a bit different, as you don't twist and slip over the horn, instead you have to pass the bitter end through the knot. 

If you picture it as tying a clove hitch on your toerail, you will easily and securely be able to attach any line at any point of your vessel. 

Our First Bahamian Sunset

Getting to the Bahamas took us a bit longer than it would take someone with a motor. We left April 24th at 11pm and arrived in West End at 3pm on April 26th. The winds got light and the Gulf Stream was pushing harder than expected, so we took longer to make it there. 

While the 10 hour journey took us a day and a half, the sunset on our first night there was worth it! It was a calm day, we went swimming, relaxed in the hammock, and then watched the sun paint the horizon a glorious orange. 

This is what we were looking for when we set sail for the Bahamas, and we found it on our first day there. 

Last Watch of the Night

My favorite watch schedule to be on is the last one of the night. This means that your watch usually ends at around dawn, and you get to watch the sun rise up from over the horizon. The colors at that time of morning are so intense and the blues never seem bluer!

Everything seems still and calm while still in full motion of the sea. The sleepiness I was beginning to experience just fades away as the sun rushes in and wakes me up. This will have me up as early as possible (usually around 4am) so that I get to enjoy the entire day and feel tired by the time sunset comes around. I get to reef down and let someone else take first watch. As I lay down during the dark hours of the night, I know that tomorrow I will once again get to enjoy the majestic wonder of dawn.