Lake Monroe 11/28/14

It was a cool windy day with a steady 20 - 25 knot wind.  I just loaded the 150% Genoa on the furler with it furled to about the size of a storm jib and left the main tied to the boom so we would just make 3 knots.  The boys had a great time at the helm practicing holding courses using the built in compass.  Kimberly and Pax wound up taking a nap for a bit over three hours in the V-berth as we just cruised around the lake.  The boys had a great time and it gave them confidence that they could steer the boat and stay in control in the higher gusty winds.  Around 4pm in the afternoon I dropped anchor and pulled the sails and stored them below deck.  

We motored into the marina and the boys helped me land the boat at the dock for the first time without help from my wife.  My 10 year old was at the bow with the dock hook and 25' dock line and my 8 year old was at the rear of the boat with a 25' dock line.  My son at the bow was able to hook the dock cleat and hold us.  I helped my younger son wrap the dock line around a dock cleat at the back and tie the boat off.  I then went to the bow and helped my older son wrap his dock line around a cleat and tie it off.  It was the first day that I have set the boat up, launched, landed, and packed back up to trailer home with just my two older boys.  My wife was able to show up with our toddler before we left the dock and head home after we landed back a the dock.  

Setting the boat up and taking it down is easy and actually relaxing for me.  The boat floats on and off the trailer without the motor, which is nice.  I enjoy mechanical things and the way the mast is perfectly balanced and cranks up and down easily with the wench is great.  

Lake Monroe 09/07/14

We had a perfect day sailing around Lake Monroe.  The wind was a constant 5 - 10 knots.  I had the full main sail and 150% genoa up and we cruised around at 3-5 knots.  It was a nice easy sailing day so the boys took turns on the helm and the sails.  

Dar es Salaam 07/28/14

I spent a Sunday with my friend in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  Since I enjoy sailing and watching sailing, we spent a few hours at the beach watching the local fishing sailboats come in to sell the days catch at the local market.  Some of the sailboats had cotton tarp sails and some had plastic tarp sails.  It was really something to watch these boats carved out of one piece tree trunks appear on the horizon and sail into the little harbor.

Scalloping at out Crystal River 07/11/14

We launched at Crystal River, Fl and motored out onto the gulf and went scalloping.  Some friends met us out on the gulf and we had a great time on the water.  The kids were able to find some scallops, but also saw starfish, coral, and some tropical fish.  That night we motored back into Crystal River and spent the night which was great.  Since the river is spring fed the night was very cool for a Florida summer.  The next morning we motored back out to the gulf for some more scalping.  Another boat of friends met up with us and had another great afternoon.  That evening we motored back into the river and pulled the boat out of the water and drove back to Central Florida.  We did not set the mast and just motored the entire trip.  The Tattoo 26 made for a great weekend on the water.

A couple of gallons of scallops were shelled for a small pan of scallops to go on top of a large bowl of pasta.