Gyrations in the Tyrrhenian Sea

Today we took a test sail. I don’t know if you followed the track, but it was a little wonky. As a matter of fact, Tom got a text from Carol, his girlfriend, at dinner and she said she had been looking at the track and was wondering if we had been drinking. We got a kick out that cause it looked that way on the track for sure!

Ben was putting us through our paces and teaching us different things. We tacked, jibed, and did everything in between. Tom was learning to steer the helm, Alden was learning to tend the sails, and I was learning the boom trailer and navigation skills. Ben was a masterful teacher and was calm and cool as any Brit I have seen.   All came out well and we made it back to dock in time for dinner in town (a typical 3 hour Italian dinner that is).

Tomorrow we are going to make the run to Sicily. It is a 200 mile overnight shot that should get us to Palermo or thereabouts. It should give us a chance to get in the groove as a crew and should be fun.  It is the first passage for me, so add another first for this old man.  Gotta love it.

20140604-072116-26476496.jpg
Alden at the helm
20140604-072115-26475989.jpg
Tom and Alden (Dutch flag in the background)
20140604-072115-26475611.jpg
Tom in the distance. Man this boat is big!
20140604-072116-26476326.jpg
Ben at the deck house nav station
20140604-072116-26476158.jpg
Our very first sail set

8 thoughts on “Gyrations in the Tyrrhenian Sea

  1. Nice post and update. I can feel the salt air in my face and the relaxation of quiet that comes from using the wind as your power source. FYI Edie and I are headed to NYC thursday morning to see Gabe and Jules and take in the sights. We will go to eval at Quirky and are staying in the lower east side. I let you know how it goes. Safe travels my friend and may the wind always be at your back.

    Like

  2. Hey, what an amazing group of seamen! Did I spell that right? 😉 Love following the trip online. The Marine Traffic site is so cool. Amazing how technology is everywhere – including arenas I might never trespass – like the sea. Fun to watch as things develop. I can only imagine how exciting it must be out there! Drink it all in – pardon the pun – and thanks for keeping us in the loop as signal allows. Hey, The Horns baseballers won their Regional in Houston, beating Rice and A&M…which means we were awarded a Super Regional in Austin this weekend! WooHoo! We play U of Houston for the opportunity to play in the CWS (College World Series). I’ll be in Ft.Worth at 18 yr old nephew’s graduation and manhood ceremony for the 13 yr old for most of the weekend – so if I see any baseball, I’ll be watching on ESPN. 🙂 So we’ve got Spurs-Heat tomorrow night, Horns on Friday, Sat, Sun, house is full, and I have a date with a new gal tomorrow night in San Antonio. Life is good back home. We’ll hold down the fort for ya…and you just be where your feet are! Love ya man!

    ~ Wes

    Like

  3. Tom’s girlfriend, Carol, is my cousin. We’ll be on the boat later in the summer. Thanks for posting…helps us know what to expect! Robin

    Like

    1. Thanks Robin for the note. Glad you are following along. It is quite nice here and the Italian people are very easy to get along with. I hope you will have a lot of fun too!

      Like

Leave a comment