Annual Frostbite Sail

[galleywench]

It's been an annual tradition for us for the better part of 10 years. It started with one boat and a bunch of us hell bent on getting cold and wet and this year we ended up with 4 boats rendezvousing at Hadley Harbor for an end of season party and the weather did not disappoint. We beat our way down from Marion with sustained winds of 35 and we saw the anemometer hit 43kts at one point when a squall passed by. At one point we got clobbered by a huge wave that hit us broadside and knocked the glasses right off my head. It was one of the roughest rides I've had, and quite a way to finish out the season.

Since my boat is nowhere near water, I crewed aboard my buddy's 1935 S&S New York 32. Other boats included a C&C redwing 30, an engineless Bristol 27, and a Pearson Flyer. Since we were the largest of the boats and had a rough go of it, we didn't expect any of the other boats to make it down for the night, but one by one they all bounded in, ready for a stiff drink and some good food. With the conditions we had, it was a real testament to the seaworthiness of these old boats when properly crewed.

The next morning we all set off for home with a 25kt westerly that allowed us to literally fly back to Marion on a perfect reach. Here's a link to a short video I captured on the return trip. I would have liked to had captured some footage from the day before, but my phone would not have survived.
http://youtu.be/O4uKCEtXRXI

[Richincident]

I feared Saturday enough to just go sit on a high place and see if anyone was sailing. Sunday we loaded up THE INCIDENT with a hardy group of sailors and went out for three yours. BUT we didn't try to GO anywhere, just sailed around in Hingham Bay. We didn't try going out into the ocean.

That is a great video! Here's my bunch! http://www.youtube.com/user/richardinhingham

They are mostly either THE INCIDENT sailing OR my daughters singing.

[galleywench]

I was glad I was not on a smaller boat. The guys on the Bristol 27 and the Flyer took a beating.