American Sailing Certified Sailor

Our longest sail so far on Bay Dreamer. We had such a good time we just kept going!

Kent Island to Severn to Weems Creek and back!

Bay Dreamer II

We did not intend to take Bay Dreamer out, but we went to the marina to check on her, saw the conditions and decided to take her out. Winds were light, maybe up to about 5-6 kts out of the NWso we motored most of the time. We put the sails up before 2W, but it seems to work best to wait until after 2W. Conditions were light and we were able to sail for a bit, starting on a broad reach, then tacking onto close hauled. 

Rhonda skippered Bay Dreamer, taking her out of the dock, out of the creek, most of the sail, and back to the dock.

Monday Evening Sail

Sunset sail. We left the dock at about 1830. The winds were light all day, but were starting to come up slightly. We motored out and set the Mail and Jib, but they were barely filled at first, but then as we got out of Whitehall Bay we got enough wind to get Bay Dreamer moving at 3-4 kts upwind. We went to the mouth of the Severn, then tacked around for home, getting on a nice broad reach directly back to 2W. We sailed a little into Whitehall bay before having to drop the sails. About that time a shower formed over the bay and we raced it back to the dock. I circled once to let the shower pass before docking. But it wasn’t bad or gusty, just some rain. All in all a beautiful evening sail!

Sunset Sail with Rhonda

Sunset Sail with Katie and Jarrod Barnes. We mostly motored because winds were light and we had a dinner reservation (that we did have to postpone twice). We did raise the mainsail and sailed under main for a few minutes. Also ran aground while setting mainsail because we were trying to get the sail up earlier than our normal place and went into shallow water. But we were able to get her off easily.

Evening Sail with Katie and Jarrod

Private Lesson with Ian and Rhonda on the Annapolis Sailing School Tartan 24. Winds were 4-7 it’s. We started upwind sailing and worked on fine tuning upwind sailing using the traveler, outhaul to trim the main. We then set up the spinnaker and launched it, working on how to launch it, how to trim it and how to steer the boat with the spinnaker and the importance of communication. We doused the spinnaker, then turned back toward the school upwind again, then launched the spinnaker again so we both got a chance to launch, trim steer and douse.

Lesson on Tartan 24

Conditions were much different than the day before. Winds were 12-15 kts out of the SE at the start. Did 4 races and I helmed 1 and 4, and did a lot of tactician work. Race 1 was a reefing race where we started with the mailsail fully raised, then had to reef before the windward mark then shake the reef before the leeward mark. We had a solid start and did a good job reefing but we ended up 4th or 5th around the windward mark. It took us until the leeward mark to shake it out. We rounded and were gaining on the boats but ran out of room. The next race we had a gib sheet issue about 2 min before the start, it took about a minute to clear it, but by then we started late. The 3rd race we were a solid mid-pack. The first race, we nearly got blocked on the start, but the boats parted and we had clean sailing. We talked a little too early but still rounded the windward mark in second. We overtook the other boat during the downwind, held them off to the finish and took the last race!

Monday Night Race

Rainbow 24

Conditions were light winds with thunderstorms around. All the thunderstorms were in the distance and there was just enough wind to leave the dock and get out into the Severn river. We did 2 windward/leeward races. Rhonda was on the helm for the first and Andy on the helm for the second. Just as we were approaching the windward mark, we had a big wind shift of almost 180 degrees and the wind increased. Unfortunately we were near the lead , but after the wind shift we dropped to 4th because other boats were favoured in the new wind direction. We finished strong and had a lot of boat speed at the end, but ran it of room to overtake for 3rd. The second race was shorten because fresh thunderstorms were threatening. We finished a solid second and made it back to the dock safely. What started as a bit of a snoozer, turned into an interesting evening!

Sunday night race 

A beautiful spring Sunday for a sail. Wind started rather brisk, with gusts to 20+ kts. Motored out of Whitehall Creek as usual, then put the main to the reef pt. It was sooooo awesome!!! We sailed all the way down passed Thomas Point Light House by like a mile!  We got there faster this time under sail than we did last weekend with the engine. We did several skills. We reefed the main and then shook it out when the wind laid down, we handled the boat in a 20kn gust, did a man overboard drill under sail (without the engine) to retrieve some balloon trash out of the Bay (thus saving a turtle) and we gybed, twice and it was good and controlled.  We went up the Severn passing the Annapolis Sailing School. We saw the Rainbows get ready for their first race. We turned around when we were just off the Naval Academy sea wall. We sailed BACK passed the Rainbow race. Steve saw light under the bow of purple boat as it took a wake. We felt so comfortable. Bay Dreamer sails great!!! She is so well balanced!  
We did a good job docking all by ourselves- there wasn’t even anyone to throw lines to this time. 
We learn a little more about the boat each time.  We even hit 8.0 knots for the first time!

Sunday Sail, just because

Memorial Day Cruise. Remembering the Fallen.

Our first Sunday night race of 2025. Not the first race Annapolis Sailing School of the season, but the first we were able to make. 

Winds started from the East at about 8kts. We started the first race and we almost to the windward mark when the wind shifted 180 degrees and got very variable. We spent a while figuring out the breeze we eventually figured it out and got going but we ended the race last (we could have done better but we had to tack early to avoid a small cruise ship leaving Annapolis). Everyone said it was one of the craziest wind shifts they had seen. 

We came in first the second and third races with great starts and great crew work. (The second race we won by a lot, even with our bow dock line dragging in the water!). 

I helmed the first race and rotated to main trimmer, then jib trimmer. 

Stephen Lizewski