The first Wednesday evening in August turned out to be the perfect storm for sailors — containing all the great qualities that anyone would want for a sail on the Potomac.   And the evening drew a record breaking 28 participants to the National Maritime Heritage Foundation’s Wednesday Night Social Sail.

 The forecast was for a humidity free evening with moderate winds.  The winds were so ideal that everyone made it past Hains Point at the southern tip of East Potomac Park and onto the main part of the Potomac, featuring a view of the Ronald Reagan Airport and the 14th Street Bridge.   And the winds were so benign that every boat came in under sail when it was time to go back to the docks — and everyone found the dock landings to be remarkably easy that evening.

Since it was the first of the month, the social sail featured a barbecue afterwards.  Nearly everyone stayed around for a bite as Christof Stahel helped fire up the grill on the tent dock and grilled up hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone to eat.

(aha!  Andrew Barabasz has been the contributor of all the social sail write ups and photos which you see in our blog.  We were finally able to capture Andrew in front of the lens.  He is standing in front of a Flying Scot which we capsized on purpose in order to do some work on the mast and a little scrubbing on the bottom!)

No Green Blobs at the Social Sail

 

The big green blobs indicating rain on the radar never made it to the Wednesday Social Sail at the National Maritime Heritage Foundation as a die hard group of ten sailors took four of the club’s five Flying Scot sailboats onto the water.  The unsettled weather provided a fall like breeze to ease the August humidity at the start of the sail and amazing pink sunset clouds by the end of the evening.

Longtime National Maritime Heritage Foundation members and new sailors fresh from completing their first sailing classes mingled while sailing on the Washington Channel to build their skills on the water.

Afterwards, there was a strong showing at the Cantina Marina as Wednesday Night Socialites discussed important sailing matters over drinks and dinner.  Some even considered showing up on Thursday to participate in the National Maritime Heritage Foundation’s sailboat race night.

NMHF’s fleet of Flying Scots was taken out on the water this past weekend by the students of the adult “learn to sail” classes.  New students were first introduced to some basic sailing principles, including points of sail, safety, and three different knots.  Then, they split up into groups and began to prepare their boats for sailing.  Instructors explained how to prepare each part of the sailboat as the students handled the sails, lines, halyards, and other equipment.

On the water, the new students were taught how to tack and jibe.  Each one had a chance to try these new skills, and everyone in the boats worked together to sail smoothly up and down the channel.  While completing their maneuvers, the students learned to consider the wind, the trim of their sails, and other traffic on the water.  They were also able to watch the more advanced students perform their man-overboard drills.

It was a hot August weekend, but all were excited to get out on the water and learn how to sail!

(student sailor and contributor of this blog was Megan McCarty who is also skippering in the photo above!)

It was a hot and humid day as July fully regained its dignity as a summer month. But the winds were fresh on the Potomac, with a occasional challenging gust, enticing 17 sailors onto the water for the Wednesday evening Social Sail at the National Maritime Heritage Foundation. Four Flying Scots, an FJ and a Laser made it into the Washington Harbor, with one Flying Scot successfully rounding Haines Point and back. For afterwards, long time NMHF volunteer Christof Stahel reserved space early at the Cantina Marina. on the upper deck overlooking the NMHF fleet. It provided a comfortable place for social sailors to swap stories of adventures and misadventures on the water.

It was a warm and sunny day for the Wednesday Night Social Sail, drawing 16 members to attend.  Four Flying Scots and one Laser departed the docks and enabled sailors to cool off in the mild breeze available on the water.

Everyone made it back to the docks by 8pm and sailors who lingered long enough to help finish putting the boats away were treated to a picturesque sunset as it began to get dark in the evening.

An iffy night, a Sail and a Barbecue

 

Another evening of iffy weather was no match for DC Sail’s intrepid and barbecue hungry sailors.

 

Twenty people came out for the National Maritime Heritage Foundation’s  Wednesday Night Social Sail and enjoyed an evening of mild wind and iffy clouds before retiring to the tent dock at the Gangplank Marina to enjoy a barbecue dinner.

 

Regulars at this four week old event greeted newcomers, and all the Flying Scots were taken on the water.  Everyone enjoyed about two hours of sailing.  After the boats were put away, mild rain provided a cool breeze for barbecue eaters under the shelter of the Gangplank Marina’s tent dock.

NMHF Members celebrating the inaugural social sail at Cantina

Ten intrepid ( or maybe “unstoppable”?) NMHF members embarked on three Flying Scots for the first ever Wednesday Evening Social sail, undaunted by an iffy weather report and cloud filled skies. They were rewarded with an opportunity to practice their boat handling skills in a relaxing breeze on a mild summer evening.  

 Sailing was cut short by sightings of lightning in the distance, prompting NMHF staff and ring leader Andrew Barabasz to corral the Scots to return early to the Gangplank Marina docks.   After the boats were properly put away, the group celebrated the inaugural Wednesday Social Sail at the Cantina Marina.

Introducing the new National Maritime Heritage Foundation blog!  This will allow us to frequently update you with the latest weather conditions and cancellations, changes to our programs and just to let you know what’s going on at the waterfront.  For more information on our organization visit www.nmhf.org