Launch Date

First out, first in. Looking forward to spring launch in the Chesapeake.

Annapolis

We arrived Port Annapolis Marina on Wedneday October 3rd a day ahead of schedule.  Our departure and trip on Sunday September 30th was uneventful. We departed the GYC at 8:00 am.  The weather was partly cloudy with scattered showers and the seas were calm.  We arrived at City Island at 6:00 pm and picked-up a mooring.  We decided to catch the Ebb down the East River at 12:00 pm and go all the way to Atlantic City rather than spend the night and have to wait until noon the next day to catch the tide.  We had a full moon and the current on our side through NY Harbor, the Narrows and Ratian Bay.  We followed the Ambrose Channel out to Sandy Hook.  We stayed about 2 miles off the coast of NJ..  As the sun rose we were off the coast of  Manasquan.  We arrived in AC at 4:30 pm.   We couldn't get into the Gunkhole because it was low tide so we anchored just in front of the bridge.  We departed AC at 7:00 am.  The weather forecast called for rain and thunder storms but we decided to wait until Cape May to decide whether to continue on to the Cand D Canal or stop in Cape May.  Although it was pouring and the seas were beginning to pick up by the time we reached Cape May it looked as though the weather would improve so we decided to continued on to the Cand D canal.  We encountered a lot of commerical traffic and hit fog but the rain and thunder storms held off and we managed to find our way into the Cand D Canal just minutes before it closed due to fog.  We spent the night at Summit North Marina on the C and D Canal.  We departed at 10:00 am the next morning just as the canal re-opened and arrived at Port Annapolis at 6:50 pm.  Below are some statistics from the trip.

GYC to City Island            10.7 hrs      60 miles
City Island to AC               17.3           96
AC to C and D Canal         18.0          77
C and D to Annapolis           9.5          52    
Total                                  55.5 hrs     285 miles

Ben Hunter and Samantha friends of Jasen met us for dinner at the Chart House on Thursday evening. We spent Friday and Saturday touring the boat show and celerbrated Keila's Birthday at Ruth Chris' Steak House on Saturday evening. 

The boat was being hauled and winterized on Monday October 8th. 

FYI........250 miles and 4 hours driving from Port Annapolis to home. 

11.2 kts down the East River of N.Y.

Capt. Bob making breakfast

The Mai Toi sailing off the coast of N.J.

Used Tartan 4400's currently For Sale

Tartan 4400's currently For Sale on Yacht World as of 6/5/2013. http://yachtworld.com. 

Year      Hull #           Name                 Price 
2003        1           Tartini Time         $399,000.00>$379,000.00
2004        2           Mint Julep            $399,000.00>$379,000.00 SOLD at $325,000.00
2004        5           Flooish Heart       $462,000.00>$449,000.00
2005        ?           Ida Rose              $473,843.00>$456,215.00
2005        7           Starwatch            $425,000.00
2007       19          Mucura               $475,000.00 TRADED-IN for $365,000.00
2007       20          Bay Dream          $525,000.00>$499,000.00>$460,000.00
2008       22          Galethea              $585,000.00>$569,000.00
2012       26          Brand new           $614,799.70  (located in Tirreno, Italy)                

Steve Malbasa, President & Owner of Tartan Yachts said that they only built 1 additional hull # 26 after the Mai Toi before discontinuing this model.  They are on hull # 2 of the 4700 which replaced the 4400. Steve said with special yachts like the 4400 it is important to help existing owners retain value in this economy and one of the ways they can manage this is by controlling the number of models built.  This is evident in the resale value of the used 4400's above.

Annapolis for the winter

I can't believe it's almost that time again. It seems like we just commissioned and launched the boat  and we're already having to make plans to haul and decommission the boat for the winter.
We plan to haul and store the boat at Port Annapolis Marina this winter and spend next season sailing the Chesapeake before taking the boat to the Bahamas again the following winter.

We are planning to coordinate our arrival in Annapolis with the Annapolis Sailboat Show so that  we can utilize the boat during the show before we haul it on Monday 10/8 and decommission it for the winter.

ITINERARY FROM GUILFORD, CT TO ANNAPOLIS, MD.

Sunday 9/30, Day 1   Guilford to Manhasset

Monday 10/1, Day 2   Manhasset to Atlantic Highlands

Tuesday 10/2, Day 3   Atlantic Highlands to Atlantic City

Wednesday 10/3, Day 4   A.C. to the east end of the C and D Canal

Thursday 10/4, Day 5   C and D canal to Annapolis

Finally

‎4 days, 9-1/2 hours from Guilford, CT. to St. George, Bermuda and 5 days, 2-1/2 hours back, totally 1,314 nm's round trip. 
With the exception of a few squalls, a torn main sail and a broken alternator belt the trip was relatively uneventful.  We were delayed 1 day departing Guilford due to a cold front passing through the area and had a 3 day delay departing St. George due to hurricane Debby but Commanders did an excellent job of routing us around the weather and crossing the Gulf Stream in both directions.  The wind averaged 15-20 kts from the NW on the southbound leg and 15-20 kts from the SW on the northbound leg so we were pretty much on a very comfortable beam to broad reach in both directions.  All in all it was a very pleasurable trip and an experience of a lifetime. The boat and crew performed flawlessly.

Guilford, CT. to St. George, Bermuda   
6/14 Day 1 143 nm                                                  

6/15 Day 2 165                                                                                         

6/16 Day 3 150                                                         

6/17 Day 4 150                                                         

6/18 Day 5   57                                                          

Totally       665 nm.                                                        

St. George, Bermuda to Guilford, CT. 
6/30 Day 1  114
7/1   Day 2  142
7/2   Day 3    96
7/3   Day 4  122

7/4   Day 5  135
7/5   Day 6    40
Totally        649 nm. 

 

Almost here

All of the training has been completed.  Nine months of preparation.  The boat is provisioned and the crew is ready to go.  One more telephone confernece on Wednesday night with the crews of the Mai Toi and Ithaka to review the weather forecast and Gulf Stream routing.  The departure date is set for Wednesday June 13th. All we need now is a good weather window. You can follow our location and progress at : http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0scfFlnVrvRr2j1Srv8lG9NoR58zLeSSv.

Training & preparation for Bermuda

In addition to conducting a series of telephone conferences to coordinate plans and review the Gulf Stream  routing with the crew from Ithaka we have also set-up a tenative training schedule as follows in preparation for the trip to Bermuda:

May 19th & 20th- Safety precautions, MOB, storm tactics & spinnaker (on the water)
June 2nd & 3rd- Operating procedures, emergency preparations, Bermuda & U.S. Customs & Immigration procedures.
June 9th & 10th- Review navigation, route & waypoints, weather, prepare & provision boat.

Each crew member will receive onboard training and instruction on each of the above procedures onboard the Mai Toi and  familiarize themselves with the location and operation of all the safety equipment and procedures onboard.

New crew member

New crew member for the return trip from Bermuda. Dr. Chris Dixon, 53 years old, Surgeon.
Captains license with Sailing and Towing endorsements. Off shore experience to/from Maine and Nantucket.

U.S. Sailing certified Safety-At-Sea Seminar

Attended Safety-At-Sea Seminar with crew members at the N.Y. Yacht Club, Saturday March 24th 8:45 am to 4:15 pm in preparation for the trip to Bermuda. 
Agenda:
8:45 Introduction
9:00 Giving and receiving assistance
9:30 Boat & crew preparations for Bermuda
10:30 Safety equipment
11:15 Life raft & abandon ship
12:30 Crew health & medical assistance
1:15 Weather forecasting
2:00 Heavy weather sailing: Preparation & tactics
2:45 Storm sail & drogues
3:00 Damage control
3:30 Search & rescue
4:15 Questions, answers and concluding remarks