First (for Bob) Sail, 2012

We arrived in Bristol around 10AM, swore at the dinghy motor for a while and then eventually got out to Fujin for final set-up for the first trip of the year.

Putting the "engines" back on
We prioritized getting the sails on first.  We figured if we ran out of time, we could do other stuff while underway.   Newport is only 13 miles to the south but the wind is coming directly from... the south so it was going to be a long trip for an afternoon. 

Putting the Jib on the first time (2nd time we did it correctly)

And the Main

First Docking
Linda drove us to the dock.  We wanted to flush and fill the water tanks and of course Linda wanted to clean the decks.  It was about now that we started to realize how hungry we were.  But we decided to leave anyway and subsist on crackers and tomato soup.   

Tied up long enough for water and to clean the decks a bit

And we're off
We had to tack the whole way to Newport but we didn't care.  We had the time and we're SAILING!   Wow was it great to be out there again.

We were sailing into a nice strong wind right on our nose.  We decided to be conservative and reefed the main from the start.  We were still making over 6 kts.   

Fog ahead
The whole way down, we kept noticing that we could sometimes see Newport Bridge, and then NOT see Newport Bridge.  It was looking quite foggy around Newport.

Newport Bridge in the fog

First trip with Radar...
... and it was nice to have.  As we approached Newport bridge, it got very thick.  I followed a Lobster boat for a while and could see him on the radar but not visually at times.  About the time we got near the bridge, the fog moved off and we had a pretty clear approach to Newport. 

Newport Bridge from about 2 miles

Passing under the bridge.  no fog now

And... we're here
We found our mooring pretty quickly and tied up.   Now - where to tie up the dinghy?

 A quick (hack) repair

Our new float switch for the bilge pump has a habit of not turning off once the water level drops.  I crazy glued a nut to the thing to give it a bit more weight.   Hopefully it will be ok for the week.

Lonely Newport Harbor
In the peak season, Newport is crazy busy.   Here is Fujin out there all by herself.