What a day! The day started out with the wedding of Stephanie Mafrici and Frank Cook. This couple sailed with me earlier in the season to see about having their wedding aboard. By the time we got back to shore the wedding was planned.
They wanted the ceremony to be on the Woodwind, while the reception would be elsewhere. We had 21 people to witness this very special event. As we left the harbor, I asked if anyone wanted to raise the mainsail (everyone was dressed beautifully, so I didn’t really think anyone would take part). The bride and groom volunteered! After they raised the main, their mom and dad raised the jib. It was so windy that we decided to just raise 2 sails and sail up the Severn River. This was a perfect backdrop for the wedding. After the wedding, the bride asked if we could kick it up a notch. Up went the staysail, and we rocketed back down the Severn. Everyone enjoyed this wonderful day.
On the second sail, the winds were blowing 20-28 knots. Again, we only raised 2 sails, but sailed into the Bay. My Dad and I were chasing each other and it was really great to watch how well these boats sail! After sailing about 40 minutes, we turned to sail back into the river. We got all the way to the shipping channel of the Bay. We wanted to stay cautiously close to Annapolis with the cold front approaching from the west. About 45 minutes before the end of the cruise, we got the alert that the weather was worsening. We arrived back to the dock 8 minutes before the severe wind gusts and downpour. Great timing by both Woodwinds. Check out this video that I shot of Woodwind sailing behind us on our 3:00 sail.
The last sail, the sunset sail, we were hoping for the rain to let up. It was drizzling when we boarded the boats. The wind had diminished greatly, so we sailed up the Severn River. This was the only place that had wind. On our way, we saw a white piece of trash floating. It was an Adirondack chair that probably was swept by the wind into the river. I saw the other boat try to pick something up, but missed. So we had to get it. On the first try, Jocelyn pulled the thing aboard. A beautiful Adirondack chair was now the Captain’s chair! So fun! The guests loved the challenge.
As we just made it to the dock, we were greeted by this amazing sunset. Thanks to everyone for sailing in the rain… and making the best of it! We had fun.