So here we sit, dinner is over and all that’s left is to board our dingy and motor back to the next cove over where the Casbah III is anchored. Only problem: a big rainstorm has cropped up and so we’re waiting for it to die down before setting out. 

What a day it was leading up to this evening. Everything went pretty much as planned. All four of us ended up at Nanny Cay about 10:45. By the time Dom had given us the boat briefing, the provisions were on board and Jeff had passed his catamaran written test it was 2 PM and away we went. 

Dom then spent two hours testing Jeff’s ability to sail a catamaran. There were two main elements: docking and retrieving a man overboard while under sail. 

For me, the docking exercise was a real nail biter. We’re talking a 44 foot sailboat heading in and backing into docks with all sorts of other big boats maneuvering in the same cramped space. But Jeff did really well. Cats with motors on both hulls can literally turn on a dime. Jeff even managed to dock in a breeze that blew us away from the dock. I would have been nervous parking a Tesla in that watery equivalent of a Walmart parking lot on Black Friday. 

The man overboard proved to be more challenging. In real life if someone actually fell over the gunnel engines would be started and we’d motor back to pick up the MOB. What Jeff did was to do the whole thing without use of power. It took several attempts to time it perfectly so Carter could grab our simulated MOB with a boat hook. Again, in real life, we’d need only get close enough to throw the MOB a line or have him swim to the boat. It was an excellent exercise in the finer points of seamanship. 

Then back to the Nanny Cay dock area for one more docking exercise in heavy traffic and cross winds. Success, with Carter handling the dock lines. Dom signed off on Jeff’s test, jumped ship and wished us a happy week on the Casbah III. 

And there was Jeff at the helm of his first solo command. Out into the open water where we – Jeff and Carter – raised first the mainsail and then the jib. The operation utilizes motor driven winches, all done from the helm position but it does take careful attention to be sure nothing becomes snarled. Heading directly into the wind helps a lot.

Our destination: Cooper Island, an hour or more sailing time. One small catch: we’re supposed to be moored by 5:30and we were running late. So Jeff fired up engines, which added four knots or so. We dropped anchor at 5:45 only to find out that we were too close to another boat. We moved around the point to a different spot for our night’s resting spot. 

Jeff and Carter took a quick dip over the side and after showers we headed off for dinner in the dingy, a small zodiac style craft with a small outboard motor. It felt like run-a-dub dub three men in a tub, plus Nana. 

And since you’re reading this you’ve probably guessed that the storm abated and we bounced across the waves and made it home safe and sound. A round of four-handed cribbage and then everyone off to bed after a long day except, of course, for your long-suffering scribe.

The best part of all is that Carter took charge as the dingy captain, steering us through the field of anchored sailing craft. He’s a pro after all his Onawa boating experience. 

Only a few pictures tonight. Wifi is weak and I’m kinda tired.