Finally, a taste of Bay Rhumb (In navigation, a rhumb line (or loxodrome) is a line crossing all meridians of longitude at the same angle, i.e. a path derived from a defined initial bearing.)

On Monday, as planned, I met Baydog at the State Marina in Forked river. Our plan was to take a leisurely sail on the Barnegat bay in the morning and return early in the afternoon so we could meet other obligations in the afternoon. After dealing with a dead battery, with help from a battery pack,  we headed out to the Bay via Forked River. Since I used to come up this river frequently, many moons ago, I was surprised by the development that has taken place, actually I didn't even recognize the River until we got to the mouth of it where development hasn't taken place.

As we were motoring East on the River it became apparent that the wind was blowing NW at about 10 - 15 Mph with gusts around 20. Deciding that we would rather have a relaxed sail and not to have to hang on,  we opted just to fly the Jib. As it turned out our judgement was justified and Baydog, Hazel and me had a great sail on this brisk September morning.

Prior to this sail, I never had the chance to talk at length with Baydog about any particular subject, but now with a captive audience, I was able to learn many aspects of Baydog's life. Looking back, there were not many subjects that were not breached. It was quite interesting, we talked food, families, our childhood years, pets, the changes that have taken place on the Bay, virtually, almost everything about our lives was touched.

After a lunch of fine sandwiches and homemade pickles, provided by my host, we decided to come about and head back to the dock, before the afternoon sun was too low in the sky. We arrived back at the dock about 2:30, more than enough time to let us both have time to attend to other chores before the sun set.

I brought my camera but like Bay Rhumb, the battery was exhausted so I had to turn to my GoPro to record some of the day aboard Bay Ruhmb. Some of the video might seem a bit tedious to you, but I could not get over the changes that have taken place on a quiet river that I spent many days and nights as a small child and young adult. You can see Forked River at it's best or worse, however you think it has become.

Captain Dave



Making sure I don't fall overboard

 

Ah, sun!

Coming back to port