If you are a boater, you cannot stand on the bank of the Tred Avon River every morning and each good sunset and not wonder about the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry, which crisscrosses the 0.8 of a mile every 15 to 20 minutes from spring to fall. (Read More…)

The wind has been blowing strong from the east and northeast for four days now, and it has me thinking. One train of thought, of course, is what a wonderful time this would have been to be heading anywhere on the Chesapeake. You could have been beating north or running or reaching south. In four days, you could probably have done the entire Bay sailing day and night. (Read More…)

It was a nearly perfect day, so instead of going home for the weekend, I was joined by my wife, Monica. I had promised her an intimate day on Robin, and I didn’t disappoint. Together, we stripped the caprails. (Read More…)

It was launch day for Elf, but there was lots to yet to be done. Seventeen years ago, Rick Carrion, then a high school science teacher, began the process to restore — or, more accurately, replace — his ancient wooden sloop built by George Lawley & Sons in Boston in 1888. He created a charitable non-profit corporation to accept donations for the work. He enlisted a master shipwright, Graham Ero, to do the carpentry. And a few weeks ago, he scheduled the relaunch. (Read More…)

In the light of the early morning sun, the colors are as sharply sensed as is the first rush of love. It’s the shadows, cast by the sun’s low angle, that brings the intensity. (Read More…)

A pretty new lass has arrived at the boatyard, accompanied by her immediate progenitor. Her name is Ceili. She was born in Queenstown, Md. — a village about 25 miles from Oxford — in a boatbuilding shop there devoted to re-creating classic designs in wood using modern techniques. (Read More…)

Back on Robin’s boomkin are two pieces of oddly shaped plywood decking. You stand on the plywood when adjusting the windvane or when landing a big bluefish. (Read More…)

The very first instruction I was given by the boatyard manager was this: Don’t drive more than 25 mph in Oxford. If you do, you’ll get a ticket. (Read More…)

Toosinbeymen left a comment to my April 1 post suggesting an alternative to the carbon-monoxide-producing Honda generator we have aboard Robin. A diesel generator would be a best option, except for what I perceive to be the prohibitive cost. (Read More…)

The forecast was nearly perfect: 10 to 15 knots from the east. And we had recruited crew, Bill and Suze Haldeman. I already knew Robin’s engine was running well. There was water in the two 50-gallon tanks, not that we needed it for the daysail across Chesapeake Bay. (Read More…)