Gavia Sail Log

[Andy B]

We had an unexpectedly great sail yesterday, one of those moments that feel like a true blessing from God!

Winds were forecasted from the southeast, an unusual direction from here, and supposed to be very light, 4 to 5 knots throughout the day.

We set out from our usual launch on the east arm of Grand Traverse Bay. Because of the unusual wind direction we were able to head Southwest, not a direction we normally go.  To our delight, when we got away from the shore there was a much stronger breeze than forecasted. It was incredibly consistent, and the waters were flat. The late Summer sunshine was perfect. What a great day sailing and connecting with my older two boys!

When we got back, a friend texted me with a picture and asked “is that your boat out there?“. He had been on shore at a friends house and took a photo of us while sailing.

 

We ended the day eating with the rest of the family on a Lakeside deck.

EDIT:  Sorry for the bad grammar the first time around, my phone autocorrect is horrendous!

[Andy B]

I forgot—we practiced a man overboard drill. Mainly because son 2 wanted to jump in. But I was impressed how easily the boat maneuvered. 

[Don Silsbe]

Thanks for sharing this, Andy.  I’m slogging away on my refurb.  This is inspiring.

[Andy B]

Thanks, Don, glad to provide inspiration!  I really, really, appreciate all the technical building questions and posts here (and goodness knows I have a lots of questions and will continue to have them!), but we need the "look at these boats sailing" posts, too!

 

I can also report that these boats come with a "make Dad swim" feature.  Simply go to the foredeck, hang your towel on the overhang of the sprit, and then jump in the water.  Next, after your swim, begin to enter the boat via the aft ladder.  This will make your Dad hustle to the front sprit to get your towel to reduce the amount of water you are bringing into the boat.  At this point, your old, clumsy Dad will grab the sprit for balance as he reaches to get the towel, bringing the sail abeam to the wind, causing the boat to heel and the sprit to start pushing Dad off the deck.  You can help by leaning to the side while on the ladder.  At this point Dad will have no choice but to jump in the water!

[Andy B]

A sail of a different sort.  Our church holds a "Trunk-N-treat" each fall.  I brought both of my boats, lots of pirate costumes, and passed out chocolate gold doubloons from a treasure chest.  My son's youth group friends were my crew.  It was a lot of work setting everything up, but watching the faces of the kids when they saw the whole set was fun--hopefully they learned that church can be a fun place!  I really enjoyed one girl, about 12, who told me she was a "boat nerd" who likes sailing.  I showed her everything about both the Core Sound and the Sea Pearl.  Also, I got to pick up a bunch of toddlers and let them walk along inside the boats and hold some lines.

Random lion thrown in because she's my cutie.  She can be our ship's cat!

[Andy B]

I haven’t done a good job documenting our sales this summer. We got the boat ready in time to take it to our week of vacation on portage Lake, Michigan. The wind was howling, the first three or four days, so I didn’t even put the boat in. We did get some good sails in the last few days of vacation.
 

since then, we’ve had it out on two separate weekends. Man, this boat is great for a large family! We can fit six in it without feeling cramped or really altering the sailing capabilities. And it is just so smooth through the water!

 

Yesterday was very light winds, but it was great because we only had the youngest two kids with us. Kid number four grabbed the tiller right from the start and sailed for quite a while. They both got the chance to do the boat things that normally their older brothers do.

 

One goofy thing on taking the boat out. As I was de-rigging it, I couldn’t figure out why the aft end was so much higher. I walked around the boat numerous times before realizing I had attached the trailer strap to the bow eye under the roller, not over it. Thankfully I was able to drive carefully and slow slowly to a hill, and detach it and lower the boat, so it sent completely on the bunks.

here are some photos from this last sail. 

[Andy B]

We had a wonderful family trip to Muskegon State Park last week. Dry conditions and moderate winds. Notable sails include my first time launching solo and sailing solo, and a sail with my father in law and his brother. 

[Andy B]

[Andy B]

[Andy B]

Here’s some nice late-season sailing from this past weekend. I didn’t log it, but we hit 7 knots with regularity on a beam reach. Not bad with six people aboard!

[Hirilonde]

Late season sails are a bonus, looking good.

It looks like you have your skene chocks backwards.

[Andy B]

7 minutes ago, Hirilonde said:

It looks like you have your skene chocks backwards.

 

I very well might.  When I installed them I literally spent 15 minutes trying them on different sides.  I asked my son if he could see any difference.  Sometimes it looked like there was a difference, sometimes not.  I was genuinely mystified by it.  If you can point out how to tell, I'd love to hear it and I'll switch them.

 

I do think they are overkill and eventually I'll switch to something smaller and likely just straight, not skene.

[Hirilonde]

In a regular chock, the groove runs straight out the side.  In a skene chock it runs diagonally. The diagonal should be close to the direction a line would run through it.   In your case, from aft to forward and outboard, as an anchor rode or dock line would run. This avoids a hard bend on the chock, which would wear on the line as the boat moved with waves and wind.

[Andy B]

First sail of 2026!  A Father's Day treat, all kids (and wife) on board!  With the older ones leaving the nest this fall, this might be the last time this happens, so I cherished the day for sure!

 

Also, I didn't raise or lower a mast, I never touched the tiller, and the one time I adjusted a line I got a scolding from the captain   I've either reached peak Dad-mode or I've become obsolete, I'm not sure which!

 

If you're wondering, yes, the CS-20 mark 1 can handle 7 passengers in moderate winds.  No one even needs to touch anyone!

[AmosSwogger]

Seven passengers is impressive. I love the big cockpits on Core Sounds.

[Andy B]

As usual we took our boat to our camp week on Portage Lake, Onekama, Michigan, at the end of June.  We get to keep our boat next to a pier in a lagoon, so it's always ready to sail.  Three memories stand out.

 

The boys and friends loaded the boat up with NINE teenagers.  It was windy enough to reef.  They had three on the front deck, they were all soaked when they got back.  All smiles by everyone, including a tween girl who hasn't sailed before.  Incidentally, times like these make me so glad I bought, built, and installed the B&B Mast Float Kit.

 

One of the camp's summer workers is a student from China.  We got to know him and took him on his first sail, he loved it and was so funny!

 

On the fourth of July we had a frustrating incident and then an awesome time.  We had anchored on Lake Michigan protected by the channel breakwall and the beach.  A way-too-big powerboat tried to motor amongst the anchored boats there.  From the beach I watched it cut across Gavia's bow and then my boat started moving forward, with the anchor rode caught on the motorboat.  I started running toward the boat (a ways away in the shallows).  Fortunately the rope broke loose, and there was no damage, but infuriating that it happened.  My 18 year old had seen it from the breakwall and jumped in and swam over.  We both decided to take a sail to clear our minds and calm down.  We headed straight west towards Wisconsin. It was a close reach, cutting/smashing through the waves, really exciting.  Then when we turned around we were on a beam reach, super fast with some surfing amongst the troughs.  The best/fastest sailing I've done yet in the boat and it held up so well!

 

Hopefully I'll have a Raid Erie recap up soon.  For now some minor repairs/improvements to be done.

 

 

 

[Andy B]

RAID ERIE 2026 RECAP

 

I wanted to attend Raid Erie since Eric Miller came to the Muskegon Messabout last year.  When I signed up I imagined a group of myself and my older boys attending.  However, jobs for them got in the way, so it turned out to be my wife and the youngest two.  This is my most inexperienced crew.  So as it approached I got a little nervous--that I had never trailered this boat that far, that we were biting off more than we could chew, especially if the weather was nasty, and that some of those 3 would really not like the experience.  My wife and I discussed and agreed that if the weather was bad and all we did was take the ferry over, hang out, and then come back, it was still worth it.

But it went so much better!

We couldn't launch Friday until 11 am or so, which meant that we missed the short morning window of forecasted wind.  My son and I hopped on the boat, and my wife and daughter took the trailer and van to the ferry.  Sure enough, we sailed about an hour before the wind stopped.  I had heard stories of how whipped up the Lake Erie waves can be in a storm.  I didn't know that the same thing happened when dozens of power boats went by.  It was probably the most miserable I've been on my boat--constantly rocking back and forth, sails flogging, thinking something is going to break, and when a puff of wind did come, the sails were in no position to capture it.  I will say this boat is great in waves, even when they are coming from 3 directions at once!  And my son and I did beat the heat by jumping off the bow and waiting for the boat to slowly pass us, then climbing up the ladder.  Eventually we fired up the motor and arrived at the marina.

Great facilities and a great Friday night events --dock walk to see the boats (lots of B&B boats!), dinner, keynote speaker.

Saturday we decided to sail north, then west around the top of North Bass Island, and then on the western edge to arrive at Manila Bay.  We rafted there with about 25 other sailboats, it was so much fun.  With the nice wind and being past the point most power boats go to Put In Bay, the lake was great sailing.  It's really enjoyable to be sailing close to other small boats, back and forth.  A fun memory is my 15 year old playing a ukulele as we were on a gentle run.

On the way back something magical happened.  Out of the bay my daughter asked to take the tiller.  She's enjoyed being in the boat, but mainly to hang out and swim.  I realized I hadn't done a lot of safety lessons with this crew, so I told her how to "park" the boat and she did.  We also discussed a capsize.  Then I told her to just follow the boats in front of us.  She was awesome, and loved it.  By this time the wind had picked up, so we were moving well on a beam reach and she was great.  At one pont she even asked me to say "port" and "starboard" instead of "left" and "right", and then when I asked what point on shore she was aiming for, she said "That white house, but sometimes it's hard to see, so mainly I'm going for 140 degrees on the compass"!!!!!  Apparently she's been listening all this time!

When we came around the south side of Middle Bass Island we needed to turn up the channel and tack.  I thought she'd be done by this time, but no, she was great at tacking.  We even traded a few turns with a huge tall ship, that was fun!  And she wanted to learn how to start up the outboard, and even steered us all the way into the marina slip.

When we got out, my wife mentioned dinner and then trailering the boat.  My daughter said "What, we aren't going back out?"  Awesome!  So we did--after dinner, in the rain.  We had Lake Erie to ourselves!  She learned what a reef in the sails is, and overcame her initial hesitancy about the larger waves that had formed. 

What a great time, and thanks B&B Yachts for making a boat that is safe and fun for my family!

Photo dump in next comment.

[Andy B]

[Andy B]

 

 

[Steve W]

Andy, a big disapointment this year was not getting to spend much time together. I think the changes Eric is making for next year will solve that. I hope you attend.