The Old Matelot



matelot;
noun,
sailor; from the French mat-el-oh (plural matelots)
A slang expression, chiefly in Britain, may also mean mate or companion.

Welcome to the Old Matelots' blog, my first (and probably last!) journalistic endeavour. Watch its development and evolution as I make the transition into retirement and the live-aboard, off the grid lifestyle on the sailing yacht, Circe. Follow my fortunes (and misfortunes) in the posts as I work to rehabilitate my home on the water.

UPDATE - Due major back-to-back relationship and health issues during 2017 & 2018 I was involuntarily beached and forced to let Circe go. The blog will remain up for the foreseeable future for informational benefit to other owners of these magnificent boats.


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2016-04-01

SF Bay Meeting

Due to the crazy El Nino storms and other distractions we hadn't taken Circe out yet in 2016, so when we finally got a few days of stable weather this week we headed out. Being a weekday there were very few boats on the Bay, the usual commercial and ferry traffic, but only a handful of recreational boaters......what a contrast to the typical weekend. The sun was shining and the wind was West with a hint of North at 12-15 kts, perfect for a southerly beam reach to the Bay Bridge. As we approached Treasure Island we saw another yacht heading our way on a reciprocal course. As we closed on the other boat we could see the unmistakable form of another Freeport moving under Genoa alone. 







When we got near we realised it was Love Song out of Brickyard Cove Marina, skippered by Karsten, another FOGger member who we know. We grabbed the camera and started shooting. Here is Love Song sliding by.











Here is Circe as we approached Love Song.




Photo: K Windt




After some frantic cell phone and VHF exchanges we agreed an impromptu photo shoot. We both turned and made a couple of passes on each other, both of us snapping away furiously. Below are some of the results. 




















Photo: K Windt
Photo: K Windt





























Photo: K Windt
Photo: K Windt














Photo: K Windt













What an amazing day. Great weather and a chance to get some good photos of both boats. We have zillions of interior and exterior pics of Circe taken at the dock and boatyard during our many rehab projects, but we hadn't any good ones showing us under way. Karsten also shot some video clips of us....thanks a million Karsten...... while we also took a few seconds of video, limited by having to use the iPad plus the cameraman falling off the cockpit coaming in mid shot.....Oops!  We played around with some video editing software to add some music and credits. It's a bit rough but we'll do better next time.











2 comments:

  1. Good story.
    I have found while sailing with friends that a parallel course affords far more opportunities for great close up shots than head to head passing situations.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Glenn, good idea on the parallel course. We'll give that a go next time.

    ReplyDelete