An Introduction to Overnighting:

Four landlubbers have their first sail-and-oar trip aboard LAZYDOG

Article by Sean Grealish

It was an early start to beat the tide. Four friends joined me at 7:30am by the Fairhaven Washington launch ramp under patchy clouds and a 10-knot southerly. The launch ramp, tucked into a formerly industrial nook of Bellingham Bay is no longer usable for an 18” draft vessel like LAZYDOG below a 1.5’ tidal reading. So, I was relieved as she slid willingly off the trailer into the cool water with a couple feet of submerged ramp to spare behind the trailer tires. It was the first weekend of August, and while LAZYDOG (my family's Haven 12 ½) and I already had several excursions under the keel this season, this would be a brand new experience for all my friends, several of whom hadn't even sailed before.

Once we'd somehow shoved our pile of gear into LAZYDOG’s aft locker and stowed the excess forward by the mast, I gave my usual safety talk for those new onboard, highlighting among other things the safe (and not safe) pieces of boat to hang onto, plus the fact that the Haven’s keel gives her incredible stability even in rough weather. With that housekeeping out of the way, the traditional beige sails finally went up and LAZYDOG was soon bounding upwind in a now 10 to 12 knot southwesterly with steep 1’ to 2’ chop. Six nautical miles to windward lay our campground for the evening, DNR campsites above a minute cove carved into the southeastern shore of steeply wooded Lummi island. While the further isles of the San Juans are my typical destination, with a heavy boat and newbie crew I was abiding by the KISS (Keep it Simple Sailor/Stupid) principal for this weekend's overnighter.