Basia Mille

Before Mac Race 1989
Up Mast During Race
Crew DelMarVa Circumnavigation

Aground at Quebec City
After 13 Days from Tortola

Over 40 years sailing experience on vessels more than 1 ton..

The skipper has had his own sailboat for over 45 years. What he has enjoyed most about sailing has been the unlimited opportunities for learning both through instruction and experience on the water.

The skipper sailed for the first time during college in dinghies in New England but did not begin sailing seriously until 1975 when he bought a Cape Cod Mercury daysailer (15' centerboard, sloop rigged).

In 1976, he completed the Offshore Sailing School's Beginner's course and in 1978 its Cruising Course. He also took a Coastal Piloting navigation course from a Coast Guard officer during which time he also learned the basics of celestial navigation.

In the meantime, he had moved up to a C&C 25 (sloop) with which he was active in racing (PHRF) and cruising on the Hudson River. In 1977, with this boat, he took first place in the Viking Marina Fall Race Series.

His present boat, Basia Mille (C&C 29), was purchased in 1977 and first sailed in the summer of 1978. With a larger boat, cruising and racing options expanded. In the next seven years the boat raced in a number of Hudson River events, the Governor's Cup in New York Harbor and the Round Long Island Race. On cruising vacations on Long Island Sound and trips to Block Island, Newport and Martha's Vinyard, the skipper gained experienced in overnight and open water sailing.

During the winter, the skipper twice participated in chartering 44' cruising yachts in the Caribbean sailing to St Vincent, St Lucia, Martinique and a number of the Grenadine Islands in the southern Caribbean. During these trips he gained experience in managing larger boats, especially in navigating in poorly mapped areas with numerous coral and rock hazards. He also learned various anchoring techniques useful in adverse condition such as strong wind and currents, difficult holding ground and crowded anchorages.

Moving to Chicago in 1985 brought a different kind of experience since Lake Michigan is a large open body of water with few major ports and almost no other inlets or protected anchorages. Cruising was less interesting and longer distance racing became more important. Besides club racing, Basia Mille and her crew took part in a number of long distance and overnight races in the years 1985-1989. The skipper was twice invited to participate in the classic 333 mile Chicago to Mackinac Island race aboard a highly competitive J35. The 1987 race was a record speed breaker with the J35 finishing in about 30 hours.

In 1990, the skipper moved to his present home in the Philadelphia area. The Basia Mille spent a few years on Sassafras Creek on the upper part of the Chesapeake Bay where the skipper mostly sailed solo on day sails. Basia Mille is a deep draft sailboat (5' 3") so the skipper gained a lot of experience in getting the boat off the mudbanks and sandbars that are prevalent in the shallow waters of the Chesapeake.

After a few years, Basia Mille was brought its present location in Philadelphia on the Delaware River to be more convenient for the skipper to sail on short notice or to get together with a growing number of friends in the area that like to sail. There are only two major challenges in sailing the Delaware: (1) sufficient wind to sail in the peak summer months and (2)avoiding the significant number of large ships and cruise boats, especially during night sailing when solo. Also the river is not very wide so there is plenty of practice tacking!

CHARTERING
Since 2004 the skipper has been sailing as crew on chartered boats from 36 to 50 feet on trips on arranged by the Philadelphia Sailing Club ("PSC").
     As crew:
A dozen weekend charter trips on the Chesapeake Bay.
Longer trips included:
     2007 sailed the Maine Coast in the Mount Desert Island vicinity (7 days)
     2008, participated in a 210 mile blue water overnight sail from Delaware Bay to Norfolk, VA as part of a one week circumnavigation of the DelMarVa peninsula.

     As skipper:
Since 2015 he has been a skipper for 10 charters for PSC weekend trips on the Chesapeake Bay.
He has been skipper for longer charter trips including:
    2015 Lake Champlain (7 days)
    2018 Lake Champlain (6 days)
    2019 Lake Huron's North Channel.(7 days)
    2021 Greece Saronic Gulf (7 days)
    2022 Newport to Nantucket (6 days)
    2023 St Martin and St Barts (6 days)
    2023 Maine's Penobscot Bay (6 days)

TRAINING
In order to continue to improve his skills and add to his certifications, the skipper has recently taken a number of courses including:

       2005, a diesel engine maintenance and trouble-shooting course from Mack Boring (a major marine engine dealer and service organization).
      2007, a 3 week Coast Guard approved course for a Captain's license (OUPV "6-pack");
                   he scored 100% on the final exam.
      2009, a two day safety a sea course at the U.S.Naval Academy, receiving a ISAF Race Certification.
      2015, a two day course in docking techniques for cruising boats (ASA 118 equivalent)
      2019, one week course earning ASA 101, 103 and 104 certificationswith 99% scores on exams.

DELIVERIES
The skipper helped make several deliveries including:
2009 Farr 44 from Northeast Harbor, ME to the Bras d'Or Lakes in Cape Breton Island (425 NM);
2010 Farr 44 from Quebec City, CN to Northeast Harbor, ME (1,115 NM)
2012 Farr 395 from Delaware City, DE to Portland , ME (425 NM-nonstop)
2012 Pearson 42 from Tortola to Stratford, CT (1,685 NM nonstop 13 days)
2014 Beneteau 50 from Charleston, SC to Broad Creek, MD (600 NM)
2015 Beneteau 50 from Charleston, SC to Baltimore, MD (500 NM)
2015 Beneteau 50 from Baltimore, MD to Charleston, SC (500 NM)
2017 J 42 from Annapolis, MD to Charleston, SC (590 nm)
2018 J 42 from Annapolis, MD to Stonington, CT (330 nm)
2022 Tayana 50 Warren, RI to Norfolk, VA (370 nm)
2023 Beneteau 323 Riverside, NJ to Cataumet, MA (310 nm)
2023 Island Packet 380 Cranston, RI to Chesapeake, VA (430 nm)

Skipper Ralph Harris