Northwester winters are long and dark, and the gray days seem to prolong the arrival of spring. So, when a day blooms bright and clear, and the temperature is moderate, one can't help thinking of being outside. In my case, one can't help thinking of sailing.
My day had already been disrupted beyond repair with a visit to our mortgage broker/mentor and the title company. Why not make it a complete break? I put in a call to our club manager to see if we could sail the dinghy.
The club dinghy is available to all members to sail without charge. It's a small boat at only 8' in length so I don't think it gets used that much. We met Dave (our manager) at the dock and he stepped us through the setup process. I say we because I had my 5 year old daughter in tow.
I had never sailed a boat this small before so I was a bit nervous. To add to my anxiety was the strong wind and extremely narrow path between docks to get to open water. In fact, not only was the path narrow (15' at the narrowest), the wind was blowing right at us. My plan was to tack my way out. I figured a small boat like this could do it. I figured wrong.
Most likely it's my sailing, but my experience yesterday leads me to believe that small, light boats are more prone to being blown sideways by the wind: even with a center board. Nevertheless, with a combination of paddling and tacking and pushing off other boats with my hands, I managed to clear the docks and get into the harbor proper.
Getting out was fun, in a challenging way, but being out in the harbor was a blast. With the brisk wind we flew all over the place. First stop was the bathroom for Camille and then it was the lighthouse. We would have liked to have gotten out at the lighthouse, but without wading boots, our shoes would have gotten wet I'm sure. The wind was northeasterly which meant we had to tack our way back home. In general, when going on a little excursion like this, it's a good idea to out against the wind, and come home with the wind. If there's a current it gets a little more complicated, but in this case any developing tidal currents were working against us as well. Nevertheless, we made it home. All in all a great fun trip.
A note about small boats. They are uncomfortable. Though this boat was rated to hold my weight, I found it very difficult to duck the book and seer (the tiller was in the small of my back). Oh well. I still look forward to doing it again.
Until next time.
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