April's Club Sail

Departure: 1:00pm 4/9/2007
Return: 5:00pm
Weather conditions: Stormy, blustery 15+ winds
Tide: Ebbing Tide
Boat: BlueClub Boat
Crew: 4 (Woody, Tom, George & Carol)

I'm always saying I'll be brief because theirs nothing to tell, and then I end up going on and on and on. Today I'll try some reverse psychology by stating up front that I'm going to go on and on and on. Maybe I'll be more brief.

Photo 1: A stormy departure.

First of all the weather... WOW! Rain, clouds and plenty of wind. The wind measured up to 18mph while we were out. Trust me, that's enough wind for our little boat. We started out with a reefed main and the smallest jib and never felt any inclination to swap up.

Photo 2: It rained in Gig Harbor, but not on us!

It was raining when I walked out the door, and I wondered what in the world I thought I was doing. I anticipated being drenched before we even left the dock, but by the time I reached the it, the rain had stopped. Tom was already there and together we began rigging the boat. By the time we were done, Carol and George had arrived as well and we were soon on our way. It hadn't rained while we preparing the boat, but something nasty was obviously blowing in as we motored out of the slip. Before we'd even finished backing out, a healthy downpour had blown in. We struggled to get the sails up. I had to keep the motor revving more than usual in order to control the boat against the wind; the result was that we quickly ran out of room while raising the sails. In the end, we mastered the situation without too much trouble and got the sails up. Naturally the rain stopped at this point. Carol admitted later that had it rained longer, she would have been done in. We made a brief tour of the north end of the harbor and then headed out to the big waters under sail.

Photo 3: Leaving stormy weather behind.

By the time we'd gotten the sails up, the rain had stopped. We didn't have any rain for the remainder of the day. The wind stayed strong throughout the day with plenty of gusts.

With the strong winds, we were able to sail against the current toward the bridge. We almost made it to the bridge before we needed to head back. We saw 3 tugboats towing barges. One barge was beached outside the harbor and it's load of sand was tipped into the water - not a happy day for someone.

Photo 4: A Barge beached outside the harbor.

We saw plenty of wildlife. A left a large bald eagle circling the north end of the harbor. A large flock of white birds were congregated around the point and lifted in one large cloud of white as we shot through them. Two large seals also passed fairly close.


It was a thrilling day for sailing. The small jib balanced nicely with the reefed main; only the smallest touch was required to steer the boat. At one point, I had the boat heeled so that I was more standing against the hull opposite than sitting. We even dipped the foot of the mainsail into the water when letting it out. It was all controlled too. It wasn't as though we were being pushed about at the weather's leisure.

Photo 5: Sunny Skies in the Harbor.

One of the best days so far.