Departure: 1:00pm
Return: 5:00pm
Weather conditions: Puffy white clouds, blue skies, light breezes, warm sunshine
Tide: Flood tide
Boat: 30' Club Boat
Crew: 6 (Woody, Heather, Megan, Don, Kim & Mike)
It's been long enough since I've written that I doubt anyone is still following this blog. Maybe that's just as well, maybe not. In any case, for the moment, I'm managing to actually write something down and we'll go with it.
I'm only only going to rehearse what's gone by in the briefest of terms. 99.9% of my sailing has been club sails for the past year. They've been fun, and they are a great way to relax, but after 2.5 years in the club, there isn't much new to take pictures of, and not much new happens. One event worth noting was a club race which I won. The noteworthy part is that the opponent was the club manager. He's laid back enough that he could possibly have been letting us win, but I like to think it was skill and luck. In any case, it would make a great account if I could remember it (but I can't).
So, today's sail. It was a beautiful northwest summer day which means it was tempermental day for sailing. We never had no wind, as I've had on past summer sails, but it came in fits and starts. The skies were a beautiful clear blue, dotted here and there by puffy white clouds. Mt. Rainier hung in the distance; barely visible in the haze. At certain angles, on particularly brilliant days, the sunlight will sparkle off the water like so many diamonds and so it did today. All in all, the weather combined to make a glorious day - good sailing or not.
With 6 people on board, I was glad we took the 30' boat. The 30' Catalina is not much to look at, but she has it where it counts. She sails well and true and was a pleasure to sail today. Four of the crew were new members (actually 3 were new members and one was a daughter of a member). It was nice to get to know them and hear their stories. One couple had sailed a boat from Florida into the Carribean and had quite the stories to tell of stormy seas.
We tried picking a destination for our cruise, but the wind wasn't cooperating and we spent our time casting about in any direction where there seemed to be wind. We practiced heaving too and our man-overboard rescues.
And that pretty much sums up the club sail.
Until next time.
