A Summer of Sailing

We have had a summer of sailing but no blog entries.  Having too much fun.   After getting the boat repaired and settled in and after a week long stay for sailing camp we looked for long weekends to maximize the time at the boat and minimize the impact of the long drive.  We had our first raft up in the beginning of the summer.  We are the short wooden stick on the far left in the picture.  We made it out for the 4th of July and made it 4 days.  We watched the fire works from the boat out on the river with friends.

The girls made it back out in early August for another week of sailing camp with the junior sailor gaining confidence and getting cocky up until the the head and boom made contact.  Opti's are great, safe  learning platforms.

Memorial day weekend found us back out for another overnight anchoring experience.  Lots of lessons learned.  Motor wouldn't start.  Left 2 hrs later than planed. Shredded the gennaker in a strong puff.   Did not make anchor by dark. Motor overheated. Anchored close to shore but still exposed if wind turned. Mosquitoes were stronger than the dying breeze. Ate a cold dinner huddled under mosquito netting. Went to bed in very hot conditions. Wind turned at night and cranked up to 15 kts.  Rough night on anchor.  Nobody slept.  Sailed off the anchor at 7:00 and arrived back at club by 1:00.  Great sailing down and back but a rough night. 52 nm sailed.  Upon arrival our Junior sailor wanted to go out on Opti.  There is hope.

We all gained a lot of experience and had some fun.  I culminated the summer with a couple of friends and a 2 day regatta in the cruising class.  The boat sailed very well and impressed everyone. The crew learned very quickly and we corrected over to win 4 out 5 races.  Not bad for a 44 year old girl with a 48 year old skipper who hasn't raced in 20 yrs.

This is what makes it all worth while.