As regularly as I can, I break away from the normal grind and jump into some ridiculous adventure. This week, I take you on the high seas, or at least a Great Lake, to race sailboats!
Sailing!
Between getting married and covid days, I enjoyed being part of a crew who raced sailboats. In my receiving line at the wedding, the big man informed me, "You are married now. Time to learn how to sail." So, I did and we went on to win the North American championships among 18 other boats of the same design 10 years later.
As many things did during the shutdown, sailing came to a grinding halt. So much so that the big man sold his boat and gave up his membership at the yacht club. Well, last year, he bought a new bigger boat (J90 for those in the know) and sounded the call that we are putting the band back together like the Blues Brothers.
Over the weekend, we had the 'knock the rust off' race. We have a few regattas and weekly race series to compete in and there were adjustments to the boat in the offseason. A little practice run was in order and we needed to get off the land after a long winter.
Wonderful day for a sail too! The big carbon main sail was up and we were launching the jib under a warm spring sun!
The guys in the back spend much of the race looking up at the indicators on the sails to make sure they are shaped correctly for maximum speed. If you zoom in on that one, you can see the rest of the fleet we beat by 15 minutes or so. Understandable as our boat is made for racing and many of the others were slower cruisers.
The wind was actually solid and we brought the boat up to just under 10 knots. The angle of the boat here shows how the wind knocks us a little sideways and the keel turns that into forward motion.
I trim the head sail so there is plenty of rope pulling then sitting on the side of the boat when finished to flatten it out with my weight.
All in all, a great crew of guys to hang with. Making the boat go fast while enjoying a beer is the icing on the cake.
Nice day for a Sail!
Nice to be finally back on the water for the season! I should have some more sights and tales to tell this summer as we have many races and a regatta to win. Another adventure!
Thank you for joining me on another adventure!