[Rhodes22-list] Weekend sailing story

[Ben Schultz]

We took my sister Sarah and her son Sam out for a sail on Sunday.  The 
wind was really blowing,  It was predicted to be around 20 knots off and 
on, and I think we got every bit of that.  That sort of wind really 
whips up some good waves on Ponchatrain, so I knew it would be a 
rollercoaster ride out on the lake.  The down side is that on a 
sailboat, Sam is about as tough as Omarosa when the plaster starts 
falling.  We double-reefed the main sail before leaving the slip, and 
motored out.

Right as we left the harbor, we were treated to a flyby by a young bald 
eagle.  I haven't ever seen an eagle out over the lake before, but this 
one was not very high, and there was no mistaking it.  It's too bad that 
I set the camera down inside the cabin when we boarded and then 
completely forgot about it for the rest of the day.

As predicted, the lake was rough.  As I steered out of the channel under 
motor power, the bow of the boats would crash through waves that 
completely soaked the deck and ran off of the sides.  Once I set the 
sails (I added about the equivilant of 50% jib, with sheets run over the 
cabin top), the boat sailed upright and pointed well.

The big disadvantage about the location of my marina is that it sits in 
a cornor between shore and a bridge that is too low to pass under.  The 
prevailing wind blows right up into that corner, which means I can 
always get home, but getting out into the lake can be a problem.  We had 
that problem trying to get into open water with a tight back-and-forth 
zig zag.  It was a bit troublesome, as Velvet Elvis gets ornery about 
tacking through the wind when it is really blowing and the waves get to 
pushing us around a little.  At one point, we got too close to shore for 
my sense of fun, so I started the motor and go out of there.

The rest of the sail passed pretty uneventfully.  Sam even started to 
loosen up a little (but not a lot).  We flew into the slip under 
mainsail alone.

The weather window was good for once.  It's pouring cats and dogs today.

Fair winds,
Ben



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