[Rhodes22-list] Pushing the envelope.

[R22RumRunner at aol.com]

Well, yesterday was an adventure. The weather forecast called for very  
strong winds and there was a lake wind advisory for Lake Hartwell. My kind of  day, 
or so I thought. We motored out of the marina and met up with Captain Bob  
Keller (Yankee Clipper). Being the prudent sailors that we were, the first thing 
 we did was raft up and got a few drinks in us before we sailed. About an 
hour  later, one of the members of my crew received a phone call and needed to be 
 taken back to the marina. I pulled the genny out to about 40% and headed 
down  wind. As we got further into the middle of the lake, it finally dawned on 
me  that we had to much sail out. The winds were pretty steady at 28 mph and 
the  gusts were unreal. I have never seen the lake this rough. The waves were a 
good  three feet high and the crest of the waves were being blown away by the  
wind.
Made it to the marina and my good sense took over and we stayed at the  dock. 
Unfortunately Capt. Bob had to go into the wind all the way home. He put  on 
his rain gear, lowered the pop top and closed everything up as much as  
possible. He said it was one wet ride, but made it home in one piece. 
I think I have found the limits of the Rhodes 22.
 
Rummy