Log for The Weekend:  June 28, 29, 30, 2002

Friday, June 28

What a great weekend!  After wrapping up my work late Friday morning (thus beginning my "sabbatical", as it were, for the rest of the summer during our cruise), I headed straight for the boat.  As I left the house, the sky to the west was dark, threatening to ruin the otherwise sunny day with rain or thunder showers.  At the waterfront, the launch and I dodged visible (and heavy) rain showers on each side of the anchorage and I made it out to the boat unscathed by rain.  A brief shower passed through, but it then looked like the sky to the west was clear, so I  raised sail and dropped the mooring.

I had a very pleasant sail in a light breeze, but kept looking over my shoulder as dark sky continued and thunder rumbled nearby, somewhere.  Despite what I had thought earlier, the storm didn't really seem to be moving out;  instead, it stagnated nearby, though it didn't affect me where I was.  But I seemed to be sailing in the right direction, so I continued on.

Eventually, the wind died completely, and after drifting aimlessly for a while I dropped the sails and motored back to the mooring.  A brief, light shower gave me a chance to try out my new foul weather coat, but it soon passed and the sun returned for the rest of the afternoon, which I spent back on the mooring on an oily, calm sea, relaxing in the cockpit with a book.  This is the life!  No pictures today.

Saturday, June 29

Heidi had plans with friends out of state today, so I was on my own.  The day dawned a glorious bright blue, sunny, and warm--absolute perfection with low humidity.  I headed right out to the boat after Heidi left, and within minutes had dropped the mooring and was sailing in a light northeast breeze.  For an hour or more, the wind remained at a pleasant strength--light, but plenty to move the boat nicely.  I sailed up towards Chebeague Island, then around the east side of Basket Ledge, and back towards the mainland and Sturdivant Island.  After a couple hours, though, the wind dropped to a nearly nonexistent level--though I kept the boat moving over the bottom the whole time...just!  But--hey, I was in no hurry.  I had all day and no where to go, so I enjoyed the sun and calm and casually drifted around, seeking out little patches of air to keep the boat moving in the right direction.  It was extremely pleasant and relaxing.

I sailed up the inside of Sturdivant Island as the wind began to come up from the south--an afternoon sea breeze.  As I neared the end of the passage the wind strengthened to a lovely 12 knots or so, and I beat the rest of the way back to the anchorage, where I rolled up the jib and sailed into the mooring with the main alone.  After the excellent 4-hour sail, I spent another couple hours relaxing on board before reluctantly returning ashore.

Sunday, June 29

Today was a family sail--I brought my sister Amanda, her boyfriend David, and my brother Dave out for a sail.  The day was more humid than Saturday, but still very nice, and the breeze was more solid and consistent.  The wind in the anchorage was very light, and for a moment as we sailed off the mooring I wondered if the boat would gain steerage way before we drifted into one of my mooring neighbors; I even started the engine when I worried we were going to be too close, but at that moment the boat began sailing in the right direction, and I shut down again.  I figured that if I hadn't started the engine, we would have run into the other boat...but since I started it, we of course managed to sail away.

Outside the anchorage, I gave the tiller to Dave and let him sail through most of the day; it's nice to take a break, and to give others an opportunity as well.  Amanda and David relaxed in the cockpit.

We tacked out and sailed down towards Portland, beating upwind at the beginning of the sail as I like to do so that the enjoyment of a nice reach remains for the second half of the outing.  I enjoyed roaming the decks and lay on the foredeck for a while, which view inspired me to take yet another dumb sails/mast picture; I just thought it looked cool.

Naturally, the moment we decided to eat lunch ended up being the windiest part of the whole day.  What was supposed to be a relaxing, flat run became a screaming reach--very fun to sail, but lousy when you (me) are trying to steer and eat an Italian sandwich at the same time.  Oh well...such horrible issues we have to deal with out on the water!  After wolfing down lunch, I enjoyed the rest of the reach, and eventually we jibed and headed back to the anchorage with another lovely sail under our belts!