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Sailing Log: 5/28/03
Boy, how pathetic:
no sailing for a week and a half! Intolerable.
Here in the northeast,
we've been stuck in this terrible upper-level low pressure system thing
that continues to bring cool, gray, damp weather, with an easterly flow
off the very cold 43 degree ocean. With the exception of the
weekend following launch (see logs for the 17th and 18th), and a day or
two after (work days), the weather has been like this pretty much all
month. It gets depressing if you let it. And how can you
not?
Memorial Day weekend was
a bust here, though it became unexpectedly decent on Sunday
afternoon. Thinking that Monday was supposed to be OK, I worked on
demolition inside the Daysailor
hull on that day. Of course, Monday turned out to be the worst day
of the weekend, with substantial rain all afternoon and evening. (Sigh)
An unexpectedly free day
on Wednesday, coupled with weather that was gray and lifeless, but at
least dry, meant that of course I had to head to the boat. Now,
I've been aboard several times in the days since my last sail, mostly to
check things out and to wish I was sailing. Today, I went down to
check out the boat, and maybe to bring her to the dock for a
washdown. It was flat calm, and the perfect time to wash, which I
did. Then, with no wind but relatively (in comparison) pleasant
conditions, I motored around the anchorage for a while, checking
out this year's crop of boats.
 As
I ended my motor tour, I noticed a dark line of wind ruffles out near
the islands. As I watched, it seemed to get closer. The
forecast was for about 10 knots of southeast wind in the afternoon, so I
guessed this was the beginning. As I was hardly ready to go in
yet, I decided to give sailing a try, so I stopped the boat and readied
the mainsail, removing the cover and raising it. Then, with bare
steerageway, I unrolled the jib and tried sailing. It was slow
going at first, but then I tacked to turn the boat more in the direction
the wind was coming from, and as the wind built I suddenly found myself
in the middle of a great sail!
 As
it was midweek, and not that nice out, I had the bay to myself except
for a couple lobster boats far away. What a pleasure! Sure,
the wind was chilly off the water, but who cared? It was a great
sailing breeze, about 8 knots or so and perhaps as much as 10 or
11. Just enough to fully enjoy and get the boat moving at between
4 and 5 knots. Nice!
 The
wind got a little light for a while, slowing me to about 1 knot or
so. Fortunately, it freshened again, propelling me back to
the mooring in fine fashion. All in all, it was an extremely
pleasant 1.5 - 2 hour sail, and prepared me for a couple more days of
gray, drizzle, and unseasonable chill.
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