a nice day on the water

I talked to Bruce today and he mentioned, correctly, that I should have explained in more detail why my JW pennant reminds me of my folks. It is because the J and the W represent not just the designer John Welsford, but also my folks -- Jan and Walt. That worked out perfectly. I would not have even started building Spartina without my Dad's help. The first phone call I made when I was considering building the boat was to my Dad - "Can you come back to help me build the bird's mouth mast?". Of course he did. We spent four great days working together on it with help (wouldn't you know it) from my Mom. And then my Mom sews the sail covers for me. So that is why the JW pennant reminds me of my folks. My only regret is that my Dad couldn't stick around to sail Spartina, but as I see it he is with me on every sail.

(If any JW builder is interested in the pennant just email me and I'll send you the jpeg that The Sailbag Lady used to sew mine).

It was a beautiful day on the water. Not a cloud in the sky, wind out of the wnw at 6 or 8 knots.

Below is my sailing friend on his 19' catboat. I can't tell you his name or the boat's name. But I can tell you he used to live in South Dakota and sailed the catboat on the lakes and reservoirs there and in Missouri. Now he lives here and keeps the boat in Portsmouth. He said he is looking at a larger catboat. I can't wait to see that on the water. We pass each other on the Elizabeth River while day sailing. It is always good to see another gaff-rigged boat out there.

And there were a few more snow birds heading south. The big batch of them went through last weekend - I think I counted over 20 on Crawford Bay last Saturday. But now they are coming through in two's or three's.

The wind disappeared around noon, perfect time to tie up and get some lunch. Then it returned, this time out of the north. Great to sail, listen to some football on the radio and wave to folks on shore. I had a great time. I hope to sail one of two more times this season. But depending on weather and schedules this well might have been my last sail for the year. If that is so, it's ok by me. It was a lot of fun.

-steve