We had a series of small thunderstorms come through yesterday evening. The heat wave did not break, it only bent a little.
I did not fulfill my plans to be on the road by 6:00 a.m, an hour later seemed much more reasonable and still fairly cool. After yesterday's storms both the temperature and the humidity had dropped.
And there was wind. It had been a while - I did not recognize it at first. Not a lot of wind, but steady wind between 5 and 10 mph. Plenty for a relaxing day of sail, enough of a breeze to keep things comfortable.
It must have been hot out there Saturday. This cruiser by the name Thari had excellent canvas that must have helped block the sun, but the humidity must have been rough. A good day to take the dinghy into Portsmouth and enjoy the air conditioning at a restaurant/bar/theater/library.
This cruiser below by the name of Voyager was on the way north, headed home to Toronto after a couple of years in Florida and the Caribbean. The boat was a little worn, the captain was well-tanned and very relaxed looking. It must have been a nice couple of years.
I broke out my old crumpled panama hot to deal with the heat, that along with the upturned collar of my shirt and thin pair of synthetic sailing pants kept me comfortable. It wasn't too bad at all. Back at the ramp it was a different story, it was just a minute or two breaking down the rig before I was soaked in sweat. That's fine, after all it is summer in the south. And a little sweat was a price I did not mind paying for a nice day on the water.
steve
4 comments:
Talk about "I'd Rather be Sailing".
I spent the day tearing off and replacing rotten clapboard on my house.
Looks like you definitely had the better day...
Bill
how is the atomic 4 these days?
steve
Steve -
Thanks for remembering.
As it so happens, I played hooky from work on Friday to have the boatyard hoist the engine back into the boat. I finished the reassembly and got it running on a stand in my shop a few weeks back.
Here's a pic of the engine sitting on the tailgate of my truck, just before hoisting:
http://tinyurl.com/3k3t8ce
And here it is, sitting on the beds in the boat:
http://tinyurl.com/3c29scn
Nothing is hooked up yet. It was just too darn hot on Friday to work on it.
By the way, you should know that your long trips have really made me think I'm "overboated." I really think that I am going to defy the typical "next boat syndrome."
My "next" boat, rather than being bigger and fancier, likely will be smaller, simpler and lighter than my current one. Something I can store on a trailer. I.e., less expensive to own and maintain.
I intend to build one someday. I particularly like Karl Stambaugh's "Mist". Of course, ask me again in a month and who knows what I'll be looking at - there are so many sweet pocket cruiser designs out there!
Post a Comment