Saturday, April 18, 2020

under cover of daylight


Under cover of daylight, hard frost still on the lawn, I rolled SPARTINA out of the garage, hooked the trailer on to the jeep and headed down the road.  West until we neared the Dismal Swamp then south on the road that runs along the old canal.  I stole across the state line, a buff for a face mask and a pair of rubber gloves on the seat beside me.  Two trailers already at the ramp in Elizabeth City, I wasn't the only one who wanted to get escape.  


I took my time rigging SPARTINA, stiff new sail covers to remove and then stiff new sails to rig.  An uncommon southeast wind, maybe 10 mph or a little more.  Not a cloud in the sky.  I backed the trailer down the ramp, launched the boat for the first time in over two months.  It felt so good.


Sails up and I saw that I had a crease in the main.  Rounded up, dropped the main to tighten up the throat and the clew.  Over the next hour I probably dropped the main four or five more times to make adjustments to robands and outhauls, finally getting something close to a smooth set.  No doubt I'll be tweaking the rigging over the next few sails, it always takes me a while to get it right.


I spent the next few hours sailing up and down the river, enjoying the beautiful day and the crisp whiteness of the new sails.  A few waves from the folks along shore, social distancing at its best.  


On the road home I thought about what I might have physically touched besides my jeep, boat and trailer.  Only thing I could think of was brief contact with the pilings as I tied on to the dock.  Nothing else.  Kind of like the signs at the state parks say:  Take nothing with you, leave nothing behind.  That was the goal.  But I must confess I did take something away.  A smile.  Cheers.




5 comments:

Clark said...

Glad SPARTINA got out!

Lorenzo said...

Glad for you Steve. Here where we are leisure craft activities such as sailing are prohibited since a month and will probably be so for another few weeks.... :(. I've worked a lot on many few details on my pathfinder lately and look forward to be able to take her out for testing them..... One day !

steve said...

So envious - thanks for posting Steve - so refreshing to see someone out on the water. Here in the UK - we are about to enter our fifth week of lock down and we have another three weeks to go before any easing of anything. personal exercise is limited to once a day and somewhere close to home - walking, running, cycling. In my patch of the woods, Plymouth Sound has never been emptier and I am told, although cannot confirm it is true, that the MOD police are patrolling the Sound and the local rivers and are turning people back in recreational boats. Glad you had such a great sail - hope you, Pilgrim and girls are safe and well.

Steve said...

Steve,

we are doing well. Hope your family is safe and healthy. Restrictions here are done on a state basis. No boating restrictions in Virginia and North Carolina. Maryland, to the north of us, prohibits recreational boating except for kayaks. I read our rules very closely, and when I went sailing I made sure not to interact with anyone or touch anything save the dock pilings. So I think I was safe. Boy it felt good. Looks like there might be another sail this coming week. Take care, and let's all look forward to when we can all get out on the water again. steve

steve said...

Well done. Hope you can get out again next week and glad u all ok