finally

The weather forecast was marginal.  Surprisingly warm with a nice breeze, but only a little sun in the a.m. and the heavy overcast for the rest of the day (in the winter I really want sunshine on a sail).  But the oldest daughter had a birthday wish: a sail on the boat she helped build.  So I drove to the ramp in a light mist thinking this is not going to work out well.  But it did.  Skies cleared just as we reached Craford Bay.  I picked up the Pilgrim and oldest daughter at the docks later in the morning for just a wonderful sail.  

It was the first sail made with adjustments to the rigging by sailmaker Stuart Hopkins.  He had suggested adding a roband (simply a fixed piece of line to hold the clew close to the boom) to the main and not tightening the outhaul as much so the main would have more "belly."  I will be experimenting with this all spring but the first effort was a success.  You can see the curve of the foot of the main along the boom.  Without the roband the foot, because of tension from the outhaul, creased and folded over.  Now it curves out nicely.  It looks good and I think adds a little power to the sail.  Very nice.  Thanks for the advice, Stuart.

There was a second birthday wish: seafood.  More specifically, seafood cooked on the grill.  Little Neck clams from the eastern shore steamed in a foil tent.

Salty, very salty, oysters from the eastern shore seaside swam in garlic/basil butter, maybe too much of that (but then again can you really have too much).

And fresh caught Carolina shrimp, skewered and grilled.  It all came out pretty good.  

First sail of the year, a birthday celebration.  Pretty nice.