"You're really going sailing today?" That was the voice of my wife, the Pilgrim, as we were on our morning walk yesterday. It may well have been the voice of reason too. A hard frost on the lawns and rooftops, temperature right at freezing.
I hesitated when I got the ramp in Elizabeth City. The temperature had barely climbed to 35°, a slight overcast and not a breath of wind. But I was down there and wanted to sail. I decided to give it a try. The light breeze arrived just as I backed SPARTINA down to the water. Wearing thermals, a heavy wool sweater and the mango drysuit we pushed away from the dock for a wonderful sail.
The breeze was at six or eight mph most of the day, sometimes creeping up to 10. The overcast came and went, the sun peeking through at noon. Early afternoon I began to head in but the breeze was so good I stayed on the water for another hour. It was a wonderful winter day on the water.
4 comments:
Thank you for sharing the account of your wonderful Sunday experience. A good friend of mine, long time sailor who had more than a few hair raising experiences often says "I have never regretted any opportunity of sailing I took".
I agree with your friend. Sitting in the parking lot at the ramp Sunday, overcast and no wind, I wondered if I should bother rigging and putting in. I decided that, worst case, I would have a nice drift and maybe take a nap on the water. Instead it turned out to be excellent sailing. steve
Thank you indeed for sharing. A daysail with no goals in mind is one of the true pleasures of sailing - let the wind take you where it will and then figure out how to get home again... One of the advantages of winter sailing, at least in my experience, is that the air is quite literally heavier. A small puff in winter takes you much further/faster than the equivalent summer wind. The wind is not actually faster, but has more energy (Mass*Velocity), so drives my boat faster. At least that's what I tell myself as my teeth are chattering!
My friend Barry has made the same observation, which I believe to be true, about cold air being heavier. There was not much wind last Sunday but SPARTINA was always on the move. steve
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