Its been a hectic season this year. We haven't gotten out for nearly as much sailing as we would like. Between the poor weather in August, and the distractions of Heather's pregnancy, Gavin's birth, and getting used to having a newborn around, we just haven't been sailing.

An Excuse to Sail

With hurricane Isabelle bearing down on the east coast, it seemed appropriate that I should get out to the boat and make sure she was ready. Isabelle was forecast to pass well inland of us here in Maine, but the NWS was still calling for 30knots or so on Friday and Saturday. I figured I should check on things, add a bit of chafing gear, and remove the anchors from the bow platform, just for a bit of extra security.

So on Wednesday the 17th, I headed down to the boat. I got there at about 0930, hopped in the dinghy, and headed out. All was well aboard after a full week since my last visit, and there was a fair northwest wind blowing. The sky was mostly clear, the air was dry, and it seemed like a perfect day for a sail. I quickly got the boat ready, dropped the mooring, and sailed out of the anchorage.

As I hardened up and sailed north-northeast toward Cousin's Island, the wind seemed quite strong, gusty, and flukey. I wasn't really suprised, as this is typical with a northwest wind in this area, but I really wished I had put a reef in. Still, it was lovely, with hardly anyone else out, and I enjoyed a nice sail up past the Wyman Station power plant, and into the lee of Cousin's Island. Since the wind was blocked by the island, I took the opportunity to head forward and tuck a single reef into the main. I then gybed around and headed back toward Little Chebeague.

Murphy's Law Strikes Again

Of course, once I tucked the reef in, it seemed that the wind died entirely. I ghosted downwind, well out of the lee of the island for some time, then turned a bit closer on the wind. This put me on a beam reach, with a course leading close by Upper Basket Ledge. The sailing was nice, if a bit slow. The wind seemed to be in the 8 knot range, and with the reef I was only making about 4 knots. I toyed with the idea of shaking out the reef, but I was enjoying myself, and not really trying to get anywhere, so I decided to just take a lazy sail back to Falmouth.

As I got back inside Clapboard Island, I looked ahead and saw another boat coming toward me. Within a few moments I was sure that it was Tim on Glissando, so I headed over to say hi. I had to chucke: it was no suprise to see Tim out on such a beautiful day, but as I passed by I had to tease him a bit. "Geez, can't a guy get out here for a sail by himself sometimes?"

Sadly, I had to head back in, as I had commitments for the afternoon, and still wanted to get the boat put away and ready for the predicted gusty weather, so after only about 2 hours, I was back on the mooring. Still, it had been a beautiful day.

Click here for a video clip from the September 17 sail. (AVI format, 1.3 Meg)