While every day spent sailing (even every hour, every minute!) is added to the cosmic Life Well Lived database, some sails are better than others. My Saturday sail with dad is exhibit A, and I can’t even fully grok what set it apart from previous sailing outings with my father. I have a few ideas, but sometimes the whole is greater than the parts!
After failing to sail with my father even once last summer (and regretting it all winter), 2018 is shaping up to be better this season.
Here’s a mini video postcard from our time on the water.
That first wing on wing clip was shortly after I sailed south past Split Rock. Light winds. I spent the first hour or two between our boathouse and Snake Den Harbor moving downwind at an ever-so-leisurely pace which actually worked out pretty nicely because I tackled a backlog of desk work while at the helm. (Thanks Apple for my trusty iPad and Verizon for my [usually] reliable data service. The best corner office on the planet is stern-side of Errant’s helm!)
By the third clip the wind had begun to freshen and I was able to accelerate my sail down to Rock Harbor to pick up my dad. He was waiting at the dock and proposed sailing back up to Essex for dinner at Lyn & Rays (www.chezlinandraysllc.com). I’d anticipated playing with the spinnaker on the southern end of the lake, but the wind had continued to build, and the prospect of some fast tacks northward and a delicious dinner won out.
That third clip was shortly after a swift J (www.jboats.com) slightly smaller than Errant — and a whole lot zippier — passed me to leeward. He started chasing me shortly after I rounded split rock on the homeward leg, and he zeroed in on us, hustling upwind as efficiently as possible while my father goaded me. “He’s gaining on you. Yep, he’s catching you.”
It was a fun slog, but the shorthanded helmsman and his speedy ride handily bested me. A short time after I recorded that clip he came about and headed back downwind toward Thompson’s Point.
And the good times didn’t end when we moored at Rosslyn (rosslynredux.com) a little after 5:00pm. A delicious dinner was in store for us at Lyn & Rays.
Thanks, dad. I hope to get you out on Errant again soon.