FINALLY!!!!! I can't believe that I didn't get out sailing even once for the whole month of January. But yesterday, the ice in the creek had cleared off enough that I could finally get out sailing on the first day in February. And so go out sailing I did.
It was a lovely sail at that. I brought along a couple that I met at West Marine, who had just bought a Farr 56 Pilothouse and also a rigger from West Marine.
It was sporty conditions with temperatures in in the high 30's F and winds in the high teens gusting into the mid-20 knot range at times.
It was a sail that was similar to Lincoln's talking dog analogy. (It is not how well the dog talks, but that the dog talks at all.) With the dense air, I chose to put in a first reef in the mainsail just to play it safe, and that turned out to be a good move making for a more comfortable sail. We were still knocking off really good speeds in the 7-8 knot range and occasional bursts up to the low 9 knot range in the bigger gusts.
We had no destination in mind, so we ended up beating up to the Bay Bridge, reaching back to Annapolis, buzzing the tourists on the City dock, then heading home.
All in all a very cathartic day....plus I slept well Saturday night.
Jeff