I didn't think that John would have a chance in hell when he e-mailed me a message saying that he was planning a sail to coincide with the Plimmerton mid-winter dip. The weather had been terrible for the last umpteen weeks and the forecast was not looking great. On Sunday when I looked out the window there was a huge line of pre-frontal clouds running like a wall just north of Pukura Bay. So I was very surprised when John said that every thing was on.
We arrived at the club about half an hour before the swim. Lots of swimmers standing around in coats trying to look brave. As the wind was getting up I was very pleased to have managed to twist Jim Shaw's arm into coming with me. It also gave me a chance to try out a reef in Bootstrap's main. Soon had Bootstrap and then after the normal launch confusion, we were off.
As you can see the reef worked rather well, with Bootstrap easy to sail in those gusts that come whipping over the headland.
No, Classy is not sailing off by itself. I believe that John is hiding away somewhere behind the mizzen .
The three of us, Classy, Bootstrap and Tardus, cruised around in front of the beach watching the brave swimmers trying to physic themselves up. They are not looking very happy in this photo
But eventually they all rushed into the water. It was far nicer watching from the sea than taking part
We sailed close past a lady who as repeating her mantra of "It not that cold, it not that cold" as if she believed herself!
Afterwards Jim and I headed out past the reef where we found a
swell running. About two to three meters (felt like about 10!) with a very short
confused chop. Bootstrap simply bounced itself over every wave without missing a
beat. We decided to shake out the reef - a stupid idea that as the second
halyard ripped out of the gaff that then fell down with a crash! Thank goodness
for having two halyards and we where off again in a few minutes.
All in all I had a very good sail. Thanks John for the idea and thanks Jim for being such a good crew. I can't wait until your Houdini is finished and I can crew for you.