This has happened a few times now. I went to Cypremort Point just to set up the boat and kill some time, with no intention of sailing, and ended up on the water for a great sail. The weather was ugly this morning, cold and overcast, but it's been so long since I'd been out to the club that I just had to go. The Beast had been here at the house since the Fall, and I was certain my dry slip had been taken by now. Plus, I was curious to see how the new bridge construction was going.Not ten minutes after leaving home, the clouds cleared and it started to look like a pleasant day. It was clear as a bell by the time I got to the club. My new mast raising system works fine, but it still takes quite a while to rig up that boat. It's just a complex rig for such a small boat. But I was in no hurry, since I had no plans to sail. Rigging took longer because I kept stepping back to take pictures of the mast raising process for my web page. Look for that addition soon.
After rigging up, I just couldn't resist. I called Janice and told her that I'd changed my mind, I was going sailing (I've never sailed without letting someone know about it. Just seems like a good idea). I launched with no trouble and raised the main as soon as I left the marina. I had very little gas, so I didn't want to motor out too far before setting sail. I also tried something different. Since I still haven't gotten my keel winch working right, I decided to sail with the keel up, just to see how it would do. The winds were light, so I didn't see where there was any threat. Honestly, I didn't see much of a difference. When you're just sailing for fun, a little loss of performance is no big deal.
Right away, the boat was self steering again, as it had done in the past. I kicked back with my hands behind my head and enjoyed the ride (tethered to the boat with my bow line). After being a passenger for a while, I decided to head back to keep from getting too far into the bay. As I approached Cypremort Point, it occurred to me that, with the keel up, I could sail the shallower waters on the other side of the point. I'd never been there before. The waters are around four feet deep, shallower in spots, but The Beast draws about 12 inches with the keel up, so I sailed right in. On one side of The Point is the entire population of the bay. On the other side, the population is zero. Immediately I was sailing past marsh lands. It was a nice change of pace, and I kept far enough away from land to avoid the really shallow stuff.
Not feeling too bold, I decided to head back into the bay. I saw a new oil rig that seemed closer than most, so I set my sights for it. I was going to sail around it and call it a day. It took a while to get there, and the winds were dying, but I finally got close enough to see that the rig actually seemed to be a tug boat of some kind. It was above the water, sitting on pilings, with a crane on deck which was doing whatever task it was there for. I'm guessing that this was some sort of temporary setup. As I tried to approach, the winds grew calmer and I started to worry that I wouldn't have enough gasoline to make it back if I were becalmed. I almost never carry more than a gallon of gasoline, as I have learned from experience that I only need a couple of gallons for the whole year. Today, I was down to a half gallon or less, and was about a mile and a half from land. No real danger, but I wasn't going to risk it. I opted not to go around the rig (with these winds it would have taken quite a while), and headed back.
I forgot to mention. After that first tack into the bay, the boat never self steered again. While on the way out to the oil rig, I was on the same tack as before, but had too much weather helm to let go of the tiller. I messed around with the sail trim, but to no avail. Go figure.
posted by Jeff8:51 PM