Sailing on San Francisco Bay

The sailboat half a mile ahead of us is heeled way over, mast bouncing up and down in the gusts. I let the mainsheet way out, and climb up to the windward side. Carefully, I crawl to the mast and wrap my legs around it, to hold on and still use my hands.

Ahead of us the whitecaps are building a little, and gusts show their progress as moving wrinkles across the waves. I look forward as a gust comes across the bow. It’s a strange feeling, hanging on. The rail is in the water, and we’re still moving despite the loosened main. A shudder goes through the boat, but she’s hanging on, staying on her feet. It probably feels more ferocious than it really is.

Ease the halyard, lessen sail area, complete the reef. Crawl back and trim the sails. She leaps to her feet and bolts across the slot. I quietly hope the wind doesn’t get too much stronger.

Mon, Sep. 8th, 2003, 10:27 pm

The boat work party last weekend was good. Only a few of us did actual boat work, the rest socialized and hung out. It was nice to see folks.

I replaced the galley faucet, and had some help scrubbing the hull and cleaning/oiling some of the exterior teak including the handrails. Amelia is looking good.

I really need to look into buying some fabric and see if I can make new cushions myself.

I did manage to stop by West Marine for a couple extra PFDs, and then went to the boat to clean out some of the old crap onboard, including old clothes, old catalogs, old tide tables, etc.

I’m hoping to get some more boat work done on Friday.

Wed, Jul. 9th, 2003, 09:22 pm

I’m pretty sure there’s a piece of rope wrapped around the prop shaft. Which means no sailing tonight. And no sailing tomorrow unless I can get a diver down there to pull it off. Sigh.

The epoxy work is going well. I have all of the fiberglass tape pieces installed. Might even be ready to paint tomorrow (though I doubt it).

Fri, Sep. 27th, 2002, 12:32 pm