Rachel was our first officer - a real pro! She traveled around the boat, stood proudly at the bow, helped tack the boat and bravely hiked out on the rail.
*******************
Last Sunday, it was Opening Day on San Francisco Bay. This date marks the beginning of the sailing season, the busiest time of the year for us sailors. Summer is the peak wind season here. We can sail in pretty heavy and consistent breeze, the racing is fantastic. So the "small craft warning" is pretty much a constant throughout the season...Don't worry, Elise is a small craft but she is very sea-worthy and equipped to sail through much rougher patches. (plus we had Hannah at the helm)
Interestingly, most boats that take part in the parade are power boats - starting with the fire engine. We watched the show from the deck of the Saint Francis Yacht Club and listened to the commentary. A lot of the boats were historic boats and came with great anecdotes.
It was then time for a much awaited pleasure sail. The conditions were absolutely perfect for a sailing experience (not a cruising experience...) Remember that Elise is a nervous light little race boat. I feel very close to the elements, wind and water, and tuning her is very much a "close your eyes and feel the sail, or feel the tiller" type of experience (I don't actually recommend to steer blind-folded). Bigger boats can be more comfortable (they have a fridge for beer), can go faster but they are also a lot heavier, with much more inertia and freeboard, and it is harder to feel this direct connection.
Back to our story - it was a sunny and warm day, the wind was southwesterly thus much warmer than the usual north/northwesterly and about 15 knots with 20 knot gusts, which is great for Elise. The water wasn't choppy, the waves were nice, low and following a regular pattern. Rachel, Hannah, Lynn, Michael, Nathan and I boarded for an afternoon of fun. We sailed upwind under the Golden Gate by the South Tower. We got a small taste of the mighty Pacific Ocean and turned around toward Angel Island. We hoisted France (our heavier spinnaker) and crossed the bridge again near the North Tower. We jibed once, sailed a fun and fast reach under spinnaker for a while, then lowered the spinnaker and changed course toward Alcatraz. We sailed around the old penitentiary, and then up the city front back to the dock.
Whenever we take non-sailors out on a boat of any size, we worry that they will be scared by everything the boat does, even though it is an expected behavior. So we try to go slower than usual, we don't always hoist the bigger sails, we don't do long upwind legs, they don't go below to pick up what they need. Not this crowd. I kept asking "how's everyone feeling" and got some fairly impatient "just fine" back...
We started off under main downwind in the harbor and reaching (a very comfortable point of sail) across the Bay. I asked if it was OK now to hoist the headsail. Michael was already on the halyard and the sail was half way up before I could finish my sentence...
We were zooming along and Rachel and Hannah took turns at the helm. We made good time upwind against a strong current. Hannah took us through several tacks, bore away to a reach and then downwind. When it was time to hoist the spinnaker, I was worried that everyone would panic at the idea of a big sail. The 'guests' responded in unison 'we like to go fast' and looked at me seemingly offended by the question.
- I miserably failed to hoist the sail on my first attempt as I realized that the spinnaker wasn't packed when I got to the bow. Didn't look very professional this... -
Anyway, the second attempt was successful (except that the halyard popped out of the cleat), Michael trimmed the spinnaker and we went through a gibe without any trouble. Everything went much smoother than it does on some races...
Another point that is worth mentioning. Typically when we go out for a sail, we leave with a full bottle of wine and we end the day with an empty one. On Sunday, we started with a full bottle of wine and ended the day with three full bottles, as Lynn, Michael, Hannah and Rachel pushed their marine professionalism to the extreme and embraced the old Elise tradition! Thank you!
*******************
Last Sunday, it was Opening Day on San Francisco Bay. This date marks the beginning of the sailing season, the busiest time of the year for us sailors. Summer is the peak wind season here. We can sail in pretty heavy and consistent breeze, the racing is fantastic. So the "small craft warning" is pretty much a constant throughout the season...Don't worry, Elise is a small craft but she is very sea-worthy and equipped to sail through much rougher patches. (plus we had Hannah at the helm)
Interestingly, most boats that take part in the parade are power boats - starting with the fire engine. We watched the show from the deck of the Saint Francis Yacht Club and listened to the commentary. A lot of the boats were historic boats and came with great anecdotes.
It was then time for a much awaited pleasure sail. The conditions were absolutely perfect for a sailing experience (not a cruising experience...) Remember that Elise is a nervous light little race boat. I feel very close to the elements, wind and water, and tuning her is very much a "close your eyes and feel the sail, or feel the tiller" type of experience (I don't actually recommend to steer blind-folded). Bigger boats can be more comfortable (they have a fridge for beer), can go faster but they are also a lot heavier, with much more inertia and freeboard, and it is harder to feel this direct connection.
Back to our story - it was a sunny and warm day, the wind was southwesterly thus much warmer than the usual north/northwesterly and about 15 knots with 20 knot gusts, which is great for Elise. The water wasn't choppy, the waves were nice, low and following a regular pattern. Rachel, Hannah, Lynn, Michael, Nathan and I boarded for an afternoon of fun. We sailed upwind under the Golden Gate by the South Tower. We got a small taste of the mighty Pacific Ocean and turned around toward Angel Island. We hoisted France (our heavier spinnaker) and crossed the bridge again near the North Tower. We jibed once, sailed a fun and fast reach under spinnaker for a while, then lowered the spinnaker and changed course toward Alcatraz. We sailed around the old penitentiary, and then up the city front back to the dock.
Whenever we take non-sailors out on a boat of any size, we worry that they will be scared by everything the boat does, even though it is an expected behavior. So we try to go slower than usual, we don't always hoist the bigger sails, we don't do long upwind legs, they don't go below to pick up what they need. Not this crowd. I kept asking "how's everyone feeling" and got some fairly impatient "just fine" back...
We started off under main downwind in the harbor and reaching (a very comfortable point of sail) across the Bay. I asked if it was OK now to hoist the headsail. Michael was already on the halyard and the sail was half way up before I could finish my sentence...
We were zooming along and Rachel and Hannah took turns at the helm. We made good time upwind against a strong current. Hannah took us through several tacks, bore away to a reach and then downwind. When it was time to hoist the spinnaker, I was worried that everyone would panic at the idea of a big sail. The 'guests' responded in unison 'we like to go fast' and looked at me seemingly offended by the question.
- I miserably failed to hoist the sail on my first attempt as I realized that the spinnaker wasn't packed when I got to the bow. Didn't look very professional this... -
Anyway, the second attempt was successful (except that the halyard popped out of the cleat), Michael trimmed the spinnaker and we went through a gibe without any trouble. Everything went much smoother than it does on some races...
Another point that is worth mentioning. Typically when we go out for a sail, we leave with a full bottle of wine and we end the day with an empty one. On Sunday, we started with a full bottle of wine and ended the day with three full bottles, as Lynn, Michael, Hannah and Rachel pushed their marine professionalism to the extreme and embraced the old Elise tradition! Thank you!
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