Quick Spin - downwind video

Video courtesy of Serge

elise_051-1280.mp4 Watch on Posterous

Quick Spin - View from the deck

Video courtesy of Serge

elise_053-960.mp4 Watch on Posterous

Quick Spin- Upwind video - water level

Courtesy of Serge

elise_026-960.mp4 Watch on Posterous

Quick Spin - on the way back

Photos courtesy of Serge

Hove-to

 

Quick Spin - At Sam's

Vegas baby

Aaah, the 60s...

Happy Bunch!

Photos courtesy of Serge and Nat

Quick Spin - at Sam's dock. Waiting for a table

Photos courtesy of Serge

 

 Not a whole lot of space at the dock. We drove through that little opening. Worked like a charm

A bit of clean up

Snacktician at work

Or not

Still smiling.

Off to Sam's

Quick Spin - Downwind

Photos courtesy of Serge

 Hoisting the National Colors in honor of Bastille Day

Nick and Ashley - cute alert

Happy Linda!

 Vegas baby

OK, let's make sure no one catches the fact that we are flying a French flag at the stern, a bit no no in American waters. It is Bastille Day though!!! No one on the left? Good

No one on the right. Awesome

Anyone flying above us? No, clear skies

And...what? Serge is filming? Oh man...

Oh well, I guess it just means HAPPY BASTILLE DAY

Hey guys, you know the latest? It's about this chicken and it wants to cross the road. 

Nick - wait. I can't hear the wind anymore.

Capturing moments of happiness.

 

Quick Spin - Upwind

Photos courtesy of Serge

18 knots of wind (true) and 22/23 knots of apparent wind, South Westerly

Serge ready to practice Man Overboard

Marin headlands

A fellow Express

Ashley and Nick in a conference call at the bow

Linda and Nat checking out the boys on the other boat

Snacktician planning for offensive

Quick Spin - on our way out of the harbor

So we can go places or just sail in circles. Any preferences?

Miss Saint Tropez

All right, we're going places

A quick spin - prepping the boat

Photos courtesy of Serge  - more to come

 Serge hoisting Elise's name tag

Ashley and Nick learning the difference between Deck and Dock (and later Duck)

 Nat setting up the pole sleeve

Linda and Ashley getting the main ready

Sun came out just in time for departure!

Just a short note.

Still doing some projects on Elise but back to sailing too, and more importantly racing.

And just as a reminder...I race to become a better sailor.

I wouldn't choose to go out in pouring rain, or sail uncomfortable and technically challenging courses or angles. I may not choose to beat up 25 miles in 25 knots of breeze to get a blast on the downwind, I may not go out in light air otherwise. I may not choose to continue to sail even if I get seasick.

Racing has forced me out in all sorts of conditions. And it has taught me the most useful life skill ever: 'to just figure things out'.

A typical example.

I was a crappy light air sailor. In my younger days, I was racing and sailing a lot in places where there always was a lot of wind. And I just got too impatient in light air. Racing in the winter on San Francisco Bay turned me into an OK light air sailor and a much better sail trimmer. I learned to be focused. I will not go as far as saying that I enjoy light air sailing. I find it extremely frustrating particularly on a light race boat that would otherwise just fly in heavy air. I don't find it boring anymore though. I even find light air races very tactically challenging and interesting.

Oh, and I want to become a better sailor because it makes me happier :) There is nothing else that I have tried that has given me as much complete happiness as sailing even when it gets tough.

And believe me. Tough it has been. I have broken a mast, sunk, been seasick, been cold, been wet, broken bones (mine), fallen overboard, wrapped spinnakers, broken poles, lost numerous items of various monetary value overboard.

All days worth living. And many more of those to look forward to.

Serge is giving Elise some more love

Finally fitting the right compass cover for Elise's new compass.

Reinforcing/fixing the wooden support for the engine 

Oiling the toolbox that stays on Elise with the minimal set of tools that we might need even for Bay racing (note the blue style)

 

Changing the 'hiking noodle' for the rail (as Elise has a toerail for safety reason for long distance offshare races, it is helpful to have a place to stop your foot from skidding all the way down into the ocean and slipping underneath the lifeline, but it is NOT comfortable for hiking)

Short work half day for Elise

Serge and Nathan did some work at the boat while Nat was doing shop runs for the boat.

Picked up at the store

• Another (bigger) sealed flare box (the one we had was too small for the number of flares we needed) and now filled it up with Elise's offshore flares (Bay flares are in a smaller box on the boat)
• More tool organizers (we now have small electrical parts, shackles, etc...nicely organized as well) to make future job days on the boat easier as well as to stop picking up parts we actually have!

• [[posterous-content:pid___0]] Serge varnished the boards by Elise's companionway hatch[[posterous-content:pid___1]]Elise got a hatch with startboard side fixed and new varnished hatchboards (see photo above!) - you can also see the new vang line[[posterous-content:pid___2]] Overall, she is a happy girl :)

Photo courtesy of Serge

Untitled

• 2nd Spare Spinnaker now has a '101' on it
• Got spare drop-in LED replacement bulb for deck level nav light (and we can get rid of all the other bulbs as all the lights on the boat are now low-power LEDs)
• Got a new bolt cutter that can cut through rod and wire for the boat  (they are much much lighter and smaller than the ones we previously had yet supposedly much stronger. I also got a pair of plastic goggles as otherwise there is a high risk of ending up with pieces of metal in eyes...

• Got a Speedbuck (have yet to install, ie figure out a place where it can be velcroed or secure as there is no need for wires, it is entirely self contained and works on battery - this is a round the buoy racing tool)
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