Sailing!
Yes, there has been sailing. Life's been so swamped in between that I haven't gotten to tell you about it.
We hadn't been going out very often because EV's butt needed to be cleaned something awful. So when we had friends who wanted to go sailing and there was some decent weather a few weekends ago, we set off down to the dock and the in-laws little boat. (EV BADLY needed to be cleaned. I guess it has been almost two years. Although, we've scrubbed the rudder once or twice.)
We weren't really expecting that they would show up. These particular friends often don't. We set it up so they would call us if they were going to come instead of calling us if they weren't. They called ten minutes past the deadline and we took them anyway.
Yes, we can go ahead and go if they don't come but it just messes with one's psyche when friends are expected and then don't come.
I realized how much this has become my expectation when I showed up at the dock without my camera. However, they showed up and we went sailing. A Catalina 22 doesn't sail as sweetly as our baby, that's just a fact. So we enjoyed the wind and sun and sailing, and then we made the decision to call the bottom cleaning guy and pay to have EV cleaned.
We had pondered driving her down to the ramp, pulling her out and cleaning her but we hadn't found a good weekend to do that. We're cheap and lazy and that's why it takes us so long to do this sort of thing.
Still, come Monday, J called the guy and he came to clean EV's bottom. He made some comment about her ability to make friends. Apparently she's the only girl at the dock that grows both mussels and barnacles. Must be that nutritious bottom paint.
The next weekend we were both exhausted and not feeling great. The weather said there was no wind to speak of. So between our level of motivation and the weather we figured it was a bust of a sailing weekend, even with the nice clean bottom. We drove down to the dock to pay our slip rent and found not only nice wind, but it was out of the west. (Meaning the lazy sailing would happen on our way back in. So when we were done playing we could be lazy coming in.) We both looked at each other and knew we were going sailing. Reminding me that even when we're just going to run errands, I should bring my camera, especially when J is involved.
EV was very happy with her clean bottom and decided to take orders from the captain again. Let me say, she's a speedy little thing when she's clean. We love her.
Then last weekend. J's parents returned home on Saturday. They anchored just north of St. Augustine Friday night and had a long day sail ahead of them to get back to their slip. Incidentally, their little boat was in their slip. So they were working out the logistics of anchoring their big boat, getting in their dinghy and motoring over to the little boat, anchoring the little boat out, getting in their dinghy, then docking their big boat. J and I were pondering taking EV out to meet up with them but there was supposed to be absolutely no wind. Then we were pondering taking the fishing boat down there and exploring and then using that to help ferry them around moving the boats.
And then it hit us, making us feel really stupid for not thinking of it sooner: we could take their little boat out, anchor it and then they could pick us up on their way into the dock. Doesn't that sound much easier?
Which is almost what happened. We got down there about an hour before they had thought they'd get there. In the meantime, they had gotten stopped by the train bridge and were running 45 or so minutes late. AND, there was wind! Lots and lots of wind but at least it was out of the west.
So we jumped in their little boat and headed off in their direction. We met up with them just south of the big bridge, surprising them.
Well, as any sailor knows, two boats going in the same direction is a race. We were waiting for them to leave us in the dust. 27 foot, tall rig, racer with like 70 PHRF points under the 22, we figured we didn't have a chance. Except they were weighed down with their cruising stuff. And certainly the Keys grow bigger barnacles than the St. Johns.
We left them in the dust.
This was after the second time we had circled around to get back to them.
Hmm, they're keepin' up.....
Sorta. (Is that J doing all the work? What on earth was his crew doing? Oh, that's right, taking pictures of the smoking of his parents.)
Or not.
Is that tiny thing them? Yes. A beautiful day of sailing, a flawless anchoring (there wasn't even any yelling), and then Chipotle for dinner. That is a great day of sailing. Just don't tell EV. (It's just as well, if they couldn't even keep up with the 22, EV would have eaten them alive.)
We hadn't been going out very often because EV's butt needed to be cleaned something awful. So when we had friends who wanted to go sailing and there was some decent weather a few weekends ago, we set off down to the dock and the in-laws little boat. (EV BADLY needed to be cleaned. I guess it has been almost two years. Although, we've scrubbed the rudder once or twice.)
We weren't really expecting that they would show up. These particular friends often don't. We set it up so they would call us if they were going to come instead of calling us if they weren't. They called ten minutes past the deadline and we took them anyway.
Yes, we can go ahead and go if they don't come but it just messes with one's psyche when friends are expected and then don't come.
I realized how much this has become my expectation when I showed up at the dock without my camera. However, they showed up and we went sailing. A Catalina 22 doesn't sail as sweetly as our baby, that's just a fact. So we enjoyed the wind and sun and sailing, and then we made the decision to call the bottom cleaning guy and pay to have EV cleaned.
We had pondered driving her down to the ramp, pulling her out and cleaning her but we hadn't found a good weekend to do that. We're cheap and lazy and that's why it takes us so long to do this sort of thing.
Still, come Monday, J called the guy and he came to clean EV's bottom. He made some comment about her ability to make friends. Apparently she's the only girl at the dock that grows both mussels and barnacles. Must be that nutritious bottom paint.
The next weekend we were both exhausted and not feeling great. The weather said there was no wind to speak of. So between our level of motivation and the weather we figured it was a bust of a sailing weekend, even with the nice clean bottom. We drove down to the dock to pay our slip rent and found not only nice wind, but it was out of the west. (Meaning the lazy sailing would happen on our way back in. So when we were done playing we could be lazy coming in.) We both looked at each other and knew we were going sailing. Reminding me that even when we're just going to run errands, I should bring my camera, especially when J is involved.
EV was very happy with her clean bottom and decided to take orders from the captain again. Let me say, she's a speedy little thing when she's clean. We love her.
Then last weekend. J's parents returned home on Saturday. They anchored just north of St. Augustine Friday night and had a long day sail ahead of them to get back to their slip. Incidentally, their little boat was in their slip. So they were working out the logistics of anchoring their big boat, getting in their dinghy and motoring over to the little boat, anchoring the little boat out, getting in their dinghy, then docking their big boat. J and I were pondering taking EV out to meet up with them but there was supposed to be absolutely no wind. Then we were pondering taking the fishing boat down there and exploring and then using that to help ferry them around moving the boats.
And then it hit us, making us feel really stupid for not thinking of it sooner: we could take their little boat out, anchor it and then they could pick us up on their way into the dock. Doesn't that sound much easier?
Which is almost what happened. We got down there about an hour before they had thought they'd get there. In the meantime, they had gotten stopped by the train bridge and were running 45 or so minutes late. AND, there was wind! Lots and lots of wind but at least it was out of the west.
So we jumped in their little boat and headed off in their direction. We met up with them just south of the big bridge, surprising them.
Well, as any sailor knows, two boats going in the same direction is a race. We were waiting for them to leave us in the dust. 27 foot, tall rig, racer with like 70 PHRF points under the 22, we figured we didn't have a chance. Except they were weighed down with their cruising stuff. And certainly the Keys grow bigger barnacles than the St. Johns.
We left them in the dust.
This was after the second time we had circled around to get back to them.
Hmm, they're keepin' up.....
Sorta. (Is that J doing all the work? What on earth was his crew doing? Oh, that's right, taking pictures of the smoking of his parents.)
Or not.
Is that tiny thing them? Yes. A beautiful day of sailing, a flawless anchoring (there wasn't even any yelling), and then Chipotle for dinner. That is a great day of sailing. Just don't tell EV. (It's just as well, if they couldn't even keep up with the 22, EV would have eaten them alive.)