Great Sunday Race

I met up with Pat and Michele for the DIYC Sunday Race, where we spent some time at the bar as a strong thunder storm passed by prior to the race. The winds kicked up and so did the rain. It was a quick moving cell and conditions improved by the start. We got out of the basin right on time for our start and between the three of us, we each did numerous functions during the race. I had a great leg at the helm from the first to the second mark and we were able to stay with the pack of larger boats and smaller dingies. Michele took some helm time for the next leg and then handed it back to me before the next mark. Pat followed up with the downwind helmsmanship for a wing on wing run the last mark.

The winds fluctuated from a good breeze to some puffs and some dead spots. What can one expect for mid day doldrums. We crossed the finish and had her tied off and packed up in no time. I couldn't stay to hang out because I had to go to a birthday party at a friend's house, but it was a great sail and I really needed and enjoyed it. I'm racing this Thursday on Cool Change with what will probably be a lot of people on board. I heard that Rocket is back together and she will probably be ready for Thursday soon too.

I don't have any pictures from this Sunday's race but I do have some shots taken on someones camera at the party last night. I'll post some of those because there may be a good profile shot in the bunch, in case anyone other then me reads this.

New Sailing Stuff

Well I played with the background and look of the blog a little bit and also organized some of the picture from Key West Below is a beautiful shot George took of a sail boat on the way back to Tampa Bay. It's a beautiful shot because of the water and cloud cover in the background.

Update

Not much to report in the way of sailing but I have been working on a few items worth a post. I found some really cool sites that I linked too that not only forecast the upcoming wind patterns and strength but also provide a 24 history of the wind speeds and direction. I thought this was pretty cool since it would provide a method of seeing a trend for a specific day. I have saved the links in my local area where I race and day sail where I think this information will come in very handy.

On another note, I received a CD yesterday from George Bailey with some more pictures from the Key West sailing adventure. If there is no sailing planned for this weekend, I'll spend some time organizing the photos to publish and update the links section with some of the links I found of use and value. Who knows, I may even post a past report on the Key West sailing adventure from my recollection.

I attended one of Tampa Power Squadron meetings last night and it seems, or at least there is talk of, the start of a coastal piloting class and a weather class by the end of the year. I haven't admitted this but if I don't start getting more educational benefit from the squadron, I'm leaning towards no involvement other then membership so I can take the classes I'm interested in taking. I have hesitated from taking the classes at other squadron further away because my car is in need of repair or replacement, but money is tight. I think the next hit of cash will go towards a repair to buy me some more time with this faithful car. If that happens then I can take these and other classes at other squadrons in my area. I'd be very happy to get Piloting I and Weather completed this year so that in 2011 I can focus on Piloting II, Navigation and Advanced Navigation.

I think that those courses will give me the knowledge necessary to move towards future plans of my own boat and coastal cruising. Hopefully the next post involves at least a bit of sailing in it.

Landlocked

Not much in the way of sailing this week. Most of the crew is unavailable for the Thursday Night races at DIYC so no plans to head down there. I'm sure I could have gotten a boat to let me crew for them but there are to many other things on the mind these days. I didn't make it to the water Saturday or Sunday either, unless you count the pool. I spent my Saturday and Sunday playing with my nieces and getting some pool time with the girls.

I have made an effort to refresh some sailing lessons with my collection of various books related to safety, weather and more. I want to at least continue to reinforce my knowledge so someday I can through off the bow lines and coastal cruise in confidence of my skills.

I'm sure there is some upcoming sailing going to happen so more to come. I've been watching the weather patterns lately and the summer doldrums are definitely a factor.

Another Key West Pic to Enjoy

This is another shot of a vintage sailboat that I took while in Key West. The sails look a little worn but still a beautiful classic none the less.

We May Have a Theme

I met Pat at DIYC for the Sunday Race but the winds were light again. The club house digital equipment was reading a 2 knot breeze with a 3 knot gusts from time to time. Nothing to get excited about or requiring that we get out the PFD's and tethers, but better then Saturday's breeze. The start was slow and the wind was just non existent. we rounded the first mark and decided to head in for a DNF.

Although we did not finish, we still accumulated our 5 points for rounding the first mark. The comfort of the air conditioned bar was much more enjoyable, especially when you top it off with a tall and smooth rum and coke. I need to post a few pics from the weekend so stay tuned. The pics are not of any major racing shots or boats healed over in the breeze, but still entertaining none the less.

So it is with a sad tone that I regret to admit that the summer time doldrums are here. I guess we'll have to resort to looking for late afternoon sea breezes or cloud cover that announces a coming storm and offering some great breezes along the edges. I picked up one of my Power Squadron books again last night and started from the beginning to refresh some lessons, see if I missed anything or just to entertain myself with sailboat thought.

Full Day Duldrums

I went for a race with Reggie and brought a friend along for her first ever sail. The forecast was light and this time they got it right. We just drifted for the better part of the start and got a postponement that seemed to drag on in the hopes of wind. I had to give the committee guy credit for waiting so long but it just never happened.

We ended up motoring in and sought the comfort of AC at Wing House. I'm meeting Pat tomorrow at DIYC for a Sunday race but the forcast is more of the same. Let's see what happens

Sent from my iPhone

The weatherman Lies

I was reminded last night of something I read a long time ago. It said that the weather reporting job was the only job you could always be completely wrong at and still collect your pay. If their pay depended on accuracy, they'd starve. The forecast for Thursday Night's race at DIYC was supposed to be dismal with winds topping out at 2 knots, but it proved otherwise as the evening wore on.

We met at the boat where there were extremely hot temperatures and no breeze at all. The basin looked like glass. Never the less we headed out towards the race area and while the committee boat was deciding on a short course, the winds picked up and stayed consistent. We did not get as good of a start as the previous weeks but caught up to the competition in the first upwind leg. Our second leg was a reach where we continued to improve on the distance between us. After rounding the second mark, I trimmed the Spinnaker and held onto our lead to the final mark before the finish.

Although we came in ahead of the competition, because of corrected time they proved the winner for the evening. Had the course been longer we may have added enough to the distance to offset the corrected time. It was a great sail none the less, with a short course and much better outcome with the wind then the expert weather forecasters had predicted. I'm racing with Reggie on his Catalina this coming Saturday and looking forward to it. I'm bringing a friend and it should be a good time as always. I promise to take the camera and post some pictures.

Thursday Night Race at DIYC

I met up with the crew to race on Cool Change yesterday afternoon. It was of course hot and humid with some storm clouds in the distance. We had another great start in our class and took the lead at from the beginning. Our first leg was a reach followed by a very slow down wind run. I trimmed the Spinnaker and it was a constant effort of trim and ease to keep it full on this leg because of the light winds. The following leg was a Spinnaker Gybe which worked out well. I came back to the cockpit and held both sheets while the foredeck crew straigtened out the pole and guy. I was able to keep the sail full and powered up once everything was in place with the pole and guy.

By this time the winds started to build because of the storm clouds and our next leg was an upwind beat. This boat just does so well upwind. We all hiked out over the side and put more distance between us and the competition on this leg. After round the next mark we reset the Spinnaker on a broad reach and were now flying downwind. You know you are moving when you can only look up to trim the Spinnaker but can hear the rush of water as you coast to the next mark.

After rounding the last mark, it was a reach to the finish line. The result was another first place in class and actually found out that we were the fastest boat with the exception of the Melges 24's. This was definitely another great race for us. Although I'd like to trim Jib, with the amount of crew on board everyone needs something to do, so Spinnaker trimming is cool as well. Let's see if this coming weekend has to offer in the way of sailing.

Hemingway's Key West Crib

In the interest of using this blog to keep up with my activities, not only related to sailing, I wanted to share some recent pictures taken. Below is a link to some cool pics taken at the Hemingway House in Key West.

http://picasaweb.google.com/101365712098774386107/HemingwayKeyWestHouse#



This is a picture of the lighthouse that is visible from the balcony outside of Hemingway's bedroom.

On the sailing end of things, we had a practice last night on Cool Change so that the current crew could get accustomed to Spinnaker sets and Gybes. The evening way beautiful with a light breeze and we were able to get in a bunch of sets, Gybes and dousings. Tonight is the scheduled Thursday Night Races at DIYC. Let's see if all that practice paid off when you are in a hurry and under pressure of the competition.

Mobile Post

With new changes to my sailing blog and I have added the feature of
being able to post updates via email. Let's see how this works.

It should be real cool for adding updates and pictures on the fly.

New Blogspot and New Post

I have always had a love for boats and the water since my teenage years, especially a curiosity towards the art of sailing. When I turned 37 I finally started on the plan to learn and experience what sailing was all about. My learning curve has been very quick because of things like reading a Basic Keelboat Book and taking a course that enabled me to use club boats for a year, getting involved with a group that races every Thursday evening in my area, participating in longer distance races as well as cruising along the gulf coast. From there I have developed several friendships that have afforded me the ability to experience different boats, sailing conditions and opportunities. My only regret is not to have pursued this sooner in life. Who knows where I would have sailed or what other experiences I would have had at a younger age.

I almost always have a book on sailing close at hand. I have taken some courses from the US Power Squadron in my area, which is definitely a great resource for any aspect of water sport. Through this group I have taken a Boat Safety course, Seamanship, Charting and am planning on taking the first course in Coastal Piloting.

I have a previous blog here in Blogspot that has some information on previous experiences but I hope to use this new location for future posts and to enhance the content much further. If anyone reads this, they are welcome to read through the previous location. The url link is http://mysailingexperiences.blogspot.com/


My goals for this new blog is to serve as my journal of experiences, lessons and as a reflection to look back on over time. I don’t know if others will stumble upon this blog but I hope to create something that will be enjoyable to read with good content, pictures and stories.



This is a picture I took of a Beautiful classic sailboat while on a recent sailing adventure to Key West last month. I will work on a post with details of my trip as well as adding some more awesome pictures, both sailing and just cool other pictures.