I wasn't able to meet up with the crew from Cool Change this past Thursday and from what I understand, it was just a booze cruise. I did however make plans to sail with Pat on Rebel Rose this past Sunday. The day looked kind of crappy with overcast skies and a light drizzle when I left home. At DIYC there was no rain but you could tell that it was not too far off. Since we both really needed the sail, we said the hell with it and took off. The winds were kind of light when we started, probably in the 5-7 knot range but were picking up. I was at the helm for the sail to a privately maintained marker past MacDill Airforce Base.
It was a great sail to the range marker with the boat heeling most of the way and beating to windward for an exhilerating ride as the winds kicked up. As the day progressed we could see that clouds were building and there was going to be some storms closing in on us. There were storms cells over the St. Pete area which looked like a huge downpour, there were some cells towards the Brandon and Apollo Beach area moving our way and there was a cell over the downtown Tampa area.
Our decision to gybe around and head back was a good one since it looked like all of these cells would converge and give us a huge soaking when they met. The ride back was even faster with more heel and a great wake. The sails were trimmed nicely and it was just a matter of sailing the headers and lifts. In all it was almost a 12 nautical mile sail from the DIYC to the Range marker and back.
We pulled into a dead calm basin and docked very easily before the storm. You could say it was the calm before the storm. As we walked up to the Tiki bar, the skies opened up and gave a huge soaking to the area.
It was a great sail both ways and much needed given the stresses of the past week and looking forward to the week ahead. If things settle down to successful work weeks and great sails, then you could just about say, "I'm Living a Dream!"
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