About That Wind!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

     The Off Soundings Sailing Club is running a series of races over the weekend. TYC is the most convenient place to load crew and stores for people coming any distanced and a  number of participants from around the area usually head here to dock their boat before heading off. This meant that I had to get of the dock to free up space an normally that wouldn't mean a great deal except for the fact that in this case the wind was really blowing. The readings from Ledge Light near the mouth of the river were 30knts steady with gust to 38knts. The wind was out of the North West, right down the river, and  as such it was blowing straight down the river and straight into the slips. This meant that I had to try and back out against a lot of wind. No sailboat backs well to begin with and when there is  lot of wind, they like it even less. There is also the problem that if you can get the boat moving backwards, as soon as you start to move broadside to the wind, it is very easy to loose control. And unless you keep the boat straight into the wind, getting swung broadside is very, very easy.

     I kept waiting for the wind to ease up a bit and while it seemed to do so at times, it never was quite long enough to get the job done. Finally, Chuck the Launch Driver, came up with the idea of using the launch to keep ABISHAG stern-to-wind during the back out, allowing me to get away from piers and other boats, before turning her broadside and going forward. So I started the engine and waited for a "lull." One eventually came, or the closest thing we were likely to get, and I rushed about, dropping lines and climbing into the cockpit and backing her out. It was a lot less dramatic than a lot of other maneuvers I have undertaken and, with Chuck's help, turned out rather easy.  So ABISHA is back on her mooring, safe and sound.

      And  it is a good thing too as today it is supposed to rain all day, with small craft advisories until 6pm when they will be upgraded to gale warnings. It appears that the next few days are supposed to continue to be crappy as well. This spring and summer have so far been rather crazy weather-wise. I hope it all settles down into something approaching "normal" soon.