All Quiet *cough* on the Home Front

Both Lolo and I have been convalescing with pretty bad flus and pneumonias. Personally I've been down about 3 weeks now and while feeling much better don't feel it's a good time to test out my lungs' strength after pneumonia in Puget Sound's winter weather out in the open on a sailboat. Lolo's nearing the end stage of a pretty bad one too, but since she's still coughing and can't breathe well sometimes, it's probably a good idea for her not to go out either.

So, as soon as we're healthy again we hope to be facing the NW winter weather and get some sailing in.

Two Trips, One Post

So I wrote on Saturday that we were taking our boat out for our first ever sailing trip without the expertise of our sailor friends. It was a gorgeous day, sunny with about 10 knot winds. The waves were small and the wind coming from the north. Our crew was myself, lo lo, Derek and Ross (an old friend from Portland and lead in Echo Helstrom). The most experienced crew member was myself with 4 whole sailing trips under my belt, so by default I became the captain.


We left the marina a bit after noon and got our sails up and we managed to sail on the first try! We made our way across the sound toward Robinson point, tacked back toward Seahurst and eventually made our way back toward the marina after some more futzing around with the sails. Oddly enough, we had our hardest time on the broad reach and downwind sailing. Later found out we should have been reading both pages on that heading. I think the wind was also picking up some so it became a bit more difficult to steer. Ross still did a great job at the tiller and Lauren and Derek worked the sails well while I just hung out and barked orders, like a good captain should.

Today, Ben and Kim came down to Des Moines. Lauren had to work, so it was just the three of us. Kim has a little bit of sailing experience, but mostly captaining 100-ton vessels and water taxis and not much time recently on a 21-footer. :)

When we left the marina, the wind was not blowing too hard, maybe 5-10 knots from the SSW. Forecast was for rain, but we got none. Forecast was that the wind was going to die down to about 10-15 in the afternoon, but that didn't happen either. Wind waves reached about 2 feet (I think) and it started blowing 15-20. We had too much sail up, even with the reefed main and our little toy boat became pretty difficult to control. We were consistently going about 6 knots on the beam reach, but the waves were tossing us around quite a bit (at the writing of this post, there is also now a small craft advisory in effect).

We saw a great big sea lion chillin' on the shipping channel's marker and we were even visited by a couple of porpoises! It was totally rad to have them playing around the boat. Kim was at the bow watching one swimming in our bow wake while Ben attempted to get video of the other one that kept swimming under and around our boat. Totally rad. I'll post the video when Ben gets it online.

After a couple hours of working out our biceps at the tiller, we decided to head in before our little outboard could no longer hang with the conditions. It's really good to know what the boat can handle and I'm really glad to have had two experienced boaters out with me during our "testing".

Docking was interesting, especially when our rigging got into a little tussle with the roof of the next dock. Luckily our boat won and we eventually made it back into the slip. Beers were had, stories shared and burgers eaten at Dead Robin.

More photos after Ben uploads them.

Real Maiden Voyage

Since it's such a beautiful day, we're going to try and go out and futz around with the sails and see if we can't get her going. Should be nice. Forecast calls for 5-15 knots. Current weather at Des Moines is about 6 knots (http://www.windfinder.com/report/woodmont_beach).

Wish us luck! :)

Lake Sailing

On Saturday, Lo Lo, Derek and I met Geoff at his boat, Solana and went out for a day of sailing. The plan was to make it out to Lake Washington, but after the University Bridge, Geoff was having trouble with his battery bank (he's got an electric motor) and we decided to turn around and just sail around Lake Union.

We were dog-sitting this weekend, so we decided to take the dog along. He's an enormous Greyhound that looks like Santa's Little Helper. He's also not usually very happy about being out of his comfort zone: in his living room, between a woman's legs (nothing sexual, he just likes women more than men and is afraid of most things and has a brain the size of a walnut and is probably a little autistic).

For most of the day, we ended up doing a couple of laps around lake union with 10-20 knot winds, got to fly the spinnaker a couple times, learned a bunch more about sailing.

We grilled some shrimp skewers, watched some kids in El Toros learning to sail, got buzzed by numerous float planes and I managed to get sunburn on my nose and eyeballs.

I'm desperately trying to find the time to go out on our boat while we have this window of nice weather, but it's hard to coordinate our schedules to have some daylight to go sail our boat.


Definitely loving the experience of sailing. Stoked we got a boat. And stoked we have lots of great friends to go sailing with.

Lo lo at the tiller.

See all the photos on flickr.

So Many Little Things

Spent about an hour or two on the boat today taking care of some little things to get ready for our first sail. Purchased the safety gear to make us legal earlier this week: PFDs, life sling, flares.

So I installed the life sling and stowed the preservers and put the flares into a drawer under the sink. I also took out the anchor rode to measure it and check it over. In all, we've got 140' of chain/nylon which I believe should be enough for an overnight stay in most places around the sound. It would be nice to get a second anchor for those tough spots.

Started the motor to make sure it still runs and it started easily, but it still oozes brown goop when I angle it out of the water. Discovered the motor swing mount on the actual boat works, but requires some umph to get it up. The motor's swing is much easier to use, but causes that oozing when it angles the motor.

I pumped out the bilge because there was a bit more water than I would have liked in there. Will keep an eye on it. Nice to know the bilge pump works. Gotta figure out how to keep the gasoline smell out of the cabin. Perhaps need to get better sealing gas cans or vent it out of the compartment where we keep it.

Measured the sails so that we know what we've got and can also find another headsail for different weather. Discovered we need to replace 3 battens on the mainsail because they're either broken or missing. The jib uses plastic hanks and two of them are broken or have cracks.

Jib
Foot - 132"
Luff - 348"
Leech - 310"

Main
Foot - 108"
Luff - 292"
Leech - 310"

Some other things we need include: extra dock line, waterproof flashlight, reefing line, some general purpose stainless wire, krazy glue (to fix the GPS antenna mount which I broke trying to start the motor the other day), and a new nav light bulb.

Still have to figure out how to turn off the mast light when using the running lights. There's only one switch and it turns on the bow and stern lights as well as the mast light. Also, don't think we have an anchor light.

Add Rum, Twist of Sail, and Shake

I know, I know. I should have written days ago, when the salt was still crusty on my face and my hands still frozen into curled pink claws. You can read all about Saturday's near-hurricane force winds below. It's a little challenging to keep up with documenting it all. If there's one thing I'm learning, it's that sailors spend every spare moment cataloguing their lives. It's important stuff. It's not just about technicalities; this is a spiritual journey, and it demands documentation. If I am to be a sailor, I need to fully embrace all parts of my vocation. Feelings, dreams, to-dos, accomplishments... it's all waiting to be written down alongside positions, locations, and shopping lists. Sailors are meticulous. Sailors are prolific. Sailors are just like me. Maybe that's why this whole sailing thing seems both wildly unorthodox and seamlessly fitting all at once. I've found My People.

Saturday was thrilling. It was a two hour roller coaster ride. The carnie holding the ropes was Ben, who laughed like a madman the whole time. His partner in crime was Fisher, a true man o' the sea if ever there was one. A few shots of rum to stay our nerves and we were off. Forty knot winds gusting to 50, rail in the water at a 45 degree angle, and me wrapping my tiny cold hands around anything that would keep me aboard. Two hours went by in a heartbeat.

I am SO encouraged by the friends we are making along the way. Everyone who learns we have just bought a boat smiles giddily like I've just announced Santa Claus is in the next room. Everyone is so helpful, so friendly, so NICE to us. I think it's because we all understand (even those of us who haven't fully realized it yet) that we've all just sunk lots of our hard earned money into something that has the potential to both kill us and bring us the greatest satisfaction we have ever known. Everyone, and I mean EVERYone, who has sailed and has found out about our boat gets this LOOK. I can't quite explain it. It's like we are all part of this secret society and they are thrilled that we've just joined. Sailors seem to know something the rest of us don't.

I keep trying to compare this camaraderie to the camaraderie I see amongst folks attracted to other "adventurous" lifestyles... I think about my back-country skiing friends, or friends who mountain bike, or rock climb, or kayak... we don't talk much about what those short bouts of adrenaline and communion with nature do to their psyches. I can only imagine that their experiences bring them closer to understanding profound things about the power of nature, her indifference to one's survival, and the thrill of accomplishing when all signs are pointing to "ridiculous way to die". There seems to be something different about sailing folks. The mountain climbers and kayakers I know are gravely aware of their risks and face them with seriousness and calculation. I think sailors do too... but they seem to do it with a splash of whimsy and romance. They seem to understand disaster is part of the package. I don't sense that adventure sport folks consider failure an option. Sailors know it comes with the territory. They almost embrace it. They know their dreams are laden with folly, their goals a bit hazy and surely riddled with detours, but they chase them anyway. There is a certain lightheartedness in the people I've met. It is this lightheartedness, plus their love of a good drink and good story, that keeps me believing I have chosen my folly well.

About the Boat

In response to Fisher's urging to provide more information about our boat, I've started to track down information about the Northwest 21. I've located one of the previous owners of the boat and he was very helpful and sent me the original brochure.

According to the internet, about 70 of the 21s were made in the late 70s and early 80s. According to our hull identification number, ours was possibly hull #2 made in March of 1976 in Gorst, WA.

Boat specs
We have the fixed-keel, tall rig variety of the boat. It is a one-piece fiberglass hull construction with the hull and deck glassed together.

Overall length - 21' 0"
Length at waterline - 16' 9"
Beam - 7' 11"
Draft - 60"
Displacement - 2300 lb
Ballast - 700 lb
Headroom - 5' 7"
Sail Area (100% fore triangle) - 243 ft²

Sailing
All sheets and halyards are led to the cockpit for easy single-handed sailing. Mid-boom sheeting with roller traveler.

We've got 3 sails: main, jib, and spinnaker. Main has one reef point. Spinnaker comes with a sock for easy handling.

Niceties

• It's got a fully-enclosed head with port-o-potty and vanity sink. (Gotta get that make-up on before making port)
• Sleeps 5 (umpa lumpas) or 4 normal humans with two short, friendly people in the V-berth.
• The ladder was replaced with a step that holds an ice box.
• 12-V adapter and included travel blender
• GPS & VHF radio
  

As we learn more about the boat, we'll post what we learn here.