WOW - Weekend on the Water - Memorial Day Weekend with the SSSS cruisers

We didn't get much sailing in, but I joined Terri on her boat with she and her son, Trevor.  We left on Friday afternoon and headed to the Penrose Point State Park. We rafted up with Glen and Irene on Sassy for two nights, and then had the mooring ball to ourselves last night.  There were maybe 12-15 (??) boats for the SSSS Memorial Day weekend cruise. There was a great potluck with lotsa pasta dishes, and plenty of other good food too.  It had been a pretty sunny day Saturday, but it was cooling off fast and the wind was picking up for the evening.  Without a dinghy we were a bit 'handicapped' and if anyone has a dinghy for sale, you might contact Terri..... but thanks to Sassy and others, we were able to get off the boat some.  I actually enjoy just relaxing on the boat, reading, etc., but it's not for everyone; can anyone say 'teenager on board'.....?
We had a great time, lots of laughs, and I got back in plenty of time Monday to shower up and get ready to for a sailing practice on Vintage this afternoon.  THANKS for a great weekend Terri.

Tuesday Evening 'Casual' Sails start

Two boats went out for a lovely evening sail (although we could have used a little more wind) on Mary Campbell's boat, Sonrisa II
- Jane, Mary, Alison, Terri, LindaRose, and me

 - Mary Fitzgerald - Clara McDougal (sp?) - with Maria, Jeanne, Emily, and Tamara

Stars Race Committee Boat

Instead of going sailing, what's the next best thing?  Watching others sail in a race sounds good to me.  I haven't been in a Stars race, so I thought I'd see what it looks like from the committee boat.  And since I didn't have crew lined up for the Monday night race, it especially sounded like a good idea to at least get out on the water.

So to get a different perspective on the races, I joined John and Susan for the race committee for the Stars races a couple days ago, Monday, the 23rd.  It was challenging for John to set the course to start with because the winds kept shifting, often a problem here in Budd Bay.  But he finally set one and we proceeded to have 4 races.  The second one we had a little confusion because we intended a general recall when so many boats were over early, but we put up the wrong flag, oops...... So after everyone came back, we got on with three more races, the last one being a race to the docks.  There were 16 boats out.  Darn, I should have taken some photos......

Women's Boating Seminar in Olympia - SUCCESS

May 21st was the second WBS by South Sound Sailing Society and Olympia Yacht Club. There were over 60 registered women.  I'm sure there will be more posted on the SSSS website soon, but here are just a few photos before my camera batteries died.

Another Star Sailing today

Today was another 'practice' day for me with sailing the Star #31. Jim (the owner of the boat) was kind enough to take me out again for a couple hours, and answer questions for me about the idiosyncrasies of Stars.  We had some good wind to start with and then it lightened up a bit.  It was nice and warm with plenty of sunshine too!  He was also showing me how to sail the boat with out using the tiller.  We tied it off and used only the sails to steer the boat. That makes 3 times in the last week, sailing on a Star.  I feel like I'm ready to take others out on the boat now, and am really looking forward to it.  This is going to be a great sailing season!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, what a fun sailboat you are!

This evening, Susan and I went for a sail on her Star named Mako.  We had a wonderful time with light winds maybe 5-7 knots, perfect for getting used to sailing a Star.  There was sunshine and wind, great way to spend a Wednesday evening.  A few more practices and we'll be ready for the Barbara Stuart Memorial Regatta in late June................

Spring Regatta on a Star

I sailed on Jazz, a Star 22, with John for the SSSS Spring Regatta.  It was a pretty slow day, looking for wind, etc., but when we did get some breezes, we were gliding through smooth water.  It was a light turnout and there were less boats in the 2nd race than the first. We were a little unsure whether the committee was going to race again or not, some boats went back in to dock.  But we hung around and yes, there was another race.  It was a very enjoyable day on the water, some sun, no rain, but a little more wind would have been nice.
The most excitement was on the way back to the dock, sailing into West Bay Marina, the call came to take the main down, but yikes, I couldn't get it down. It was jammed at the masthead.  So he depowered the main and we sailed into the dock.  John prepared the mast to be removed, and after help came, he and Norm got the mast out of the boat and down on the dock.  We got the main off the mast and rolled it up, that's about the time it started to rain.
We were racing in the PHRF class, only one other star out.  I'm not sure how we did because the results haven't been posted yet.  My first race in a Star, thanks John.

Friday evening sail on Khamsin

There wasn't much wind (as you can see in the photo), but there was lots of food and laughter. Micki, Rob, Jayne, Glenn, and Erik. A good time was had by all and it was great way to end the week.   Thanks Erik.

Race to the Straits - Update

Two days of sailing; what a great way to spend a weekend.  There were 98 boats registered for this race from Shilshole Bay to Port Townsend and back (about 30 nm one way).  This was their 10th anniversary race.  They are all double-handed classes (only 2 crew allowed), and also a single-handed class.  Saturday was great sailing with S/SW winds and we reached a mark at Double Bluff Point around 3 hours after our start (about 18 nm).  So did about half of the other boats at the same time and it was a swirling mess/washtub with lots of boats trying to get through, quite interesting, but no one hit anyone (that we heard of) and soon we were off to finish the 2nd half.  It had been sunny and dry for that first half, but it started raining and continued for the rest of the race and into the night, darn. We finished after 6 hours and then got the boat, Mariah, settled in at Point Hudson Marina in Port Townsend. There was a party around 8pm and the first day awards.
Sunday the race started again at 8:30:46 for us and we headed out in light N winds, more downwind sailing.  We were happy that there was wind, the reports were for very light wind.  We weren't flying a spinnaker though.  Most of the boats were flying spinnakers, so we watched them pull away from us...........  It was a slower wind day, but the winds were always present and there was sun most of the day, and most important, no rain!  We certainly didn't win, but weren't last either.  Great fun!  Thanks John.

Race to the Straits - May 7th-8th

Another busy weekend coming up.  This is a two day race from Shilshole Bay in Seattle to Port Townsend on Saturday; then back on Sunday, with a stay at Point Hudson over night.  It is a little over 30 nm one way and is a Sloop Tavern Yacht Club sponsored race.

I wish the weather forecast were better than it is, but it should be a good race despite the cool weather.  There are 90 boats registered for the race. I'll be crewing for John on Mariah, a Naja 30 which I haven't sailed on before.

I'll post more after the race..............

Sailing a Star

With some desire to learn more about sailing smaller sailboats, I have chartered a Star from one of the South Sound Sailing Society (SSSS) members.  The owner, Jim, took me out once a couple weeks ago, but I have been too busy to get back out there.  I am anxious to get comfortable with sailing these boats, they are so quick compared to what I am used to sailing. (and I am not used to ducking from the boom....) It is hull #31 in the water at West Bay Marina in Olympia and I will be going out again as soon as I can.  They have Stars races on Mondays starting soon.

A Star is an Olympic class sailboat, 22 feet long with a 31 foot mast.  The main is big and the jib is small, comparatively speaking, to other 22 foot boats.  I have several non-sailing friends that would like to join me for a sail, but I think I need to go out with other sailors a few times to get comfortable with these boats first........  I know as soon as I get more time to get comfortable, it is going to be a lot of fun.

Women's Boating Seminar in Olympia - May 21

This is a great opportunity to get together with other women boaters (sail or motor) and learn more about boating.  I missed last years because I was not in town, but will definitely be there this year.
http://www.ssssclub.com/wbs.htm

Boatless Barbaras

I realized this weekend when I drove to Coos Bay Oregon to visit a friend, that I wasn't the only boatless Barbara.........  Barb and I went to high school together and I think it has been about 8 years since she's owned a sailboat.  But she's planning on getting one again soon and I told her I would gladly crew for her.  She has done an Atlantic crossing and Pacific crossing in years past, and spent some time in the South Pacific (I am so envious), and is now anxious to get back out cruising again.  We lost touch for 30 years, but reconnected almost 4 years ago at a high school reunion (oops, giving away our age, but we are who we are).  We discovered our common passion for sailing then. I was preparing to leave for my Mexico trip and she had just settled in Coos Bay Oregon.  She started her sailing long before I did and even has her 50 ton captain's license.  I am looking forward to the time when we can go sailing together instead of just talking about it.  She even has built in crew, a son (11) and daughter (15).