Today's Crew
(Port to Starboard)
Amber, Will, Sarah, Charles, Erin, John, Kelly, Ashley, Ryan

Erin driving us upwind.

Mystery Puget Pirate says
'Give Me All Your Sheet!'

Talking main trim on the rail.

Sarah & Amber

Ryan & Ashley

Boys on the rail

More main trim?

John thinking deeply about tacking and heading for warmer winds & waters.

I think Kelly supports John's notion about heading for warmer weather...

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The days' crew was a great mix of regulars, occasional sailors and newbies (to the boat and sailing).  The regulars included Will & Amber and John - who are the core trimmer and foredeck crew.  This time John's wife, Kelly, joined us for the first time.  I've sailed with Kelly quite a bit on my folks boat in Everett, but this was the first time in a couple years I'd seen Kelly on the water.  Ashley, whose been sailing with us before, brought a friend , Ryan, who was totally new to sailing.   They were complimented by our friends, Charles and Erin, who were also new to the boat and sailing.  Combine this great mix of crew with Sarah and me - and we had a great energy on the boat to start the year off right.

Leaving the new marina was easier than I expected.  I kind of expected departing and docking to be more difficult since this marina is a fair bit more dense than others I'm used to.  However it was just fine and it was sure nice to be sailing within a few moments of leaving the marina.

We hoisted the main slowly, untying the reef lines that had been lashed since our last sail in October when the winds topped 40 knots!  Soon after we ran the 155% up the new furling unit which was easy and it fit well, perhaps too well since with moderate luff tension the swivel was at the top of the mast - this means we might need to cut down the sail a bit to fit 'perfectly'.  However, this sail looks great - a little full in the entry but we can work with that.  This should be a good sail for racing up to about 12-15 knots of apparent wind.

Charles guided the boat through the sail hoists while Sarah worked with Amber and Kelly on the foredeck, Will and John worked the pit and trim, Ashley and Ryan supervised and relaxed and enjoyed things.  After taking over the helm for a short upwind leg towards West Point to check the new tune of the rig, I bore off towards Blake Island and handed the helm over to Erin who did a great job keeping us on course and moving with pace despite the shifting winds and swells pushing the boat around a bit.

After a quick beam/broad reach across the sound, we tacked on the Eastern end of Blake Island and headed back towards Seattle with Erin still at the helm this time driving us upwind with great skill working the tell-tales like a pro.  After her stint on the helm, Erin handed off to John who took us much of the way back to the marina, after a short detour over to the Northern part of the Seattle waterfront.

Prior to heading in for the day, we tested the new furling unit and it performed well.  However, since the furling sock is in the shop being upgraded we had to take down the sail to stow it safely inside.  I need to make and install a shock cord system for retaining the sails on the foredeck, so folks don't have to sit on them while we head back to the dock.  The ass-cleat isn't really the ideal solution for this.

We returned to the dock a bit early due to schedules and everyone being chilly.  In all it was an excellent afternoon sail to start the new year.  My only regret is that with so many people aboard, I didn't really get to talk to everyone and not everyone got to steer or handle the sails.  There's always next time.

Can't wait for the next day on the water.  I wish the Superbowl was a late night game so I could go sailing next weekend!!!  I'm sure I'll get out plenty this year.

Thanks to everyone who joined us!  You really made this a great sail!  Hope to see you all on the water again real soon.