Today's crew:
Steve Manghi
Adam Debruler
Cheryl Webb
Jesse Longman
Mark Longman
Gillian Stump

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Jesse and Mark Longman joined me on the boat at the marina and we headed out for Shilshole in a nice breeze that turned downright chilly as we passed West Point.  We ducked into Shilshole Marina to pickup Steve Manghi, Gillian Stump, Adam Debruler and Cheryl Webb who would round out our crew.  Adam & Cheryl got caught up in traffic and had to jog to the boat so we could head out and get set for the start of the race.

After running by the committee boat to let them know of our late registration, we set the main and jib and did a couple of tacks to get everyone used to what they'd need to do during a tack.  We got back to the start line and had a good start in the middle of the pack, however the wind had died quite a bit by this time and the J105's we were racing against had a nice lead.  We did beat a C&C115 over the line, as he was over early by about 10 boat lengths.

The wind was light at the start and out of the North to Northeast.  The course for the evening was Start to Meadow Point to West Point to Meadow Point to West Point to Meadow Point to a mooring bouy off the Northern Shore of Discovery Park to Finish.  I long course but doable in the winds that were available at the first start.

Our first windward leg was good.  We had decent speed despite the light air that filled in the middle of the starting sequences and the undersized sail (we were flying our 120%).  Steve was handling the main, Jesse and Adam were doing a great job on the jib for the tacks, Mark was helping on the foredeck and the ladies were watching for traffic and doing an excellent job as ballast engineers.  Steve watched the helm while I rigged the spinnaker on the upwind leg.

After a couple of short tacks, we rounded the windward mark just behind the C&C115 and set out spinnaker in an asymmetric fashion.  Despite the light wind it set well and we had good initial boat speed.  Soon after setting the spinnaker the wind got real spotty it got tough to keep the sail full while still pointing in the direction of West Point.  We executed a great outside gybe when the wind shift so much that we were sailing toward Port Madison.  This gybe carried all the way down to the North shore of Discovery Park/Magnolia where we gybe again and headed out for West Point.  The sailing was slow but we were making headway.

We had a hard time catching the fleet ahead of us, and by the time we rounded West Point bouy the wind had pretty much completely died out and with only 34 minutes to complete the rest of the course we packed it in and headed back in the near darkness and light rain of a Northwest Spring Evening.

Despite the weather everyone seemed to have a great time and it felt great to be sailing and have a race that went smooth.  I still need to solve some issues with the dousing of the spinnaker and the unfurling of the jib as we are still getting tangles with the sheets and halyard.  I'm sure there's a solution it'll just take some time to figure out.

Today's Crew:
Boca & Bella

Unfortunately, no course track today.

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After completing the work and organizing the boat, I headed out with Boca and Bella for a sail on Elliott Bay.  The conditions were perfect for a solo sail.  A slight breeze that kept the boat moving but not heeled too much for the dogs.  Both the dogs seem to be getting used to the boat - though Bella is certainly more comfortable than Boca.

We a leisurely lap around the bay with a few tacks and gybes thrown in to make things exciting and  dodge ferries.

Was a wonderful day on the water and on the boat.  Finished off with the typical crew picture...

Unfortunately, no course track today.

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We sailed for awhile with just the main, then decided to hoist the 130.  That went well and I soon went about making the pendant I've been meaning to make for sometime for it.  We ate dinner - Amber and Will enjoyed meatloaf from PCC, Sarah had a sandwich and I had a salad from Trader Joes.

We lost wind around Blakely Rocks and without a working depth sounder things got a bit interesting (yep, the instruments weren't working properly... damn!).  Not long after catching a bit of wind and sailing away from Blake Harbor the wind filled in big time as did the cold air.  We sailed back toward the marina.

In 15+ knots of breeze and fair bit of waves, we doused sails and Sarah went below to grab fenders ... sounds familiar doesn't it.  Well the fenders stayed on board this time, however Sarah said in an alarmed voice 'there's water down here'.  I asked how much, and she said she didn't know but thought it was rising.  Next, I asked her to check the bilge and tell me how much water she saw, while I continued to assist Will and Amber is securing the main.  After a bit, I hear a crunch and see the table has been moved - funny I thought that table was bolted down.   Hmmm...  guess Sarah found a new way to look at the bilge.

Soon after Sarah reports that's there is some water in the bilge but not much.  Concern was over - must have just been a spilled water bottle.