Light Air on the West

The only problem with summer is light wind. Yes folks, West River Wednesday! We thought we had about 10 knots going in but as the sun starts down so does the wind...but the race was fun anyway--a little less intense & a little more relaxing. We notice things: like the two rays with their wing tips peeking out of the water. Right in the bay--not often you see rays outside of the aquarium petting zoo. It was so cool because we were joking that having the rays cross your bow gave the boat behind us an unfair advantage. We yelled toward them about the rays' port crossing & how time needed to be deducted from them as a result. Then you hear one of the crew on the other boat exclaim: "Cool! Rays!" Even though races in light air can kinda suck, it is fun because ultimately you are out on the water & not stuck in some cubicle somewhere where the only rays you can see are the ones on the computer if you google them. One of the guys said to me. "This sure beats working anyday so bring on a little light air." I have to agree.

My sister sent my son a gift certificate to Annapolis Performance Sailing (APS) for his birthday. My son is so excited by this--he says he wants new gloves because his aren't as cool as mine. Then he said he wanted foulies--I said, find a job! I may see if I can get him a lightweight jacket though, but I think a pair of Camet shorts may be best before he leaves for sailing camp. That is one cool store if you like to geek out as a sailor. In fact, attached to the gift certificate was a catalog--talk about geeking out! I was glued most of the night comparing different gear--next up: gear bag for my days at Screwpile.

Oh yes! Screwpile & Solomons: Night racing down the bay & days of racing & nights of partying. I'm looking forward to it--one, because I never raced at night & how cool will that be? I love sailing at night, especially under a full moon--it is spectacular! Racing just adds another whole dimension to the beauty of it. And two, how much fun will it be to race & party--that's what summer's all about! And I'm free to do it! I guarantee if I were still married or even heavily in a relationship, I might not have been able to crew this race. I am taking two days from work too. It looks like my summer is shaping up to be fantastic after all--just what the hell was I worried about??