Summer "Sailstice"

"Sail Locally, Celebrate Globally"

 

http://www.summersailstice.com/

 This weekend was a busy one as usual & it was full of sailing--of course.  Xing Fu & I were on opposite race days so on Saturday he was out there for the "Sailstice" racing on a boat designed by the skipper--they took two bullets so I guess that design is working...A bit south down in Deale, I was out with one of my teammates from Bump & one of our friends on his boat.  We were cruising--racers cruising is ALWAYS interesting & this was no different.  But I digress..."Sailstice" is a little non-profit that celebrates the summer & sailing--being out sailing around the solstice is always cool so having a little celebration & actually being out there is even better.  Xing Fu told me he would look south & think of us out there..nice.

So off we go & our skipper says that he picked up a spinnaker for free & would we like to fly it?  No twisting of arms necessary--although he wasn't sure what shape it was actually in--we soon discovered that it was an asymmetric kite & was about 20 feet too short for the boat--probably a very good J/22 spinnaker, not for a Columbia 9.6.....but being who we are, we decided to fly the thing anyway & as a symmetric kite too...at one point we considered flying it from the backstay to see if we could get the boat to go backwards....just a thought.

"The Kid" under "spinnaker"

As the wind got lighter we decided to go swimming--I'd never been dragged behind a boat under sail--2 knots--very cool--the entire day was fun & of course the company....cruising can be fun after all..


Next day back out on Bump for the AYC Annual Regatta.  The first race was a good one, the second, well, anyone who knows the Chesapeake Bay in the summer, no wind.  The second race was given three gunshots & we were done.  Despite no wind for the second race, it was good just to be out with the crew again--always fun & entertaining.  Next weekend is the Twilight Race--starts late in the day after the wind has filled in (we hope).  And as the summer progresses...Screwpile is on the horizon...summer=sailing.