May 17, 2008

Friday promised to be a hot day, so I decided that it would be a good day to spend on the boat working.  I spent the day on the Cygnet cleaning and organizing.  Cleaning out the lazerette, I found a like new bimini for the cockpit. The bimini is the type that goes over the boom.  It’s very large.  The rigidity is archived by  three fiberglass rods that are approximately 12 feet long. The rods are threaded through battens at both ends and through the middle of the canvas.  The canvas has a three inch leather reinforced  hole 2/3 the way back in the middle of the bimini to accommodate the topping lift , and zippered from the topping lift hole aft to the backstay. The bimini covers from the backstays/stern pulpit to the middle of the dodger.  It extends over the entire cockpit and out over the gunwales.  Finally the bimini is secured in place by six bungee cords that attach to the life line.  The bimini shades the entire cockpit.  The bimini is high enough that you can walk under it.

Annette and I bought cushions for the cockpit.  We found the quite by accident at Wal-Mart. We only need to attach snaps so they will stay in place underway.

Friday I scrubbed the dodger to rid it of the green growth from the winter.  The boat is finely coming together.  Annette and I spent the evening on the boat and walked to Anthony’s Hearthfire on North Point for dinner. We enjoyed a wonderful sunset with our dinner.  After dinner we walked back to the boat to spend the night.  Annette forgot her contact solution so I ended up spending the night alone on the boat.  I always sleep well on the boat. 

The next morning I woke up, brushed my teeth and put on coffee.  I walked up to the shower and got ready for the day.  The weather promised to be hot with winds 10 to 15kts. The day was warming up fast.  I made the boat ready for sea and at around 10:00 Ben and his dad showed up. Shortly after Annette and the mongrel pup showed up.  By 10:30 we backed out of the slip and were heading out channel.  The winds were picking up from the south about 8 to 10kts.  We cleared Olympia Shoals and cleared the Saturday regatta.  Main and Jib up and the Cygnet was making 4kts good over ground. 

Annette has not been out on the boat for a while. She has been in sailing classes and it shows.  She took the helm and did quite well.  We were chasing the wind across Budd Inlet looking for the best wind to play in.  Our friends on the Knot Work a 27ft Catalina (I think) were heading out to Joemma State Park  to sit on a buoy.  We caught up with each other just east of Olympia Shoals and ran side by side for a short while.  After a quick champagne salute the Knot Work started to run north and we looked of better wind.

About 45 minutes later the wind shifted from the south to the southwest.  For nearly 20 minutes we struggled with the winds as the wind was finding its direction.  As soon as the wind found its course we were on a beam reach and moving at 6kts plus.  We proceeded up Bud Inlet and past Boston Harbor in short order.  Passing Cooper Pt, the winds picked up.  The Cygnet was making 7kts good over ground and was listing 20° to starboard.  We found that the Cygnet sails fastest between 15° and 20°.  Anything more is just spilling air.  At this point I decided that we should try to circumnavigate Squaxin Island via Hope Island. In the bigger air I dropped the centerboard.  We now had 9ft of keel.

We passed Hunter’s Pt in the lee of the point.  As soon as we cleared the point things got interesting.  The wind was funneling through Squaxin Passage.  The cygnet went on the rail in an instant and we jumped from 4knts to 7.5kts.  Chloe (the mongrel pup) slid backwards from the cockpit rail to the toerail.  You could hear her toenails scratching the deck as she tried to make purchase and arrest her slid.  The toerail was the only thing that prevent her from going into the drink.  New rule on the Cygnet. If the boat heals more than 10°, life jackets go on. That’s for the pup too.

This was the first time that Annette and I had the chance to really work as a team.  A thing to point out at this is that Annette has never handled the boat in big wind before.  She was not happy that she had to stay at the helm, but in this wind I needed to work the cockpit. It kind of freaks her out when the boat heals more than 10°.  We made a series of seven tacks to beat up Squaxin Passage.  Each tack was better than the last.  Annette never stalled or over turned.  We never lost speed in the turn.  Our passengers were holding on for dear life as we went from rail to rail.  It was very exciting.  Annette really showed her fortitude.

We rounded Hope Island and wind became fluky again due to the proximity of land.  We worked our way up Pickering Passage.  We tried to say mid channel and closer to Squaxin Island to stay in the wind.  It was a real challenge to keep on any particular course due to the shifting winds.  At one point we made and unintentional jib do to the shift in the wind.  After drifting all over the place we managed to round Salmon Pt and make a down wind run into Peale Passage.   As the channel between Squaxin and Harstine Island is very narrow, the wind was rolling off the tree tops and not directly down the channel.  We tried everything we knew to keep a course.  We tried to wing out, but the wind shifted to much to keep the jib full of air.  It took us a while to clear to narrows and make our way to more open water. 

As Peale Passage opened up we found good air and continued at a good clip down the passage.  As this was a very hot day we passed several boats anchored at the old Squaxin Island State Park.  Near Tucksel Pt. we were having problems trying to figure out what this house boat was doing.  He seemed to me nearly mid channel station keeping.  I keep changing course to pass port or starboard of him, but the house boat would change course, making me change my course.  As we came up on the house boat I realized that she was at anchored and swinging in the wind.  My bad!

Again we found ourselves in the lee of the island and holding course to round the point.  We ran wide to try and get some wind.  This tactic worked and we made our way around Tucksel Pt at the south end of Squaxin Is. The wind picked up and we found ourselves on a screaming reach.  The wind was blowing hard and consistent.  The Cygnet was up on her rail.  I tuned the jib and main the best I could and then Annette handed the helm over to me. We were making a fast run between Tucksel Pt and Dofflemyer Pt.  We crossed Dana Passage in less than 15 minutes.  Wow!  At one point the GPS read 8.5kts. The wind backed off as we entered into Budd Inlet.  We were still making 5.5kts good over ground.   

The rest of the run south was without incidence.  Another sailor was running towards us did a 180° turn of our starboard quarter about 200 yards forward of us.  My completive side took over and we raced back to the 5kts zone.  We beat him by about 10 boat lengths. That was fun and a great way to end a great day of sailing.  We motored into Tug Boat Annie’s for dinner and cocktails.  Heading back to Swantown, God painted us a spectacular sunset.  It was a great day!