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| A driving rain |
We took a chance Wednesday afternoon and sailed over to the
Savannah Yacht Club for their evening race that involves all categories of
boats. The forecast had called for 6-8
knot winds which would have given our boat a bit of an advantage. With the tide running with us, we made the five
mile trek in 45 minutes and was there in time for the start of the race. The only other time I did this, we arrived well
after our start time and although we did the course, we were never in the
race. This time, it was only slightly
better as we were confused with the course and almost missed a pin… It was a learning experience. Tacking in a downpour adds another danger as
the foot of the sail held a lot of water and when we heaved over to the new
tack much of that water poured down my back as I adjusted the jib.
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| Right after I received a shower |
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| Photo by Chris |
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| Joe, at the helm during the rain |
But what a time we had!
It took is nearly 1 ½ to run the course.
We had everything from pleasant but slow sailing (what we thought we’d
have), squalls that almost knocked the boat down, downpours that totally soaked
us, and dead calm in which we watched a mark get further away as the tide swept
us upstream from our mark. Add in a few
dozen (or a hundred) porpoises playing in the water, sailing within feet of a
boat named “Lightning Rod” during a thunderstorm, an incredible rainbow that
followed the storm, and lightning that thankfully stayed mostly a good distance
away. On the downwind leg home, we had a great spinnaker run until we were about a half a mile from the finish and the wind died...
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| Chris |
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| The rainbow |
After a “happy hour” at the club, another boat from Skidaway
towed us back home in the dark. We kept
looking through the cloudy skies for meteors, but were not blessed to see
any. I got home at 10 pm, took a shower and put on dry clothes!
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Waiting for wind (It did return with a vengeance
only to die as we approached the finish line) |
With storm and all Im sure you enjoyed:)
ReplyDeleteNice picturesSage!
It made it exciting!
DeleteI've seen plenty of rainbows, but never a meteor. Maybe next time for you?
ReplyDeleteThe Perseid's were incredible this year, but we had a lot of clouds this year--I've seen the Perseid's twice in the Sierras--incredible shows!
DeleteLooks like fun. Great photos. A friend's daughter is an avid sailor. We get regatta stories from time to time. Someone threw a lobster at her recently.
ReplyDeleteSomeone could throw a dozen lobsters at me--as long as I have a basket or a pot to put them in...
Deletewould love to go sailing some day
ReplyDeleteCome by someday and I'll take you out... For those of you along the gulf coast, Savannah has a dry climate!
DeleteI am glad that you are getting so much time on the water - I know you love it. You may be right about the Japanese restaurant, but every time we go there, we see Japanese people eating. They can't all be relatives of the employees, can they?? lol
ReplyDeleteMeat, especially beef, is expensive in Japan, but they love it!
DeleteI saw a meteor shower YEARS ago and it was so beautiful. I wanted to see one so badly this week but never did. Such a pretty rainbow though!
ReplyDeleteI have seen a number of wonderful meteor showers--the benefit from living 12 years in the rural American West!
DeleteLoved the pictures. Sounds like you had a good time.
ReplyDeleteIt was good!
DeleteI love a rainbow! And, Sage, thank you for your hedgehog comment. They are becoming increasingly few and far between - hence the surveys. We love them ... they eat slugs which eat flowers and vegetables!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the hedgehogs--they seem smaller than our "groundhogs"
DeleteI love being on the water. It gives you a fresh perspective. . .and great Happy Hours to remember.
ReplyDeleteOf course, we had to travel back home on water so we didn't stick around long enough for the "happy hour" to be lost in memory :)
DeleteI learned to sail on the Columbia River, on a 20' fiberglass '70's era fiberglass, and spent many hours drifting and watching the sail luff......
ReplyDeleteWhere on the Colombia? did you have current and tides or just current to deal with? I'm mostly sailing here in a 19' boat
DeleteWow. That has to be an amazing experience, being out there on the open water like that. My husband has been looking at boats--but they're the kind with motors on the back of them!
ReplyDeleteRemind him that when gas prices go up, sailboats still sail! :)
DeleteThis sounds awesome.
ReplyDeleteIt was!
DeleteAloha and thanks for stopping by my blog, Sage:)
ReplyDeleteLoved your post (I'm a water lover - but don't do much *on* it, so it was really neat to hear the ins and out of your race experience :)
Cheers, and here's to longer Happy Hours :)
Mark, Your Irish photos were lovely! Thanks for dropping by
Deletesounds like an eventful trip!
ReplyDeleteOne not to forget, at least!
DeleteDo you motor up the reach to the other club. I'm assuming you're place is down river from the bridge onto the island.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a brilliant place to sail. But is there anyplace you can run in order to be in the lee of the wind. What do you normally do give the blast would be off the gulf, run into the Atlantic and then tack back in very slowly.
We sailed up to the club this time (three weeks ago, we were towed by another boat, but the tide was running out then). We were towed home. The Rhodes 19's that we sail don't have motors or even mounts for one--but since this is a multi-class race, we have been able to hitch a ride behind other boats going upriver--a C&C 28 with a diesel inboard. If you are looking on Google Maps, you'll find the Landings Harbor Marinia (where we sail out of) on the north end of Skidaway Island (Priest Landing Rd) and the Savannah Yacht Club on the south side of White Marsh Island (Bradley Point Rd)
DeleteAaaah, got ya. I was looking on the Moon River, and thinking you went up and under the Diamond Causeway.
DeleteGlad you got to see a rainbow after the rain. Hopefully you weren't too cold from getting drenched. Even though it's still warm outside, the wind can chill you if you're wet.
ReplyDeleteIt was cool, but I never put on a jacket (although my two partners did)
DeleteYou are certainly having your share of adventures on the water!
ReplyDeleteGotta make the best of it! :)
DeleteSeeing a rainbow while sailing would be lovely. Getting caught in a downpour would not be lovely! lol
ReplyDeleteWhen it is in the 80s or upper 70s, rain isn't too bad (now if it was in the 30s and 40s, that's another story).
DeleteThis looks both intense and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteit was both!
DeleteOh yes, I know those days of a hot shower and warm dry clothes being the best thing ever! What an exciting day out though, and you did catch some great memories and photos too!
ReplyDeleteIt was a warm shower and then bed! A long but great day.
DeleteRainbows make harsh weather, and everything else, alright.
ReplyDeleteThey do have a way of doing that, don't they!
DeleteSounds like quite an adventure with a beautiful ending. Glad you made it home safe to a warm shower and dry clothes.
ReplyDeleteLife is an adventure--it was good!
Delete