No photos: my batteries were dead. (In more ways than one!) This shot from my past files shows what it was like. I will publish anything from my bud when he gets back to the Big Island! Hopefully!
Here are the shots I've been waiting for. They are not as dramatic as I expected. Whoever said that photography from deck level renders water surface much more calm and flat than photography from a camera raised above the surface--whoever said that was right!
Cool. I used to have a Merit 25!
ReplyDeleteYesterday, Baydog, it just came down to waterlines. The Merit finished 14th, even with one of the best skippers at her helm!
ReplyDeleteIt's usually the case. But the Merit is a rocket sled around similar sized boats.
ReplyDeleteSomeone on our boat thought we had gusts to 25. But my real question is why - if you had unprecedented talent on your boat - why did you not fly a spinny to test them?
ReplyDeleteActually it occurred to me. I had complete trust in my crew setting my chute, but, as I said, "Only God could get 'er down." And I didn't think She was on my side. As I watched 40+ft Sequoia (recently re-named Radio Flyer) sailing over her spinnaker for about 15 minutes, I was glad not to have tested my talent on board. We attained pretty close to hull speed without flying it, anyway. I don't feel budgeted for spinnaker repair/replacement. My next $1,000 will go to a storm mainsail.
ReplyDeleteBaydog:
ReplyDeleteDecades ago, Trophy Wife and I were shopping for our first keel boat. We tried a J-24. Had we tried a Merit, we might still have it. BTW, why don't you still have yours?
She? That scenario has been volleyed in my household, albeit lightly.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the Merit 25, much more of a racer than cruiser, we needed something a little more forgiving for our leisurely forays on the bay. Plus, the crouching headroom for a 6'3" skipper
just didn't cut the mustard. I will always have fond memories of my little keeldinghy though.