Liberty is being free from the things we don't like in order to be slaves of the things we do like.--Ernest Benn

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

June: Out Like a Lion!

Steady winds up to 21 knots this afternoon. Had more sailing talent aboard for this mid-week twilight than ever before. Last-minute addition was a visiting multihull sailor from Hawaii. We finished 3rd out of 16. Partied heartily afterwards. Too much for this old man! 

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!

7 comments:

  1. Cool. I used to have a Merit 25!

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  2. Yesterday, Baydog, it just came down to waterlines. The Merit finished 14th, even with one of the best skippers at her helm!

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  3. It's usually the case. But the Merit is a rocket sled around similar sized boats.

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  4. Someone 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?

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  5. Actually 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.

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  6. Baydog:

    Decades 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?

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  7. She? That scenario has been volleyed in my household, albeit lightly.

    Regarding 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.

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