First Solo Outing - Post #5

“Sailing is the second sexiest sport.”

Dr. Ruth Westheimer”

Sunday,March 17, 2013 - St. Patricks' Day

The way I see it, the sooner the better for me to learn how to sail this rig by myself.  It's gotta happen, so today seems as good a time as any... A few pelicans cheered me on as I made the call to leave the dock for my first solo outing in Glory Days.

It turned out to be a fine outing with good strong winds from the east at about 15 knots.  That means I'll be "beating" into the wind to get past the Brunswick River Bridge before I can really do much comfortable sailing on a beam reach or downwind.  I made sure to get everything in order before tossing off the dock lines.... You always have to stow every little thing on board so it doesn't go flying across the cabin when the boat heals over... Plus, its always a good idea to have everything you could possibly need already moved to the cockpit... sailing solo means it may not always be possible to dart below to grad a snack or the sailing gloves you are sorry you left in the cabin.

Before leaving, I even asked my neighbor, Ken, if he could greet me to catch the dock lines when I return.  Being a novice at docking this baby, I have no shame in asking for help.  He was glad to help, as most all boaters are.... I'll just him a honk on the horn before my approach to the dock.

Under way solo

 When I was out there, I called my mom to say hi and tell her I was on the high seas...  She thought I was kidding... So to convince her,  I emailed her this goofy little video... Hi Mom! See, I'm really here!

Here's photo of some of the basic tools of the trade while under sail... GPS, binoculars, sunscreen, camera, extra dock line, and auto pilot in place.


On the way back home, I took some photos of Serenity, a nice looking Catalina 36 that also lives at Brunswick Landing Marina.

That evening Brunswick was alive with music again for St. Patrick's Day....  This band was rockin' and  they even allowed one of the last lingering Elvis impersonators to join them for a couple of Elvis tunes... a nice ending to a powerful day.