Mutiny on the Bounty!

Voyage date: 8-5-10

Departure time: 14:00

Arrival time: 15:45

Conditions: Wind SW 10 kts gusts 15 kts partly cloudy

Another perfect day on the lake sailing! Today was the first day Shelia actually was able to sit on one side of the cockpit for the whole sail! Last time we sailed together we played musical chairs - not one of Shelia's favorite games along with taking orders! Today she told me what to do, her favorite thing to do. I was the swabbie (she has other names for me which I won't mention) trimming the sails with Shelia at the helm.

Today's first lesson for Shelia was how to read the tell-tales and achieve maximum wind efficiency for forward momentum. The second lesson was how to command and execute tack and jibe maneuvers. She wanted to say, "coming around" rather than "coming about",either way is fine with me.

The pleasure for me today was to see the joy on Shelia's face when she was able to feel and capture the power of "the wind in my sails!" See video below of close reach port tack rapidly clipping along around 6kts. I vividly remember Shelia saying, "Yes, I love this!" I never tire of how the boat comes alive when you are in the slot and it starts to heel over 30-45 degrees. No engine noise, just the simple sound of the luff of the sails, the water racing under the boat, and the cool sensation of the wind on your face and hair. This is true serenity!

As we sailed, the wind progressively became more intense and the ominous skies began to darken to indicate incliment weather. I checked radar and we had a window of 45 minutes to make it back to the slip before we were going to be hammered with gale force winds and lightning, not a good scenario when surrounded by water! As we sailed, thunderstorm cells had developed and were rapidly approaching our position.

Shelia quickly learned to command the boat and stated their would be mutiny if we did not get out of that lake. She took charge and we headed toward the slip and quickly jumped into the BMW got the hell out of there! Again, she made the last call.

Video 1: Shelia at the helm on fast 6 kt, close reach port tack, she's in the zone!Video 2: Shelia learning how to read tell-tales