Yesterday I resolved to finally install the VHF I bought at this year's Defender spring sale. Its been sitting in the cabin of Hukilau since May. I bought my tool kit and drill to the boat, and I finally opened the box to see what needed to be done. I was hoping that it would have the same power cord attachment as my old Standard Horizon, but no such luck. I would have to splice in the new cord. Unfortunately, that meant I would need connectors, and the only size connectors I had were for much smaller wire. But before I made the trip to West Marine, I decided to see if I could make the connectors I had fit the wire. I found that with just a little shaving, they could. So a half hour later, I was making a radio check with my new Intrepid VHF. I got an immediate answer: success!

I then decided to go out and see if there was enough wind to make a sail worthwhile. The prediction was for 8-12 mph, but it seemed lighter at the dock. However, once out in the harbor, conditions picked up. I was quickly over at 15 degrees of heel, struggling to keep the boat from rounding up. I dialed in about a third of the jenny, and it became easier to keep a straight course. I headed south towards the Reef, and was "chasing" a Catalina 30 or 32. I was able to keep up with her, while two boats were quickly overtaking me: one was a C&C 30-something, and the other was an older yawl that looked to be about 30 feet long.

Eventually, the boats from behind passed me on their way southwest, and the Catalina turned southeast. I headed out past the Reef, then decided I'd better turn around as I had to get back to drive Dan to the airport for his trip to California to see Serena.

Docking was a bit interesting, as the winds had picked up in the river, and were trying to blow me off the dock. I had to step lively to reach the dock before I couldn't jump that far. Lots of fun out there.