A double dose of sailing. Yesterday, the Saturday before Father's Day, we went out sailing with David and Diane. We met them at the boat about 3:15. It was gusty and Patti didn't want to heel, so I put in a reef at the dock. David bought Captain and Coke (for the Captain of course), and we went out. Patti and I had gotten there much earlier and had both had a beer first (we originally expected them about an hour earlier), but because we had some time, I was able to putter around the boat for awhile too.

The weather was gorgeous: mid 70's, no humidity. But it was a bit breezy, so we watched our heel, and sailed. We south for maybe an hour and half, then just turned around and came back on a reciprocal course. Everyone was raving about the conditions. David and Diane said it was the best sail they have gone on with us. It got cool when the sun dipped behind a cloud, but the ladies had their sweatshirts and all was wel. Back in time for our 7 pm reservations at Home. Docking was interesting. My croakie got tangled in my hat string and my attention wandered enough so I had to back up and try again. Ugh. Second time was fine. The wind coming out of the west was no help.

Of course, this weekend was the Branford Festival, so parking was really tight and the downtown area was jammed. Bands, vendors, etc. all over the green. When we got out of the restaurant, we thought we would be able to get a hot drink and maybe dessert at Common Grounds. No way. The line was out the door and across the sidewalk. Back home to Rocco by 10:30.

On Father's day, the plan was to have lunch with Mom and Dad, then go sailing. Patti and I went to the flea market in the morning (I cleaned up: hawaiian shirt, shorts, new buffer and a quarter inch socket for $20), then we picked up Dan at home and out to Branford. Lobster rolls from the Lobster Shack for lunch (second day in a row!), then off the to boat. It was even windier today than yesterday. We went out into the harbor and raised sail. I didn't unroll the genny all the way, and the reef was still in the main. However, when we got out into the Sound, the gusts were well over 15 knots, so I rolled up even more of the genny. Still too much for Patti and Dan, so we turned around and went back to the dock. A special dinner for me tonight, then the season finale of Game of Thrones.

On a darker note, Patti noticed yesterday that my welcome mat (a gift from Lily) was gone! Stolen. I can't believe it. That's the second one I've had lifted. Grrr.