It has been a little bit since my last post but I have been on the water. Last Thursday I raced with the crew from Davis Island. It was extremely rough with winds around 25 to 30 knots and the course set for a lot of upwind activity. we set the main sail with two reefs and even still had to struggle with excessive heeling and rolling seas. I worked as a grinder. Not the most rewarding of jobs but when there is a lot of experienced crew on board, lesser experienced crew fill in the gaps.

Last night was a lot more enjoyable. The breeze was consistent and managable. The crew again was the experienced group that have been sailed with this boat for years. I worked strings for the Spinnaker. We did two spinnaker sets and one of them with two Jibes, causing pole changes while the spinnaker was set. That was the highlight of my work.

I guess that lately I have been in kind of a funk with the racing and the lack of rewarding work on the boat. I was talking with Dave and Sandy, who got me on this boat initially, about my feelings about the racing lately. They insisted that I would really like racing and introduced me to another boat owner who races on the weekends. They feel that I would really like racing on a more structured boat, especially if I can do some challenging and rewarding work. It was nice to hear how these two very experienced sailors and racers think that I have talent and natural ability. I don't know if I would agree with that but it is nice to hear.

I also spoke to one of the crew members that had not been back since last season. She purchased a boat last year and keeps in the same boat basin as the Sailing Center in St. Pete. she said she would call me so I can crew on her boat for some weekend casual cruising. I am really looking forward to some general cruising Lets see how the summer sailing unfolds.