Octoberfest is an annual event at Ensign Harbor hosted by our gracious dock masters Nick and Jeanette. This year members of the prestigious "Whortonsville Yacht and Tractor Club� participated in a "Closed Course Cruise to Nowhere�, which is actually a race but we don't call it that. After the cruise the members were treated to a dinner of culinary delights prepared by Jeanette as well as a nice social gathering.

Octoberfest Pictures

Friday October 13, 2006
If you have been following this blog you know that we have recently purchased a roller furling system for Southern Star. The furler was installed a few weeks ago and a new sail had been ordered. Typically it takes a long time to get a new sail after it is ordered and because we didn't want to be without a sail, I had been working on converting our existing jib from "hank on� to roller furling. Since I was doing the work, the price of the conversion, as boat projects go, was not unreasonable. I had been spending every spare minute working on the sail because I wanted it finished for Octoberfest and our weeklong trip later this month. I was finally finished with the conversion so I took a vacation day on Friday so I could complete a few last minute details and install the converted sail on the furler in preparation for Saturday's sail.

We got a late start but arrived in plenty of time to get finished before dark. The weather was a bit gloomy with cloud cover. We were hoping for better weather for Saturday's event. We installed the converted sail and, if I do say so myself, we got a pretty good job out of my $20 Kenmore yard-sale sewing machine. We celebrated by taking pictures. Earlier in the week, our sail maker told us that he expected the new sail to arrive around the end of October. Less than 30 minutes after we got the converted sail installed, he called my cell phone, and said the new sail had arrived and he could install it right away. The entire career of the converted sail was reduced to being wrapped on the new furler for less than an hour. Oh well, we will have a spare if we need it.

Mark, the sail maker arrived as promised and we installed the new sail. It is beautiful! He gave me detailed instructions on the care of the new sail and furler. He also gave considerable instruction on how to use the new sail including how to efficiently trim for maximum performance. I understood most of it but it was clear that Mark has forgotten more about sail trim than I will ever know. I couldn't wait to try it on Saturday.

We had a light dinner and turned in fairly early knowing that we wanted to be up early for the big event. We were glad we brought the cabin heater. The temperature reportedly reached the low 40s.

Saturday October 14, 2006
The weather on Saturday was nothing short of spectacular. Winds were predicted at 10 to 15 knots from the northwest. This is usually good because the way the racecourse is situated, the wind comes off the land and that tends to minimize the steep Pamlico Sound chop. This race is not handicapped so the finishing positions are not corrected by how fast the boat should be. It really doesn't matter because, at the skipper's meeting, Nick explained that the prizewinner would be the crew who can best predict the finishing places of all the boats. This is a very low-key event and everyone is expected to behave like ladies and gentlemen. This is why I enjoy it so much. I have heard it said, that you can learn more about sailing by racing one afternoon than sailing by yourself for a month. The racecourse is roughly a 10.7 nautical mile triangle if you plot straight lines, but of course, sailboats do not typically travel in straight lines so the distance traveled over ground was considerably more. All the marks we used are permanent "government� marks.

Judy and I had participated in several Octoberfest races but our attitude had always been that if we finished the course without damage to the boat or crew we were doing well. This time we made an effort to see how well we could do. The race started at precisely 11 AM. The honor system was used in the absence of a committee boat. We got a good start, crossing the start line seconds after 11 AM. A good start is really important in a sailboat race.

The first leg was a reach, meaning the wind was coming across the boat slightly from the front. It is typically a good point of sail. Most boats perform best on a reach. We spent most of the first leg trying to figure out why everybody else was going so much faster than we. I was using every trick in the (admittedly thin) book to get more speed. I finally figured out that the new sail was considerably larger than the old one, and I was trimming it too close. I gave the sheet a little slack and it was like pressing an accelerator pedal. We gained some ground in the last half of the first leg before we reached the first mark.

Rounding a mark is always dangerous even when sailing with gentlemen. There are always large wind powered machines in close proximity and somewhat unpredictable conditions, trying to make the same maneuver. The amount of organization that can be maintained in a sailboat race is about what you could expect while herding cats. Everyone rounded the first mark without incident. The second leg was upwind meaning that the wind was coming from very close to the direction we needed to go. Despite the claims of some manufacturers, sailboats do not sail into the wind. Sailing a zigzag course is required. Tacking or turning 90 degrees back and forth across the desired course achieves this pattern. If you've ever heard the term "Take a different tack� this is where it comes from. The trick is to know when to change directions. It takes a certain amount of time to tack, so you don't want to tack too often. On the other hand, you don't want to go too far on each tack because it will take you too far away from the next mark. I am not an expert but I would say that most sailboat races are won or lost on the windward leg. Another observation is that it is mostly skill but a lucky wind shift couldn't hurt. It seemed that the wind was unusually shifty and I attribute it to the fact that it was coming off the land and we were fairly close to shore.

The fleet had spread out a bit by the time we reached the second mark. We got a nice tight turn and proceeded on to the finish line without incident. The last leg was the most difficult for us. It was a close reach, which means that the wind was about as close to head on as it could without requiring tacking. The wind speed was building steadily. It wasn't uncomfortable yet but we felt it was getting close to 20 knots. We had several puffs that put our rail under water. The worst part for me was I was back to knowing I should be going faster but not being able to figure out why. It was like something was holding us back. I suspect inexperience is the culprit. The boat was performing extremely well. She is a great little ship, doing exactly what she was designed and built to do, and behaving like a lady. We finished a very respectable fourth out of nine vessels, and this was an uncorrected finish with no handicap. That's much better than either of us expected. When we figure all this out we may rise to be marginally competitive.

The best part of the whole day was when we got ready to douse the sails. My pre-furler practice was to go forward and wrestle the jib down on to the deck and tie it down, then drop the main and tie it up on the boom so it doesn't completely cover the deck. The wind was fully 20 knots by now and jib wrestling in a 20 knot wind is not a problem for a 20 year old kid, but it's quite a chore for a 55 year old computer jockey. I really enjoyed standing behind the wheel and simply pulling the furler's control line. The new furler gobbled up the new jib as advertised. The new lazy-jacks worked extremely well and allowed me to douse all the sails with only one quick trip to the cabin top to assist the mainsail as it fell into the lazy-jacks. Isn't science wonderful?

The trip back to the dock was uneventful. As you can imagine it was followed by a mass yacht landing as all nine boats returned. It was time to tie up, cover up and rest up for dinner. The weather had been great all day. The skies were perfectly clear. A sweater felt good all day, but a jacket was not required. Judy quoted Nick as saying, "Anyone who didn't enjoy today should look for a different hobby�.

Dinner had a bit of an Italian twist and was absolutely delicious. Lasagna, Eggplant Parmesan, salad, bread and two delicious deserts were served along with hot cider and coffee. Anyone who has ever eaten at Jeanette's table would never refuse an invitation. After dinner Nick presented prizes winners. Joey won first prize by predicted two correct finishes and Bruce won second prize for his mastery of the trivia test.

Our friends Doug and Cheryl have purchased a new boat. They brought pictures of their handsome Southern Cross 35 that they intend to take on an extended cruise. They are going to bring her down from Annapolis in a few weeks. Wow what an adventure. We can't wait to see the new addition.

Sunday October 15, 2006
Sunday morning was business as usual. It usually takes all morning for me to leave the boat because I stop to talk to anyone who will talk. Since sailors can't afford the luxury of planning anything, I will just say that we intend to spend a week on the boat later in October. We intend to go to Beaufort and maybe beyond. We prepared the boat so that she would be ready to go. We filled water and fuel tanks, and emptied the waste tank. We tied Charlie Gibson (the dinghy) to the foredeck and are keeping our fingers crossed that the hurricane season does not have any last minute surprises.

I will close with a quote from my cousin who came to visit Southern Star a few weeks ago�

"May the winds fill your sails while the rains stay away and may
you find your way to your dock at the end of the day."

Octoberfest Pictures