03 July 2008 | Lake Norman
20 June 2008 | Lake Norman
23 May 2008 | Charlotte NC
No Wind
03 July 2008 | Lake Norman
Bob Jones
Lake sail racing in the summer can really be hit or miss. Well we missed the air by 24 hrs. Tues the wind would not stop. Day of the race nothing doing. Was on a new boat this week. A Pearson Flyer. Older boat with some querks, but it floats and has sails. El Capitain was also new to the boat. At the start, there was still some wind. Enough wind that we were able to be the first over the line...unfortunatly a second to early. We come about and try it again. Now it is a challenge. We get to catch all the other boats. Then the wind dies. Shortly after the race is called due to lack of wind. Good thing for everyone else, we were going to come from behind...really. So the wind died, and so did our diesel motor. Got a tow from another pearson. Hears to next week.
Racing
20 June 2008 | Lake Norman
Bob Summer Day
Got to love racing a sailboat on a lake. With no real waves, you can just watch the wind dancing on the water. Last night, we tried to race... Wind on Lake Norman during the summer is a hard thing to read. Our boat got a bad start with a lot of trash wind off other boats. Just prior to the turn (only one turn this evening with the knolwedge there would be limited wind), the wind died. With spotty wind, the winner tonight would have to luck I mean guess for the right spot. We finnaly got the puff we needed to round the marker, and raised the Spinniker. Had a good line back to the finish, but our wind on the east side of the lake was not enough. So we sulk about a 4th place finish out of 20 boats, but enjoy the ride back to the dock with a frosty beverage.
No Boat Yet
23 May 2008 | Charlotte NC
Bob Summer Day
I am getting hooked. My family and I have lived beside Lake Norman, largest lake in NC, for a couple of years. I grew up 30 min away from the lake, but did not have a lake family. My father is a Methodist Pastor, so the expense of a sailboat was never a consideration. I have daydreamed what it must be like to sail on the lake as I sit in traffic on the interstate that faces the broad reach of the Lake Norman. Well this year at the age of 30 I decided to find out. Jumping head first, as I normally do, reading and learning about sailing has been my Google favorite for a couple of months. Then I ventured out and volunteered to crew. Crewing has given me the opportunity to sail without my fear of financial commitment creeping (thanks DAD).
We have a fairly new to the sport skipper, and another crew member that has sailed all his long life. In my first 5 races, we have won 2 races (beating out +20 boats). Not a bad start. The sport allows me to enjoy both sides of my brain. The analytical banker side gets to think about the start, course, line of the boat, shape of the sail, and many other technical sides to sailing. The slacker side is not so begrudgingly forced to wait and enjoy the ride.
Last race as my salty fellow crewmember, in his "Real English" from South Africa, said "We are the same blokes that drive calm and let you in the cue." He stated this after we cut off three boats (within the rules of sailing...) one of which was significantly larger than ours.
Time to return to the real world work for a couple more hours.