The last time we were on the boat, we had a very intense day of racing. The time before was a dash to Elizabeth City and back. We had spent two weekends near home and were ready for a pleasure sail. We had been watching the weather all week and knew there was a good chance it would be hot like last time, but the forecast indicated very light winds. I started thinking about the beautiful tri-radial spinnaker that had been stored in a corner of my office and never flown. For you non-sailors out there, a spinnaker is the huge colorful balloon like sail that you see in magazine articles and on billboards. Our sail came with the boat but we had never gotten around to trying it out. This seemed to be the perfect weekend to try our hand at spinnaker flying.

Friday July 10, 2009
We left home at 4:45pm and headed for the coast. Flying a spinnaker requires the use of a spinnaker pole, which is a long hollow aluminum pole with hooks on each end. The pole acts as sort of a boom for the huge sail. When we purchased our Toyota Matrix, I insisted on having a luggage rack installed. We have used it many times to transport long, but not too heavy, items to the boat. The spinnaker pole is as long as the car and it looked very comical when attached. We got several strange looks from passers-by. We arrived at about 9:45 after a pleasant drive from home. The weather was great. Instead of hot and muggy, we enjoyed cool and dry. I should qualify that statement by noting that cool and dry are relative terms. It is, after all, North Carolina in mid July. We did not need the air conditioner, and Judy deployed a blanket in the middle of the night.

Saturday July 11, 2009
The weather on Saturday morning was just perfect. The forecast for light winds from the Northeast was still in place. We don't like to stir too early when on the boat. We got up at a civilized hour and had at least two cups of coffee while deciding on a plan for the day. After a bowl of cereal, I shipped the necessary equipment for flying the big sail. After that we had a crew meeting and talked about what we would do when it came time to actually set the spinnaker. Judy is an excellent helmswoman and would be in charge of steering the little ship. I would perform the tasks of what is sometimes called a "deck monkey", dealing with poles, sheets and halyards not to mention what looks like an acre of cloth.

We left the dock at about 11am. Out on the sound the weather was very pleasant, pretty much what the forecasters had promised. We had to motor out (into the wind) quite a ways to set the big sail because it is only good for sailing when the wind is coming from behind the boat. I put this time to good use. I had replaced my favorite fishing lure I had lost on the crab pot in the Albemarle Sound and I trolled for whatever would bite, hoping for a Spanish mackerel. I got a bite after only a few minutes. Unfortunately it was a bluefish. He was a handsome rascal and a real fighter, but no matter how I have tried to prepare bluefish, it still tastes like bluefish and I don't like it. I released the fish and tried again. I got another strike but he got away before I could see what it was. I am sure it was a whopper. The third try was another blue that I promptly released. I got a fourth strike and started reeling him in. The line went slack and I assumed he got off the hook. I let out some line and went about the business of steering the boat. When we were ready to stop the engine, I reeled the fishing line in to get it out of the way. To my surprise, fish number 4 was still hooked. I reeled some more and discovered a huge Spanish firmly hooked on the lure. This fish was over 14 inches from his head to the fork in his tail and was probably one of the largest fish I have ever caught, not that my fishing career has ever been anything to write home about. A few drops of alcohol applied to the gills will kill a fish almost instantly and mercifully. This also eliminates a bloody mess on the deck of a vessel that is not intended for fishing. The big Spanish would be more than enough for dinner. With him in a cooler and iced down, the fishing lure was wrapped and stowed below for another time. I had told Judy before we left that we would have fish for dinner even if we had to buy it at the fish market. Now we had more time to spend on the water.

Finally, it was time to do the deed. Judy put us on a course with the wind dead astern. I fiddled with the pole, halyards (to raise the sail) and sheets (control lines) for a while, and when we were ready, I hoisted the big sail up the mast. Last year I had built a spinnaker sock, which is a long cloth tube that the big sail stays in until it is deployed. It worked pretty well. The sail went up the mast with the sock still covering it. This allowed me to get everything ready after the sail was actually in place. The last thing I did was to pull the line and raise the sock all the way to the top of the mast. The deployment went a lot better than I expected. Except for a four inch tear from the sail getting caught on the sharp edge of the anchor, it went off without a hitch. We worked with the sail for quite a while, trying to get the hang of trimming it at different points of sail. It will work with the wind coming from the beam, but it really works better if the wind is from more astern. Since our course was very limited with the big sail deployed and we didn't want to run out of water, we started the process of retrieving the sail. I have heard that anyone can deploy a spinnaker, but it takes a real sailor to get one back. Fortunately, the wind was still light and we retrieved the sail without incident by simply reversing the process we had used during deployment. I pulled the other line on the spinnaker sock and the sock came crawling down the big sail. It looked like a giant worm eating something much bigger than itself. With the sock covering the sail, it was completely under control and I could take my time lowering the sail and dealing with sheets.

Judy shot a lot of video while we were working with the spinnaker. The quality is not great but you get the idea...



When the excitement was over and we could sail in any direction we wanted (well almost) Judy suggested that we simply sail for a while. We both really enjoy a nice easy sail where you can relax and enjoy the water without having to work you to death. The wind was still light but it had picked up some and provided plenty of power. Judy did needlework for a while, and I steered the boat while we sailed on an easy reach further out into the Pamlico Sound. It was during this time that we saw the dolphins. There were dozens of them all around us. They weren't playing around the boat like they sometimes do. They seemed to be headed for someplace specific, and we just happened to be there. It always amazes me how large these animals really are.

After a couple of hours, we decided to head back in the direction of the dock. The weather was holding so nicely that I suggested we would never have a better opportunity to practice with the spinnaker. The vote was unanimous, and we proceeded with spinnaker deployment again. The second time around went well, but not as well as the first time. I had a lot of trouble with the sail being tangled with the control line of the sock. After re-fastening almost every connection, I finally figured it out and the sock went up again. I raised the sock and the sail deployed. The wind was a bit stronger this time, but not too strong. We got a little more adventurous by trying even more maneuvers. We tried a beam reach and got it to work pretty well. I think it will take a lot of practice before we can (a) set the sail in less than 30 minutes and (b) trim it so that we can take full advantage the wind. Retrieving the sail for the second time was a little tricky. When I was ready to pull the sock down, it refused to budge. I found out later that the top and bottom of the sock had somehow gotten twisted while the sail was deployed. I had to douse the sail using the standard method of letting the sail down and stuffing it into the sail bag as it came down. This is why sailors are sometimes called "rag baggers". With the light air and Judy's steady hand on the helm, I was in no big hurry and was able to get the sail down without incident.

During the spinnaker flying process we took lots of pictures. Unfortunately, when you are on deck of the boat with the spinnaker, you can only see yards and yards of colorful cloth. We would love to have pictures of our boat with the spinnaker. Now that we know we can fly it, maybe some of our dock mates will help us out.

The wind had built steadily all afternoon, but I don't think it ever got to 10 knots. We were still several miles from our channel, we were not in a hurry, and we did not need to drive to town to buy fish, so we sailed for a while longer. When we turned at marker 4, the wind had begun to die and it was at or back. We sailed for a little while further until we realized that 7 hours on the water with a lot of deck acrobatics had begun to take its toll on this computer jockey. We doused all sail and cranked the diesel and headed for the barn.

Our friends Chuck and Tish had arrived with their granddaughter, Olivia. Olivia loves to fish and was learning how to throw a cast net. We never run out of something to do on the sailboat. We straightened cleaned and buttoned down. Judy filled the water tanks while I applied covers and unshipped the spinnaker gear. We rested for a while after that until we had enough energy to deal with that big ol' fish. I cleaned the fish and got two huge fillets, which I had to cut into four pieces to get them on our little grill. After showers, Judy prepared the broccoli and rice. In order for the fish to be served at it's best (very hot) the entire meal was prepared before the fish was put on the grill. Over time I have learned that the grill should set to its maximum setting. Thin fillets like these will cook thoroughly in five minutes or less. The meal was delicious, as usual.

It was so late by the time we ate that it was bedtime shortly after dinner. The air conditioner was never deployed and although Saturday night was warmer than Friday night, it was still very pleasant for sleeping. This is the kind of day that makes us realize why we own a boat. The boat allows access to the water and wonderful surroundings of the Carolina coast line. After all, to us spending time and enjoying the water is the main attraction, not the boat itself. After a near perfect day, it was time to turn in and rest.

Sunday July 12, 2009
We rose at a civilized hour and eased in to our Sunday. Judy made sweet potato pancakes served with fresh peaches. We relaxed over coffee and visited with friends at the dock. I had asked Nick's permission to store our spinnaker pole under the bath house so we wouldn't have to haul it back home. I spent some time rigging a sling for the pole that didn't interfere with the plumbing or wiring of the bathhouse. Nick seemed a bit surprised that the two of us were able to fly the spinnaker with no help. He said that he and Jeanette would go with us sometime and help. We welcome the opportunity to learn about the finer points of flying a spinnaker. So stay tuned for more on light air sails.

By noon we were packed and ready to leave. I had removed the two main winches to take them home for servicing. I needed to go into Oriental to pick up some grease and other winch servicing supplies as well as some parts we needed to fix our pop-up camper. We left Oriental at about 1pm and headed home.

What an excellent weekend. We enjoyed great weather, great sailing, along with a learning experience, great food, spending time on the water and visiting friends. We hope there are many more weekends like this to come.