Quote of the Day: no such thing as bad weather...

"There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes." -Old Norwegian Adage 

Yep it's Another Monday!

Quote of the Day: Men in a ship...

"Men in a ship are always looking up, and men ashore are usually looking down." -John Masefield

Quote of the Day: The pessimist...

"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails." -William Arthur Ward

Quote of the Day: Boats, like...

"Boats, like whiskey, are all good." -R.D. (Pete) Culler 

Little Boat Sailing

I have always sailed on cruising boats - The only dinghy I owned had no sail, I rowed it all over Hood Canal. This last week though I have had a couple opportunities to muck about with sailing dinghies. It brought out my long term wish to have one of those fast little buggers! 

Last weekend a good friend of ours invited us out to do some drifting and when the wind approved of it some sailing on his 18' Sol cat. We mostly drifted but if the wind puffed that boat moved well!

Thursday I did my Volunteer Duty onboard the CYC Committee boat for Thursday night dingy racing. It was a grand night and they had 18 Lasers, several 505s, I14 and Stars out! For the most part I was kept pretty busy writing down finishers but I did manage to take a few shots of the boats. 

There was one Moth out having a hooting good sail around us. Now that is a boat I would love to be able to race but I think I will set my sights a little lower....

Spring is Sproinging!

I am heavy into bicycle training and work right now so have not been doing as much boat stuff as I really want to. I have tried a variety of methods to strip the old Cetol off the teak - So far I have not found a really good method. I think my plan of a little at a time with lots of elbow grease will be what does it. I tried a chemical stripper which sort of worked. Heat gun did not help at all. 

Since the weather has not really been good for lounging about outside working on teak I have been doing inside work. 

I bought a small shop vac that takes drywall and soot sized filter bags and completely cleaned the diesel stove. That job has not been done since the stove was installed and was a messy but satisfying afternoon's work. I am attacking the galley counter now which is in need of sanding, cleaning and refinishing. I think the wood is strips of oak that Dad got out of a surplus deal somewhere. 

Once the weather is a little more reliable I plan to start on the topsides which are in need of a sanding and paint job.

I am still pondering plans for new sails but I think this year we will be limited to maintenance and electrical work. 

Meanwhile I am getting some really fun sailing in on a raceboat "Corvo" I just joined the Wednesday night crew onboard last week and had a hoot! It is quite a different boat to sail than Attitudes.