Fort Walton Beach Yacht Club Wednesday Night Races, Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida, USA.
September 12, 2005
2005.09.28
Raced tonight, but I didn't take my camera, so here's a pic from the race two weeks ago.
We had a bad start, with the port jib-lead block popping off the track right just as we came up to the line, but we made good speed and time. The wind was blowing around 15 knots, and on the broad reach home we put up the heavy spinnaker. I was trimming the spinnaker pole on the port side and did a good job (all that's required is keeping the pole perpendicular to the wind) until we crossed the finish line and I let it out too fast as we prepared to drop the headsail. The sheet got out of the pole and the spinnaker went flying, literaly, above the mast. It was quite a show for the other boats as the crew struggled to pull the errant sail back down to the boat. I felt pretty dumb, but at least I didn't get keelhauled.
Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida, USA.
September 24, 2005
2005.09.24
Back from an afternoon sail aboard the Breakaway on Choctawhatchee Bay. Hurricane Rita gave us 20+ knot winds today, so we put two reefs in the main and flew the blade. Great sailing, made over 7 knots on a broad reach in 3-4 foot swells. I can still feel the motion of the boat as I type this.
Chimpanzee, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Orlando, Florida, USA. Photo by J.A. Coulter
July 10, 2005
2005.09.24
Got back last night from a week in Virgina, upgrading a customer at Fort Lee, near Richmond. Although I brought my camera, I did not have the time to get out and explore the countryside, which was a shame because from I-295 it looks very nice, especially around the James River.
So, as a consolation prize, here's a photo of this charming fellow, taken last July at Disney's Animal Kingdom wildlife park in Orlando.
Also, my back is feeling much better now. I hope to go out on the Breakaway, an Olson 34 owned by Charles and Jan Hines and Sam and Jennifer Grant, this afternoon. These good folks have allowed me to crew during Fort Walton Beach Yacht Club races. We were supposed to race today, but Hurricane Rita's proximity caused the event to be canceled. However, Sam called and left a message last night saying they were going to go out on Choctawhatchee bay for a while this afternoon and invited me to come along. Rita is generating some good puffs and I'm hoping for a good ride.
Windward to the Line, Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida, USA.
September 14, 2005
2005.09.14
I finally remembered to take my Fuji Finepix A350 with me tonight for the Fort Walton Beach Yacht Club's Wednesday Night Races. Most of the photos did not turn out very well - a sailboat in 10 knots of wind is not a very stable platform - but this one will do.
I fell backwards in the cockpit during a tack and smacked my back pretty hard, so I'm going to take some aspirin and go to bed now.
