Greetings Corinthians and Friends
Chris, April, Brian and Winston
Saturday Soling Sailing was a blast! The Seattle morning weather must have scared all but the hardy as the day started out rather ominously dark and gloomy. A faint splatter of liquid sunshine greeted us on the dock as we removed sail-covers and started setting up but that did not deter Jim Medley or Bill Lieberman from showing their support. By 1100 the doppler picture must have changed in our favor as the 12 knot southerly continued to push the wet band up the I 5 towards Everett. After a brief discussion on safety and sail plans, we formulated a departure strategy and sailed off the dock into a fresh breeze with Brian at the helm. Following a beat around the point at Gasworks Park we passed under the George Washington Memorial Bridge and headed west on a comfortable broad reach. On approach to the Fremont Bascule Bridge it was plainly apparent that the vertical clearance at the mid span is only 14 foot and our course was changed towards the Center for Wooden Boats in less restricted water. April, who was trimming the headsail, seemed to lose her chirpy banter as progress was made on the one-mile upwind leg. Even sailing back down wind towards Waterway 18 did little to raise much conversation from our partially frozen popsicle, tending the jib sheet. Of course no outing on the water is without an ego bruising moment and as the tactician / navigator a.k.a. skipper requested that the helmsman round-up and approach the dock rather deep in the cut, the ratio of vessel draft to water depth failed to compute in our favor and we halted a spring line’s length from our intended destination. So much for thinking of sailing on the 1st of April without expecting at least a gentle jab in the humor tissue! Hence a little local knowledge acquired through practical experience and a bit of mud on the keel shared with our readers!
Chasing the breeze
Pat Crockett and Keith Johnson were a great welcoming committee once we’d passed the speed bump and secured to the dock. At that point a warm car and a ride up to Dicks on 45th seemed like a much easier approach to burgers than charcoal and lighter fluid and the decision to rain-check the BBQ was met with an unanimous vote of approval. Christiana Cairns joined us for lunch and brought a supply of extra foul weather gear for the afternoon sail, which started with a session of figure eight tacking and gybing exercises around a convenient set of buoys. Brian ceded the coveted driver’s seat for April to show off her skills at the tiller and the crew traded positions for another stretch to windward and a nice close reach to China Harbor. Even though the spinnaker was stowed below the starboard gunnels and there wasn’t any extra “canvas” hoisted to make our run back up north seem any faster, we did manage to pass a 45foot Hunter like it was chained to a tree. The team was having way too much fun to turn in as we passed our berth and made an extra leg out of sailing under the Freeway and University bridges leading into Portage Bay Reach. With Lake Washington beckoning for another day and time running out we reluctantly tacked through 180º and headed for home. By then the water was shimmering under a bright and almost clear blue sky, the sun having saved itself for a late arrival but still in time to paint the final amber strokes on our picture perfect, meandering excursion. Having successfully circumnavigated Lake Union only one obstacle remained, the ignominious “lump” that stood as a hidden sentinel just off our dock. The landing was deftly handled by Brian who stalled the boat by coming up into irons 18 inches from the pier, in clear water, allowing a crew member to step ashore and secure the first line without so much as a fender or extra shove being required. Smooth sailing!
Winston Clarke
SSS Corinthian
winston@alloceansmarine.com
Skipper SSS Corinthian
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