S/V Ripple

2010-01-18 The Martin Luther King holiday was beautiful in Seattle.  A lot of sun, a breeze, and temperatures in the mid 50s made an afternoon on Ripple inevitable.  I wasn't sure whether Marguerite would join me, though, so I went with maintenance puttering in mind.   I called her from the dock when she returned from her shopping and she came down with lunch munchies.  I had the boat ready to go, and I coached her on what we would need to do coming back in, and we rehearsed it, and then set out on our circumnavigation of Lake Union. The wind was snappy, and temperatures brisk, but it was a pleasant trip ogling boats and houseboats, and seeing the city from the water.  Rounding Gas Works Park, we set the fenders, and lined up on the marina, and brought Ripple down to dead slow, what breeze there was, dead on the nose.   I slipped her nose in toward the dock as we pulled past Nancy's houseboat, and eased her in to the dock.  M was in her position, holding fast to the fores

2010-01-17 Joe and I went out today... my first sail since taking possession of Ripple .  Flew both the jib and the stays'l, as well as the main.  Getting to know the drill... lots of things to keep track of, including raising the gaff spar on the correct side of the topping lift.  I didn't, and had to lower the rig and reset it.  Good thing there wasn't much wind, because we weren't exactly snappy about setting sails. We ended up in the starting line jockeying of a modest lake union race, that had everything from tiny day-sailers to 40 foot blue water racers.  Weird menagerie.  We weren't a threat.  As a full-keel boat, Ripple isn't exactly a speedster, but there wasn't a prettier boat on the water, and her record at drawing appreciative compliments on outings remains at 100%. Returning to the dock, still the most stressful part of a sail, is starting to feel a bit more routine. We tested the Force 10 cabin heater for the first time since Randy