First Sail
November 11, 2007
Makara, Stardate 7805.7 [that’s October 21, 2007 to you non-Trekkies], Captains’s log, Sailing Master Judy reporting. The Captain has beamed to Japan so the sailing master is in command. Makara spreads sail for the first time in light winds and beautiful weather.
Log Entry reads:
I had just started eating breakfast at the Boatyard Grill. Since Thom had indicated he was tied up today I had setup my schedule for a few quick tasks then a rinse and clean for Makara before heading home. It was a beautiful Sunday in Annapolis and it appeared as if the wind would be light and temperature warm. Too bad, it would have been a great day for a first sail.
Halfway through my meal the communicator [cell phone for non-Trekkies] chirped. It was Thom Wagner. Seems he thought the same thing about the upcoming day and decided it was a good day to sail, just to good to pass up. He just up and decided to rearrange his schedule to meet the day. Yikes! I had not done any pre-sail prep. Battle stations clean-up!
I choked down the remainder of my breakfast and went Warp Factor 7 back to Makara. First order of business was to change into some “business” clothes (for non-sailors that means sailing duds). Next I made sure there was no missiles in the cabin. As I was dealing with that Thom and Nancy Wagner showed up and started prepping for the sail on deck. Keep in mind Makara had never been sailed before, and once I got on deck all of us looked over all the relevant gear quite carefully. When we were quite satisfied preparation for leaving the slip commenced. Thom fired up the iron genny (engine) and warmed it up. In the mean time we dropped all but a key few dock lines and got organized for departure. Given Makara is moored in a temporary slip, departure was no easy feat and I was glad Thom would take her out. There were two power cats in the next slip up. About 60 feet of boats in 45-50 feet of slip. Couple that with a 40 foot trawler in a 30 foot slip across from us and getting out was tricky. Thom came through like a Grans Prix driver and once we slipped the final dock lines Makara glided graceful though the obstacle course.
Once out of the slip area we needed to power out to the area where we could set sail. That would take a few minutes and we had a break in the action to realize how gorgeous a day it was. It was quite warm, sky clear light breeze. I changes to a short sleeve top. Nancy already had shorts on. The wind was perfect for a first sail, between 10-12 knots tops, just perfect.
I have been studying the Annapolis charts so I took note of all the major marks and features as we steamed out. Thom pointed out the most important, the crab pots! By that time I had the helm so I kept a close watch for them. These are not on the chart! SO that local knowledge will help in the future. Thom and Nancy prepped the jib and main for deployment once we reached a suitable point in the channel.
Finally the time had come to spread Makara’s wings (that is almost a literal statement as sails do work like airplane wings in a fashion). Thom called for unfurling the jib first. This was accomplished quickly and easily. You could feel Makara coming to life as the light air caught the sail…so far so good. A few moments later the main started up, at least for a moment or two. As was anticipated as a possible occurrence that the upper batten might catch in the lazy jacks. Yep, it did. No problem Mon! Well not much of a problem. We probably should have released the lazy jacks a bit but everything is untried and it took a bit longer to sort that out once we figured that was the key. Once accomplished and with a bit of help the main finally continued upwards to the masthead. Steer off the wind a little and shazam, whoa she’s moving and not bad in the light air either. Once we all agree this is not imaginary the engine is let to cool and then turned off. Ah, the silence of sailing. At last she is moving under sail. Do keep in mind that we have been working toward this very point in time and space for nearly two years now. Wow is this something. Makara moves very gracefully and has very good helm control. She is steady yet quite responsive as a few quick tacks reveal. Yep the rig is still up that’s a good sign. Darn I wish the captain was making this log, but I will have to do.
It was a beautiful day, you could see the bridge north of Annapolis all the way to the Thomas Point lighthouse. There were several Naval ships in the deeper anchorages off of Annapolis. There was numerous boat traffic to and from the Navel ships, probably related to the Academy’s football game that afternoon. We tacked over to the east shore the back again hitting different points of sail. At a beam reach you barely noticed the motion but Makara was making better than half the apparent wind speed in light air. Point up and things got a bit more sporty with a shade more speed and sense of a breeze. We weaved in and out of various racing boats skittering all over the bay. We did not try and stress the rig too much the first time out. I did some fine trimming to the main to see how well the shape could be controlled and was moderately pleased. The vang need adjusting, it is pinned too far aft on the boom, but the better part of a knot could be had by paying attention to the sail shape. The traveler works very well. We had a bit more purchase built into it to make the movement of the car upwind a bit easier. The mainsheet purchase is good and allows flattening of the main sail easily. Next time out I may do some fine tuning on the jib sheet cars. I think they were a bit too far forward, but we didn’t mess with these this time. Mainly we were enjoying the day, how smooth the first commissioning sail was going and lamenting having to go back in.
But, as with all things we eventually had to succumb so we set course back to Annapolis finally dropping sail, which went smoothly. The Selden cars work very well in this regard, it just cam down until is bunched up at the mast. Thom masterfully BACKED Makara into the slip we left obstacles and all. The engine was cooled down then shutdown and we all just took a sigh reflecting on how wonderful a time we had.
After a bit the sails and lines were stowed covers put on and I proceeded to get ready to go home. I would have rather gone back out sailing. Perhaps next time the captain will be on board!
End Log
Captains Log Supplemental, Stardate 7946.2, I remain marooned on the Island planet of Japan but my mind never strays far from my vessel waiting for me in Annapolis Harbor. The inhabitants of this planet are friendly enough but admittedly I struggle with the complexities of both their spoken and written language as my translator is non functional.
On a field exploration I came across one of their beautiful temples. Following local custom I first cleansed my hands and spirit with waters from the spring set aside for this purpose.
Entering the temple I was awed by the beauty of this place but was reluctant to record images with my tricorder (digital camera) for fear of offending the indigenous population. After close observation I noticed that prayers in all manners of language were being placed by an ancient tree. Thought going to my beloved Makara I tendered the local currency required and joined in the placement of prayers writing on the soft wood plack "Prayers For The Safe Voyage Of The Good Vessel Makara".
Soon the supply ship (Boeing 777) will arrive and beam me from this place for a short shore leave and I look forward to returning to the decks of Makara and also participating in spreading her wings with the Sailing Master. Captain Out.