Moving on....
I wonder if any of you are local to the Chesapeake Bay? This past weekend was one of the best for sailing of the year. Saturday was a solid 25 knots with a large swell and Sunday was 15 knots. I was fortunate enough to get out both days. It was wet and wild. And yes John, on Saturday we put in a single reef. Saturday was the kind of day that inspires memories. Sunny, blowing hard, the boat heeling and kicking up spray as it bounces through the Bay chop. We sailed out of Annapolis and for the most part we had the Bay to ourselves. Save for a few other true sailors out for a thrill.
When you live near the Bay you have to drop whatever you are doing and hit the water when the wind picks up. My brother lives in Napa, CA and sails the San Francisco Bay. When he comes home he is always amused by the urgency that we Bay sailers feel to get out when the wind goes above 10 knots. In SF you need only wait for 11:30 to catch real breezes.
Sadly, Maryland lost one its most prominent sailors on Saturday. Philip Merrill, 71, did what he had been doing for 20 years when the wind picked up. He went out on his 41 foot sailboat to dip a rail. Sadly, was lost overboard and has not been found. Here is a link to a Washington Post story that ran this morning.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...061100053.html