[banshee]

Ahhhhh what would the Fight Club be without a day or two of name calling, insults, and general bickering. But a weekend day, wow - shut up and sail!

I went out yesterday for a day on the sound. The wind was okay, a bit of light rain - then the boat slowed (wind remained 8-10 knots) to 2-3 knots and the tides (I thought) started pushing the boat all over the place - I was confused and blamed it on lack of experience sailing in the sound. So I decided to come about and head it - I couldn't come about! The boat wouldn't turn into the wind. After several tries and being completely confused, I decided try to jibe and that seemed to work - still the boat was very sluggish and headway was slow. Eventually, I gave in and decided to start the motor. It fired up, put it in gear and it siezed - tried it a few more times and the same thing. Finally, it seemed okay - so I nursed it home anticipating a call to the mechanic and more $$$$$. Upon returning I was talking to a friend who has grown up on the water (owns his 3rd boat at the age of 17!), I described the symptoms and he enlightened me - we were dragging a lobster pot around for half a day! I still need to take a dip and make sure the prop is clear, but I learned a good lesson.