A Master Sailor
Jun. 13th, 2004 06:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jdmkleinWe are having a sand storm. The air is filled with dirt and the wind is strong. While Master and i were eating dinner we were discussing the weather on the water. We wondered how far out over the water the dirty air went. We can barely see the navy boat that guards our stretch of the gulf.
As we looked out we saw a sailboat coming in from the direction of the platform, heading for the marina. It had both sails out and was traveling so fast it was leaving a wake. It didn't make the marina on the first pass, perhaps it was going too fast. i'm not a sailor, i don't know these things.
It tacked to the north to make another run at the entrance. It tipped starboard so far that we could see nearly all the bottom of the boat. There were four people on board that we could see. It righted itself, and headed along the coast line, away from the marina. At first we thought it was trying to get a better angle on the marina entrance. But it went far passed the point Master expected it to turn. Then we decided that maybe the navigator got disoriented and came into our marina thinking it was the one in Fintas, about 10 km north of us, because it continued north about 150 meters out along the coastline. It was going into the wind, and we joked that at the rate it was going now, it might make Fintas in 15 or 16 hours. We finished out meal and went out to clean up the kitchen.
When we came back to tidy up the dining room, i noticed that the sailboat had turned around and was again heading toward the marina. It had one sail down but was still using only the power of the wind to move it. We pulled dining chairs to the front window to watch. The only thing we can figure is the boat's auxiliary engine must be out, because the boat went into the marina under sail.
The driver(?)/captan lined up between the marina entry markers. He barely missed the one on the boats left side. He got past the dike that surrounds the marina and through the entrance. He then made a right hand turn and sailed between the earthen berm and the slips for about 100 feet. He made a left turn down the row where the slip for his boat was. Probably 50 feet into that row, he dropped the last sail, and glided another 30 feet before making a right hand turn into the slip. Master and i waited to see if the docks moved when the boat hit the front barrier of the slip, but they didn't. It was a beautiful procedure to watch, Neither Master nor i had ever seen a sailboat enter the marina under sail. They are truly things of great grace and beauty. i'm happy i got to see the sailboat ballet.
p.s. It's dark now because of the storm. i'm also happy the boat made it into port safely.
As we looked out we saw a sailboat coming in from the direction of the platform, heading for the marina. It had both sails out and was traveling so fast it was leaving a wake. It didn't make the marina on the first pass, perhaps it was going too fast. i'm not a sailor, i don't know these things.
It tacked to the north to make another run at the entrance. It tipped starboard so far that we could see nearly all the bottom of the boat. There were four people on board that we could see. It righted itself, and headed along the coast line, away from the marina. At first we thought it was trying to get a better angle on the marina entrance. But it went far passed the point Master expected it to turn. Then we decided that maybe the navigator got disoriented and came into our marina thinking it was the one in Fintas, about 10 km north of us, because it continued north about 150 meters out along the coastline. It was going into the wind, and we joked that at the rate it was going now, it might make Fintas in 15 or 16 hours. We finished out meal and went out to clean up the kitchen.
When we came back to tidy up the dining room, i noticed that the sailboat had turned around and was again heading toward the marina. It had one sail down but was still using only the power of the wind to move it. We pulled dining chairs to the front window to watch. The only thing we can figure is the boat's auxiliary engine must be out, because the boat went into the marina under sail.
The driver(?)/captan lined up between the marina entry markers. He barely missed the one on the boats left side. He got past the dike that surrounds the marina and through the entrance. He then made a right hand turn and sailed between the earthen berm and the slips for about 100 feet. He made a left turn down the row where the slip for his boat was. Probably 50 feet into that row, he dropped the last sail, and glided another 30 feet before making a right hand turn into the slip. Master and i waited to see if the docks moved when the boat hit the front barrier of the slip, but they didn't. It was a beautiful procedure to watch, Neither Master nor i had ever seen a sailboat enter the marina under sail. They are truly things of great grace and beauty. i'm happy i got to see the sailboat ballet.
p.s. It's dark now because of the storm. i'm also happy the boat made it into port safely.
