[Alberg30] Wild Rides

[Bill Blevins]

Our "Wild Ride" this weekend was nothing compared with Melissa's at
Screpile, but on Sunday, Aug 6, Tracy and I were enjoying the day after a 35
mile close reach up the Potomac River from St. Mary's to Dahlgren when we
decided to drop the jib and motor the final 3 miles into the creek at
Dahlgren to stay ahead of a front approaching from behind.

We didn¹t succeed at keeping the engine running.

With the main still up, we sailed downwind in 30 knots and building seas
from behind for the final 3 miles home at a constant 6.5 to 7.3 knots,
jibing one time then reaching straight over and "into" our dock.
(Literally!)

We came up and did a day-sailer approach from downwind of the T-dock, into
the wind and cut the main. IT DIDN'T COME DOWN all the way. The headway we
had turned the bow around the windward end of the "T" and we did a 180 into
the next empty slip.

We are safe and sound. No damage to the dock or our "Sabrina" but it was
interesting for 15 minutes or so.

No lightning, just buckets and buckets of rain and wind. The kind where you
just say "Forget the rain gear" and keep going.

--

One cool note from the trip down... We left Dahlgren at 9 a.m. behind 6
boats who had at least a 4 mile head start downriver. We were starboard-beam
reaching in 10-12 knots from the southwest, keeping speeds of 6.5 - 7 knots
the whole way down the river. 35 miles later after one really long starboard
tack and a 3 mile spinnaker run up into St. Mary's river, we had managed to
pass all 6 boats in our little informal race taking the "line honors" in our
unofficial race to watch the Governor's Cup.

I was talking to everyone about my "Mast Rake" situation and they said,
"Don't change a thing".

--

Racing again tonight if the storms hold off. We'll see...

--

Bill Blevins
"Sabrina" #158


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 |                This Old Boat by Don Casey                     |
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