Fall Sailing

I love Fall sailing. Sad though it is that it presages putting the boat away, sailing in the Northeast in late September and October can be spectacular with winds in the teens, temperatures in the high 60s and low 70s, clear visibility and leaves turning on the banks of Raritan Bay. I had three great sails in the last two weeks. Two Sundays ago was the Lightouse Race, our club’s annual 25 mile race round the 4 lighthouses of Raritan Bay and the entrance to NY Harbor. I sailed on Knot Again, a 34’ C&C.  Although there was almost no wind at the start, the wind picked up by noon and we had a steady 15 kts for the 5 hours it took to do the Lighthouse circuit. The early light air did not favor us and we were in catch-up mode the whole way round. On Saturday, I raced on Knot Again again, this time in a 8 mile cruisers’ race. There 8 boats in the race and we finished second. The wind was blasting the whole way round.  We had 15kts of true wind and an apparent wind in the lows 20s. It was outstanding. On Sunday, Alice and I took Messing About out for a few hours round the bay. The winds were light to start with but by 12:30 the winds were up in the teens and we were cooking. On the way back, we sailed back and forth at the upwind mark of the RYC Hospice Cup, our club's annual Fall regatta. We had front-row seats as the J105s and J30s made the turn and raised spinnakers. Spectacular! Picking up the mooring was challenging as it was blowing about 15kts. As ever we had to sail up to the mooring stick, Alice at the helm and me running forward to get the stick. The wind was gusting and we missed it 3 times but Alice has become confident on the helm and tacked us back forth until I could grab it. It may be our last sail of the season and it will be a great way to remember sailing in 2009.