Middle Harbour this time on a cold (15C) but otherwise clear Saturday, with our family meeting up with some of my wife's friends (lending one of them our Revo 11) for a paddle/sail from Tunks Park Northbridge to Spit Bridge for lunch, then a little further east under the bridge to Chinaman's Beach, then back.
Winds were a bit variable, but we got some nice sailing in and the water was strangely warm. First time launching off the trailer at a boat ramp, so that was an experience I thankfully didn't mess up. We were a group of bright yellow boats with the paddlers plying a reasonably straight line while we zigged and zagged happily as the winds were shifted around by the various bays and headlands. Some lovely winter sailing, though I must get my wife to understand that sailing involves some time heading rather indirectly the way we want to go. She still thinks I'm indulging in self-centred whimsy and there surely must be a way to set the sails so we can go straight from A to B.
Under the Spit Bridge at high water with about a half metre clear, then a little sunny beach at the marina to eat fish & chips at, then a play in the wider parts of the harbour near Chinaman's where the girls wondered at a big yacht we sailed with for while, which had their own little drone buzzing around it, filming them as they sailed! Must get one ourselves.
Then beating upwind back to Tunks Park, having a great time wringing every bit of progress out of every board - pointing up finer in the gusts, tacking at the very last minute as the girls are wondering if I've seen that giant yacht moored in our careering path. Great fun, ending with a steady pedal up the narrow bay into the teeth of a fresh souwester.
What a great day. We love this boat. We are now pretty well set up for winter sailing, with the kids in dinghy jackets and spray pants, Bob the two year old in a breathable waterproof overall over a little semi-wetsuit and I'd dug out my 30-year-old helly hansen thermals I wore when I raced kayaks - they fell to pieces that day, so I might have to invest in some dry pants.
The little bloke looks a bit gloomy in the photo, but he was having a great time.
smith
