May 4th 2013 - Star Wars Day! Lynda's first sail.

Lynda and Andy joined Sam, Kal (the cat) and myself for a sail up the Humber.  We left the marina lock and joined a very choppy river, with winds gusting over 25 knots.  To make life as pleasant as possible for Lynda's rather nervous first sail, I decided that we would sail under Genoa alone and beat our way up river and under the bridge, making a cracking 7.7 knots.  Nearly a year since her last sail and Phira reminded us of how impressive her sailing capability is, especially considering that she carries all our worldly goods down below, adding considerably to the weight!  The run back to the marina was very comfortable and we were gaining ground on a new Dehler 39 and stormed past other boats of similar size and with similar sail configurations. 

Lynda's first sail - and she's smiling!  Andy has the calm look of a seasoned sea dog!

Sam took the helm for much of the return to the marina, looking the part and keeping a good steady course - not always as easy as you might think.


Sam at the helm - deep in concentration (aiming for The Deep!)




That's more like it - a smile!



A great sail and Lynda did so well, especially given the fairly blowy conditions.  The icing on the cake was our return to the berth, where we gently reversed straight onto the berth, no bumps or grinds and we even had a witness in Bob, who helped us with mooring lines.