sailing on air part 2 - Sailing Free

Sailing smoothly with the motor on towards St. Helens. The wind blew softly over our faces and all seemed fine. It was coming close to 3:30pm, but we didn't have time on our minds.

The wind kicked up in its usual afternoon gusts... this opened the river for some sailing opportunity. Tink wanted to raise some sails and do some real sailing. I, of course, thought the wind was blowing a little hard so I suggested just a jib. A jib was all we needed and worked great for out needs...

We brought her into the wind and hoisted the jib up the fore stay then bringing her back. The sail blew up like a balloon and carried our boat on a port side tack upwind. Tink was feeling very adventurous and somehow convinced me to hit the kill button on the motor. It was very silent after the motor switched off. We went back and forth though the water on tacks making our way to that lighthouse that signifies St. Helens ahead.

For a long time we were the only ones taking advantage of the mighty Columbia, but as we sailed along we spotted a bigger boat with main & jib up heaving to & fro on our six. Far away, but gaining speed we watched that boat heave away as another boat behind that one seemed like it was racing it to some grand American Cup finals.

Quite a treat it was to watch our sails pull us forward.. After a while our confidence grew and we began to experiment with speed, direction, and distance. Hours seemed like minutes as we raced along on our 23 ft. sailboat. Nothing here seemed as complicated as we thought.

Watch the wind.. Turn till the sails fill up... Go forward...

It seems like the difficulty comes with trying to explain with sailing terms all the physics at play here. We we're like a plane.. a plane with one wing.. Flying on our side.. The more wind = more lift = more speed. True captains really must be pilots of the Sea!

Late into the afternoon we spotted that old looking lighthouse. We turned too and dropped the jib, said a prayer that the motor will turn on, and gave that puppy a pull. Vroom it went and a sigh of relief leaped from my lips. We did it...

Pulling in to the docks we went.. We found a nice spot on the inside and tied up, sat down, and relaxed. "That was fun.." I said.. however.. both our knee's were crossed and it wasn't long before we headed up the ramp to the marina's head.

Next Episode.. "The Rich Yachtie's Party at St. Helens"

~J out