Getting folks out to the islands can be a bit daunting considering the preparation required (all boat systems functioning reliably, provisioning, comfort with bow and stern anchoring, dinghy and outboard operational, etc.). But a day sail is much more palatable for many, so we’ve scheduled a few of these to get those sails shaken out and engines cranked over for a larger number of members. Thursday, June 28 was targeted for the first of these days and as the day approached we kept a close eye on the weather. Of course, we know that the best weather forecast is to expect tomorrow to be a lot like today. So when the wind picked up to about 15 knots for the Wet Wednesday racers, we thought Thursday afternoon would be much the same. Unfortunately it was not to be. Even the weatherman thought we’d see 20 knots of NW breeze in the middle of the channel and surely that would deliver a nice breeze for our jaunt around one of the oil rigs. Some weather anomaly resulted in a light and variable SE breeze along the coast and it became questionable if it was even worth breaking out the sails. Nevertheless we had six vessels, S/V Libertad, S/V Bobcat, S/V Aisling, M/V Sea Goer, S/V Rewind, and S/V Benchmark, toss off their docklines and gather at the safe water buoy and set a course for Carpinteria either under sail, motor, or motor-sailing. It was blowing pretty good somewhere out in the channel because we were still getting a 3-4 ft. swell making it pretty uncomfortable for any course other than riding with the swell. After about an hour of this foolishness, we all came about and headed back to the harbor. Turns out the highlight of the event was the gathering of 15 of us at the Endless Summer restaurant for a happy hour and dinner. It was tight fitting us all around three tables but it made for more cross table conversations which is always more fun. The party broke up at about 9pm and we are looking forward to the next Evening Sail scheduled for July 26, which will encompass a fun little twist. You have about a month to get your vessel available for a rally around an oil rig, so get busy and join us.
Thank you Steve Young for taking the point on scheduling our evening cruises this year. So sorry you weren’t able to make this first very successful one– hopefully you can be there next month!
