Island Bound 2007!!
Well I guess since we haven't too much to speak of about the trip right now I though I would devote this one to the boat. My Catalina 28, She was built in California at the Catalina plant in 1973 with a lot of soul and heart I might add. I refer to her as she. I'll tell you why just wait. This boat is referred to as she because it reminds of a women , she cost a lot to maintain, demands attention daily, and pisses me off every other day. But, But she has beautiful lines, has grace and beauty, and is my rock when I know I need to count on her to get us through the days sail. See you thought you were going to hear something bad. She came with six sails. We have two main sails, two jibs, one Genoa and a running spinnaker. We have an Auto helm this allows us to dial in a course, a compass reading and set the helm, a computer and leave the cockpit and the auto helm will steer for us. Its like having cruise control on your car except you can leave the steering wheel to go to the back seat or some thing. The Auto Helm is like magic as the wind picks up the rod attacked to the tiller will just move to compensate the gusts of wind. I will get a picture posted of the Helm in action in the next day or so. The next thing is the tiller we have to steer the boat. A sailboat either has a tiller or a wheel to steer with. They say a tiller is more responsive than a wheel and its preferred by most sailors. The only thing is a tiller is not as comfortable as wheel it least not to me anyway. The next thing is the sides of the boat. The starboard side is the right side of the boat and the left side is the port side of the boat. The bathroom is the head the steering area is the cockpit and the cooking area is the galley. The dinning area is the salon and the beds are the v-berth and the aft berth or if its large enough the state rooms. We have two sails on this boat the jib in the bow of the boat and the main sail in the center of the boat. Our navigation equipment is the Silva compass we have on the port side of the cockpit and the GPS and depth gauge along with the mileage and knot meter on the starboard side of the cockpit, you getting all this there is a test at the end. We have a solar panel in the back of the boat that charges the batteries two of them, if the suns out. There is an inverter in the battery compartment that we can run all 110 volt items on while we are anchored or at sail. This converts AC power to DC power. Our daily work is cleaning up the boat checking the bilge pumps, checking engine gauges, looking at charts every hour and putting in coordinates on the GPS to keep our course and position relative to our point of destination. Working on correcting the Auto Helm and fixing lunch adjusting sail lines and what ever else needs attention. Our little sailboat is a magical yet orchestrated performance each and every day, never a dull moment it seems. I love this vessel and sometimes I think she loves me back, by getting me to new places each and every day sometimes with grace sometimes by sheer luck and sometimes I'm not sure how we got there. The way she glides through the water slicing it and cutting her path to my prescribed course just melts my heart and makes the hair stand on the back of my neck. I have this welling of power in me as the wind picks up and she heals over only to feel her gain strength and pull tight on those sails standing strong after thirty some years of sailing from the day she was launched. She is my rock and she stands up to what ever I ask of her not once backing down from the course I dial in. When the wind is just right and all is tuned I walk up to the bow to hear her power through the water like magic. Like magic from a magician I cant explain it I can only feel it with her. The wind cutting through the sails is like a song that pulls at every fiber of your adventurous soul till it bleeds almost. It's a pain so sweet its always got you coming back for more, like a drug or addiction. You really do feel like you are king of the world, at least the king of your world. You are the king but only there because of this little sailing vessel that puts you there. She is a tool of mythical powers that all come with you and her working together pulling up ideas that you set forth and she will execute them in fine detail giving all she has. So how can I not refer to her as a she, someone that makes me feel in love or how a new romance feels each day. Something that powerful can only be referred to as a she. SHE"S THE WOMEN IN MY LIFE . AT LEAST RIGHT NOW ANYWAY?? !! SKIPPER OUT!
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