It’s always a lot of fun to get some new sailors into a boat and show them what it feels like to skim across the water with nothing but windpower. Stuart and Henry joined me for a couple hours in early Juneand they seemed to enjoy it. Continue reading Scow Impressions
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Willing Co-Conspirators
It’s in their marrow. Sailors are sailors. So we always knew Maggie would get in a scow and not want to get out. The only surprise is that she hornswaggled most her family and a good friend into this escapade. Power of persuasion.
Maggie and her son Quinn joined Karen in the M16 “Chalupa” on May 18 for a waltz in gentle east winds that took them quickly down the boat channel and out into the Potomac. Up river they scooted with a good twist on the main. Quinn was plane spotting. WOOSH…”That was a Boeing!” ZOOM “There goes another.” He arranged the tiller extensions straight out, so they were like wings on the Chalupa. When you are on a smooth planing scow, there is an airborne quality. And certainly this evening, there was a lot to enjoy out on the river, especially for a young lad who never closes his eyes to wonder.
Jeremy, Evaline and I heeled up Whistlebritches and chased down the Chalupa. At between 12 and 17 degrees of heel, the waterline on a scow becomes a canoe and the boat settles into a dynamic harmony. Hard to comprehend all the forces at play as the wind stiffens the bilgeboard against the slot, and the scow begins to lean over. But the result is undeniable as we felt Whistlebritches skim over the water.
Maggie showed us some tactical tricks as we drew near, blocking our wind and heading us as we tried to overtake her. A savvy sailor, with a crew of co-conspirators. The sun was low as we headed in. Boats covered and put away by sunset. Perfect evening.
More of a drifter than a race, but we did okay
Our first race with the Potomac River Sailboat Association was light with shifting winds when there were any.We joined the Catamarans, which gave us a spanking.But there was reason to celebrate: Race one saw us first across the start line, exactly in the the right position. Race two we were calmed and overtaken by the lightnings, but we managed to catch their wind and pinged a few of them going around the mark.
Continue reading More of a drifter than a race, but we did okay
Spars need bars
What follows are my notes on this modification. I expect we will be modifying my modification, so its good to have a record of the repair for when I cannot remember.
It all started in late March when the starboard sidestay snapped and the whole sailplan blew into the water. Damn. It was my neighbor Ajit’s second time in the scow and he was marveling at the engineering of the boat…until our little mishap. We blew down river and right next to a race of Lasers. We were towed in by a race committee boat that was closing out their Frostbite series. Continue reading Spars need bars
A Mighty Wind!
With gusts beyond 20 mph, Easter Sunday was a big day on the Potomac for the mighty Chalupa.
Karen drove the boat in some of the heaviest shots and did a terrific job as the puffs shoved the M16 up and down the river.