HOOT was the first boat in the club sailing this year.
grin And HOOT is getting a good reputation and lots
of complements--which pleases me, despite her many flaws.
Next year I'll redo the deck and I can feel proud.

The sailing was awesome today. 100 mile visibility.
Winds 10-15 and shifty. Of course, the winds picked
up to about 20-22, and went forward as I was flying the
chute up the river in a narrow channel!

Also, the horse flies are not out yet. We have horse
flies--when the weather is warmer in July and August,
in our club parking lot, that are so bad, I run to my
truck when I leave the club house. Their sting is the
worst sort of bite. So a day like today is wonderful
for many reasons. Fortunately, there are not so many
flies on the river, and no bother when under way.

At the mouth of the river, we caught a lift from a
wave train moving up the river at just above our speed
that gave us a nice little ride. We were not surfing, but
we could feel the added velocity. It was fun.

As we came up the channel, I had to ease the after guy
several times. It's not uncommon to see a 45 to 90
degree shifts in this one spot. Soon we were on a beam
reach and the wind started gusting mush higher. I had
the spinnaker pole right up an inch off the forestay
--hoping the wind would move aft. Twice I had to dump
some air to keep the boat from broaching in the channel
--the main was already eased. We were somewhat overpowered
and flying! Another body, or two, on the rail would have
been perfect.

I was hoping I could carry the chute up to the bend of
the river and the bear off a bit on to the boat club,
for an easy take down in the wide part of the river--
no luck.

It was low tide and there was little margin for error.
I did the take down by myself, with a bit of help from
my pick-up crew Don, a Star sailor. Don did a super
job driving HOOT. Don had never sailed with a spinnaker
before. Rather than get risky, which I might have done
with another crew in the boat, I decided to pull the
chute as it got gusty, and we became more and more
overpowered. I didn't want to chance a further wind
shift which might have forced us out of the channel
and put us aground.

It was a beam reach, which is, of course the hardest
sort of takedown. I couldn't get the chute behind the
main, so it was not a simple job. And, I didn't want it
flogging to pieces either. Twinged in on both sides,
and sheeted in, I eased the halyard 4-5 feet, the after
guy, and managed to gather in the foot and then Don
helped by steadily dropping it the rest of the way. It
reminded me of some of the hairy San Francisco takedowns
I've experienced. Don did a perfect job feeding it to me.
Don was impressed with the spinnaker take down. I hope
he doesn't get the idea they always look that good. I
guess you always remember the horror takedowns and never
the smooth ones. I was glad it went without incident.

As a bonus, the docks will be empty for the next two
weeks, so I am in the water, tied up right up front of
the club. IU'm going to try and sail every sunny day
until lauch day--May 1st. I won't have to dry sail HOOT
and manuever a trailer around all the masts at the hoist
for a while. After that it will be no sweat to store
HOOT back on the trailer.

More good news, I might have found some newer used sails
for the boat--99 vintage. My sails look ok, but date
from 78 to 81. They have shrunk! Oz will appreciate
that I can't hoist high enough to engage the lock at
the top of the mast. Nor can I attach the foot to the
outhaul without two carbiners to make up the extra
length. These are not competitive racing sails--even
though the sail shape is better than most sails you
will see in service on other boats. They are also
heavy compared to newer sails.

OZ what do you think some 99 vintage Etchells sails are
worth?

I am looking forward to throwing out all the older sails!
I'd like to get a new suit of new sails, but can't afford
it at the moment.

Don told me the local Etchells "fleet" starts after the Star
Fleet. The local Etchells fleet fields only 3-4 boats
in a given race. It is a "******* fleet" compared with
the other Connecticut Etchells fleets which put a 12-16
on the line for fleet racing.

If I can get a crew trained and some new sails I may
start racing HOOT. Since I have what will probably be a
slow boat, I need to at least get a respectable trained
crew together, with new sails, before I make an
appearance. Perhaps later in the season, or next year,
My sail card is entirely open right now.

Has anyone else been sailing in the Northeast yet? Am I
the first?

Bart Senior