http://www.dickgilbert.com/colocam-leadville1.htm





wrote in message
...
I left work a couple hours early and headed straight for the boat. Well,
that's
not entirely accurate, as I stopped to get myself a Quiznos smoked turkey
sandwich first. They are pretty good, and so are the Quiznos brand kettle
chips.
Makes a good casual picnic. Got to the boat, got everything in order and
was
away from the dock in about 5 minutes. Motored down the river and headed
out of
the harbor at a very slow speed. There was no (ZERO) wind, and I was in no
hurry
to get anywhere, so I ran the motor at that point where it is almost
completely
silent, but keeps the boat moving at about 3 knots.

Just outside the harbor was someone who was desperately trying to sail in
the
complete absence of wind. All they had flying was a very light
asymetrical. It
would slowly fill for a few brief seconds every couple of minutes. Then it
would
collapse and lay against the rig. They weren't moving, other than what the
current could provide.

I shut off my motor and just drifted. The other boat wasn't pulling away.
We
were going the same speed. It was a bit hot and sticky with no breeze. The
sun
was still pretty strong. I ate my sandwich and chips as I drifted.

After about an hour of this, suddenly, out of nowhere, a cool and steady
breeze
of about 8 or 9 knots sprang up from the west. I rolled out the genoa and
was
suddenly moving pretty well. The boat with the spin, as well as an Oday 28
with
main and Genoa flying both gradually fell behind. The water was flat, so
this
little breeze was all that was needed to get things moving pretty
respectably.

I sailed out for a while and then swung around and headed back home on a
close
haul, still with just the Genny, and still moving right along. By now it
was
getting dark, so I switched on the running lights. As I looked up to the
west,
the sunset was one of those really vivid red/orange ones with the tufted
pillow
look. It was great. So this was the last day of summer. NO! It was only
the last
day of THIS summer. I have to think there will be more.

I'll be out there tomorrow for the first day of fall.

BB