I brought the boat down from the yard today. The rig wasn't set up so it was
fifteen miles as a power boat. As soon as I got out of the river, I set up
the newly installed ST1000 driving the Cape Horn windvane.

Wow. I never had so much fun not doing something I used to think of as fun.
I know most of you take this for granted but I've always been a "keep it
simple", minimalist sailor. There's something about a boat that steers
itself that makes you feel like an adult.

I spent a good part of the leg down the bay sorting out lines and making the
boat a bit more presentable after the hasty mast stepping and departure. The
remote was close at hand and what luxury to just reach down and push the
buttons when a floating log or pot buoy came up.

It was a cold, raw day (an inch of snow in the northern part of the state)
and would have been a long cold trick at the wheel single handed. Another
nice thing I've discovered about autopilots is that being able to move
around and do things makes you feel a lot warmer.

I don't know how I ever got along without this thing. I may never steer
again. What's next? Radar? (Now that I can leave the wheel, I could even go
and look at it.)

--

Roger Long