Sailing the Dink

Took the dinghy out for a sail today. Seemed like the thing to do. Moderate chop, 5 to 10 knot winds from the South East. I was able to sail out of the marina this time rather than rowing like I usually have to. If the wind is coming from the West the condos that surround the marina catch it and create confused air. The navigation channel is very narrow and makes it difficult to tack. The surrounding waters close to the marina are shallow enough that fishermen use waders or pole their boats.

The dingy's draft is around 3 feet with the dagger board down. The water even at high tide is too shallow to make leaving the channel an option. So I usually row out to the spoils island at the mouth of the harbor area, a distance of about a mile. This time all I had to do was row out to the end of the pier, grab the main sheet and tiller and head out. So long as I could stay at least 100 feet from shore, the building effect wasn't too much of an issue. Fortunately, with the wind coming from the ESE like it was, short tacks got me out to deeper water. Sometimes sailing that little boat can be a lot of work.

The weather report stated that it would be a light chop. I guess. What I found out in the bay was 1 to 2 foot waves with white caps. I got a little wet but wasn't worried about it. Haul the sail in tight and steer to the wind. A few times I had to almost lean out of the boat to maintain trim. It felt good to feel the dinghy banging through the waves, taste the salt water on my face and know that I was harnessing the wind. I'm really looking forward to see how it does in the Bermudas. Lots of little islands, lots of places to anchor Avalon and go exploring. I'll get there. It's just a matter of time.

After a couple of hours tacking South East I headed into the Gulfport area, ran the dinghy up on the beach near the casino and had a little snack and walked for a little while to get circulation back into my legs. This boat can't be sailed from the thwarts. Ya gotta be in the bilge, curled up to fit. Tacking can be a real workout, shifting my weight from one side to the other while I trim the sail and work the tiller. With a little planning it works out just fine. It reacts quickly to any wind or shift in direction. Not paying attention can send you swimming. I know. I've had to bail it out during a sail or two because I wasn't ready. It's called an education.

While I was on the beach I saw a middle aged couple, tourists, walking with cell phones stuck in their ears. It seems odd that folk will travel here from Canada to enjoy the surf, sand and sun, and not be engaged in the moment. It made me sad to see it, knowing that they represent a large part of our population that just has to be connected, in touch, never really in one place or another. I'm glad I got rid of my cell phone. If anyone needs to talk with me they can call me at my home phone. Leave a message, I'll get back to you at my convenience, just like in the "old days".

I left the beach and headed out again, this time to the South West, almost to the draw bridge that straddles the channel out to Shell Key, the Southern most bit of land in the Northern section of Tampa Bay. Beyond that is deep blue water. Looking forward to getting Avalon out there. Soon. Once I was near the bridge I came about and headed North, back to the marina. At this time the wind decided to go away for a while. So, there I was with my sail hanging out, my prow pointed North, and I just wasn't moving. Rats! Good thing I wasn't in any hurry.

After about half an hour of just kind of poking along at a blistering 1 or 2 miles an hour the wind decided to come back from where ever it had been hiding and we took off, cooking along and having fun. Did I mention how shallow some parts of the bay are? I ran aground. Not bad but enough to get my attention.
Pull up the dagger board, pivot the rudder up and sail like a bathtub for a while until I don't see bottom any longer. The water in the bay is so silty that if you can see the bottom, you are in about two feet of water or less. All part of learning the neighborhood.

I sailed to the spoil island at the mouth of my harbor area, took another little break to walk and look for shells, saw that the birds, crabs and other scavengers had managed to eat a lot of the fish kill from the last cold period, but not all of it. Kinda stinky. Then I was back into the marina, sailing all the way. Another rare occurrence due to the condos messing with the wind. I sailed all the way to Avalon and with a gentle kiss brought the dinghy along side thus ending a perfect sail. Learned some more modifications I have to make on the sail set-up, but that'll be another story.

This is what I want to do with the rest of my life. This is quality living. Good friends, good surroundings, enough food to eat and a warm dry place to sleep. Life is good.