Smooth Sailing on the Strait of Georgia

We finally got some sailing in today, a chance to shake out the new sails after several days of doldrums.  Quijote has a newer generation 50 horsepower Yanmar diesel that is smooth, quiet, and very reliable.  But as satisfying as it is to hum along all day with the engine doing the work, there is always a sense of relief when the sails go up and the engine is cut.  The exhaust system gives a final gurgle and then peace settles in, returning all the sounds usurped by the thrum of the engine: the sound of the hull gliding through the water, the wind in the rigging, the seabirds along the shoreline. It’s hard to do anything for the first few moments of sailing, so powerful is the urge to just sit and listen.

But fun awaits.  There are sails to trim, navigation to attend to, hazards to avoid.