Madsu

I had a lovely mellow sail in Howe Sound today.

It was windy when I got down to the docks, but a few small fixes to various bits on the boat kept me from leaving for an hour or so.  The wind had died down substantially by the time I got out, but with a single reef in the main and Madsu’s 100% North Sail jib, we were doing about 4.5 knots and nice and flat.

I shook the reef after about half-an-hour when it was apparent the wind wasn’t about to pick up – though I stayed with the small jib.  The wind did pick up a bit and with some high cloud I had to put a sweater on and actually wore my wool hat for the last bit.

It was a lovely afternoon to be out in Howe Sound.  The wind freshened through the afternoon, and I beat out against the southerly inflow.  When it came time to turn back and head in, the wind was brisk and Madsu flew along at 6 plus knots on a broad reach (reciprocal course to the one I was on when I took this picture).

Shorts and bare feet today means summer is here.

We aren’t setting any speed records, but just enough wind so I can get everything hoisted and check that I put Madsu back together properly.

When I haul out in the fall, I unstep the mast and remove all the standing and running rigging and any hardware that’s not bolted down on deck.  It’s a bit of extra work, but the gear stays clean over the winter and it also gives me an opportunity to check all the gear closely.

In the spring when I launch, there’s always one or two small bits I’ve forgotten in a gear bag – so a light wind day for the shake-down cruise is welcome.

Our floats are in the seasonal section at Sewells.  Boats don’t stay the winter, so it’s always a bit of a fun surprise to see who’s back and who’s new on the dock.

Looks like the same gang behind me – I love this hydrofoil – it’s just too cool.

This is one of the photos I shot last fall during a marvelous September weekend.

We were at Keats Island with some friends who were camping, and also ran into other friends anchored out on their Valiant.

The photo on Flickr caught the eye of an editor at Pacific Yachting who was working on a piece about local cruising spots close to Vancouver.

The article, by Heather Lochner,  is in the April 2010 edition of the magazine. My photo is used on the opening spread.

If you want to see how the photo editor cropped and positioned it for the article, you can see the original here on Flickr and compare that to what they used.

Unfortunately, PY doesn’t put its article online (they really should have me come by and talk digital strategy…)

This is one of those ‘no money but a photo credit’ deals, but I’m glad to have my photo in the magazine, especially since the weekend this was taken was one of those magical end of summer trips.

A version of this article was originally posted on my OTHER blog.

Tucked in and ready to go.

Fifteen minutes on the freeway and Madsu will be at her winter home beside our house.