The first of the three days was first day this season of Lene not going ashore at all, and her first delicious boat-cooked dinner. I checked a lot of little chores off my list including going ashore for a couple of errands, but I did not venture off the Island.
The last of the three days marked the end of our first two weeks of living aboard, and the first in my life as an eighty year old, culminating with a vegan dinner with friends in the City.
In between, a sail date with the Salts, but on a Friday and with dinner following instead of lunch before. I’m not sure why these changes were made but the good wind came perfectly timed— between 3 and 5:30 — and the rain and lightning (not much wind or thunder) came during the dinner that the nine who had sailed plus Lene enjoyed in our snug clubhouse. I was picked up by social member Todd who came down from Westchester and drove us across the Throggs Neck Bridge to the Douglaston YC where we met social member Beau aboard his 27 foot 90’s era Pearson, “Courtship”. Cute name for an attorney’s boat. Todd in green, Beau in red. All three of us current or former lawyers. One drawback to Douglastown is that the local wild birds drop their guano on the boats at that club much more frequently than they do in the Harlem’s mooring field.
Courtship was a pleasure to sail with her tiller, a nostalgic reminder of my years with ”Just Cause”, my first boat, a tiller driven older model Pearson that I sailed from about 1989 to 2000. Pearson made very sturdy boats. Beau’s boat had a four foot draft, easier to avoid going aground.
The Douglaston club, in the SW corner of Littleneck Bay, is very barebones: a shack where the security guard sits, a dock, a launch, it’s driver and a mooring field. No clubhouse or Club activities. That’s why Beau, who lives nearby, is also a social member of the Harlem. We drove his boat over to the Harlem, and back at the end of the day, with almost no wind. But during the pre-dinner sail the wind came up nicely, maybe 12-13 knots and we sailed back and forth in company with “Lady Cat”, Dave’s 28 foot Oday, with Chris and four social members aboard. “In company” is misleading: being a foot longer and with a larger Genoa, Lady Cat, was considerably faster. Here she is underway:
My favorite moments were near other boats. First behind Lady Cat: a good photo op but none of us were quick enough to realize it until it was too late to turn on cameras, etc. Then a big tug pushing a big barge, eastbound, passing stepping stones light. We were southbound and it would be very close, but I fell off just enough to cross her wake about 30 feet aft of the tug. Lastly, headed west to round Big Tom buoy #2, we passed aft of Hidden Hand heading south, too far off to be sure but I yelled “David!” And he turned his head.
A good day on the water.
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