I have to admit, that second day sail was a lot better than the first sail we had on the Sue. With the exception of the mouth of the Channel heading out into the Gulf of Mexico (which always seemed to be a conglomerate of confused seas and breaking waves due to the two rocky jetties on either side), it really was one of those kick back in the cockpit with the sun high and the music playing kind of sail..
South Padre Island from the Gulf of Mexico
The sun was glorious on that second sail. On the first sail, we actually went out on a fairly cloudy and a little too much windy day. If I recall correctly, it wasn't so much the Sue dipping in all directions, but more of the rise and fall from bow to stern. I'm used to that motion now, but it was a bit disconcerting on my very first time out on a sailboat. Being the landlubber I was at the time, I stayed seated in the cockpit on that first sail. Every time I tried to stand, I'd lose my balance. Geez, what a wimp I was! Of course, now I can scurry around on deck in 1-3 foot swells, but not back when we first purchased the Sue.
Why do I always call her "the Sue"? Basically, for two reasons - that is her name now, and it is the name I will always associate to her; and, I just plain did not like the name Grey Bird. When we had talked about re-naming her, I was two hundred percent behind that idea!
The mouth of the channel, looking at the north jetty toward SPI
So, back to that second day sail. After Keith had completely changed out ALL the rigging (except the stays - they needed it, but I think that came later), it most definitely was a different experience taking her out. I can still see the grin (and the pleased expression) on Keith's face as he unfurled that genoa and raised the main, tacking throughout the afternoon - and giving me lessons at the same time. We made it a point thereafter to always practice our tacking when out on a day sail. I at the helm and Keith working the sails. I have to laugh as I think back on that one. It took a while for us to synchronize our actions for tacking. I would turn the wheel too quickly and set the sails in irons quite a number of times before we got it right. Keith would scramble to the helm to get the Sue back in position to catch that wind in her sails.
So, it took me a while on the artistry of tacking, but what Keith was impressed with was my ability to hold the Sue on the wind point. To this day, I don't quite yet understand the mechanics of it. It's just a feel I have for keeping the Sue's sails full.
One of the things I loved about Port Isabel was all of the old Shrimp Boats.
I thought it gave a unique look and feel to the marina but some
saw it as an eyesore. A few years later a wrecking barge came through and
demolished a great many of them.
Our day sails in Port Isabel were actually few and far between due to a number of things; our jobs, working on the boat, and day to day business that occasionally takes up a lot of home time. Looking back at that time now, I wish we had taken more time for those day sails. With the exception of a few minor mishaps, like losing helm control getting back into our slip (that's a story for another blog post down the line) or having the engine overheat, those sails were relaxing after a couple of months or so driving coast to coast.
I intended to write this post on my memories of moving onto Moonlight Sue and the experience of living aboard a boat for a landlubber such as I was at the time. Keith's previous post of the second outing brought back some good memories though, so I will have to write about the move in the next post (unless something Keith writes brings back another flood of memories!).
The Laguna Madre from South Padre Island had the most
beautiful sunsets I had ever seen in my life - up to that time
anyway.
