Mysterious Winter Sailing!

Yes its a very peculiar sailing day. I'm almost the only one out here sailing over the seas in the falling drizzle. I'm coming up to the seals on the R2 buoy near the anchored ships a mile out at sea. Its really strange - the wind is blowing from the east so its creating small waves in the face of the westerly swell! Very strange indeed! So in other words there are waves coming from the east and waves coming from the west! When I left the marina, since the wind was coming from the east, I thought that by heading south I would have the 'weather gage' (advantage) by sailing the first half of the journey in the harder direction (as I thought the wind was coming more south easterly). Then on the way back, I thought the wind would be blowing a little behind me (from the south) and across my beam so I would have full control over what direction I wanted to go. But on the contrary, I seemed to have a very easy sail heading out and a harder sail coming back in! What really happened was that when I turned around, I found myself sailing a more difficult tack into the wind on a close reach because the wind was coming more north easterly. What a shock! On the way back there was a Hans Christian sailboat passing me to starboard. It looked like he was coming back from Catalina Island. They are really strong boats - made to handle heavy seas with a stern pointed like the bow. How beautiful it appears, with full sail set, sailing over the waves! The white sails stand in direct contrast with the dark grey clouds behind it. I pulled in a little harder on the ropes controlling the sails (jib lines). I thought about some of my friends reactions to wanting to come sailing with me. Its interesting because some of them didn't want to go sailing these days because its too cold. But my response to them was: "Are u kidding me! This Is the best sailing! Lol! I wear two jackets and have hot chocolate made to warm up my innards and hands ! Ha ha! Its great! =D" I mean, here I am going four knots through the gentle seas. Little birds are shooting across the small waves! The wind is blowing about ten knots (MPH). Its drizzling here and the water is beautiful and mysterious. I can't really explain it except that its an amazing feeling! After a while darkness came upon me and the boat. The mysteriously dark grey skies and strange watery world I was surrounded by, were now cloaked in darkness and now the only horizon in view were the lights way off on land. They sparkled over the water and waves. As the dark waves passed under the boat, the heaving seas were silhouetted against the shore lights. With two jackets on, a baseball cap, a snow hat over that and a cup of hot chocolate in my hand, I was nice and snug! But take those off and the wind chill sweeping through the sails and over the deck would be enough all by themselves to make you immediately cold. Tacking hard into the wind back and forth a few times finally allowed me to enter the harbor. What a beautiful day/night it has been on the water! Maybe some day you can join me and see for yourself how amazing it is. :-) ~Albie http://lovethishomebiz.com PS: thanks for leaving a message. I would love to hear from you!