Classic

LairdTowFoil2017 from Joel Guy on Vimeo.

Had an amazing and difficult sail today.  No wind upon exiting the channel.  Turned off the motor and had lunch under a bright, sunny day in the high 50's.  After about 45 minutes, I see wind ahead.  I am sure you have noticed those darker patches of water when the wind is coming.  Why are they darker you ask?  As wind blows across the surface of the water, it creates waves.  These waves reflect less light than the flat water.  Faster winds mean steeper waves and darker water.  Back to the bay, the wind was so nice and steady at about 14, that I decided to take one more tack towards Sausalito.  I went too far and the strong ebb started to pull my boat towards the GG Bridge and out to the Pacific.  The ebb was 3.5 knots and pulling hard.  With the wind a bit lighter, I would need to get some additional horse power from the spinnaker to get out of the situation.  I hoisted the kite and I slowly started making my way past Alcatraz.  I was heading away from home on this tack, but I was also getting away from the intense tide.  It's a bit tricky, because we have an electric engine, we have to be careful not to use up all the juice and get stranded.  We have a range of about 12-14 miles so you have to be prudent with motor use.  I got to the east edge of Treasure and motor sailed at about 4 knots and was able to make it home.  Big sigh of relief.  I need to be more careful with the tides and not get sucked into "one more tack" when I am near the bridge on an ebb.