Today was our first day of sailing this season. Those of you in warmer climes cannot begin to comprehend of a sailing season that begins in late June. Welcome to our world. The Northern Breezes Boat Club sailboat we use, a Hunter 23, was just put into the water about a week ago; since that time we’ve been waiting for a day that we had time to sail, the winds were good and it wasn’t raining. It took a few days.

We sail on the St. Croix River. The water level is so high that half of the parking lot at Windmill Marina looks more like a pond than a lot. Not kidding. Kids were splashing around in the water in their bathing suits. The river is a no-wake zone, and the three-foot decent we usually take to get to the sailboat was replaced with a two-foot rise. Suffice it to say that the river is high. But who cares? Once one is in a sailboat all else is irrelevant. Well, mostly.

Cindy sailing on Lake Saint Croix, St. Croix River

Michael sailing on Lake Saint Croix, St. Croix River

We haven’t been sailing for about eight months so we were rusty. For example, we didn’t notice until we tried to raise the mainsail that the halyard wasn’t attached to the sail. Oops! We took care of that problem and raised the sail with a reef.

The wind was favorable with gusts that required attention. For us sailing this sailboat with tiller steering, the helmsman usually manages the mainsheet, but since we didn’t have the jib out, I managed the mainsheet. (The mainsheet is attached to the boom, and is used to control the mainsail.) It was interesting to have one person manage the mainsheet while the other person was at the helm. It worked okay but reminded us why managing the mainsheet and the helm simultaneously helps the helmsman get the feel of what the boat is trying to communicate.

Our first jibe was less than ideal. It is interesting how something that seemed so easy the previous season is a little bit new all over again. As you fellow sailors know, it only takes one jibe to remind one of what is entailed.

Overall, our first sail of the season was good. It was a beautiful day, the wind was good for sailing, we nearly broke the no-wake rule (yes!) and we reminded ourselves why it feels so good to be on the water with nature nipping at our heels.