Sunday started off as so many spring days do in Seattle. The official term, I believe, is “marine layer,” which makes it sounds way cooler than gloomy and gray.
After chugging coffee, washing dishes and packing potentially flying bits away, the sun slowly crept into the Puget Sound. Following a brief stop at the (close your eyes if your squeamish) pump-out station, we motored out of Shilshole Marina armed with sunglasses and ball caps. I pointed our boat into the wind to hoist our (new-to-us) mainsail. Falling off, I killed the engine and watched as my husband unfurled our brand new jib.
As our luck turned out, we had just enough wind to lazily lope, jibe, jibe again and then drift on the inbound tide. With such light winds, I was able to kick back under the dodger and read my book. Sure, I helped with a few lines and steered from time to time, but overall I felt lulled into a satisfied sleepiness by the wakes from passing container ships and Bayliners.
After a couple hours of drifting, we dropped (and rolled up) sails, turned on the diesel and motored back into the marina. In our blissful sleepy state, we completely forgot to put out fenders and ready lines until we were in our fairway. (Very unlike us!) As my husband bounded around readying the boat for our landing, I gently eased her into our slip. What a great way to spend the day in Seattle!
