Winter's Reward: The First Sail

By Alan McClennen, Jr.

     Late in the fall the days get shorter; you watch the weather forecast; the temperatures fall. The Bay becomes yours as the other boats are pulled and stored for the winter.  Finally, you drop everything and realize that if you don't grab the moment, you will have already had your final sail of the season -- the last time you went out.  After this one last sail, you are ready to pull your boat and put her away for a well-deserved rest.

     If you are like I am, however, the end of the season marks the beginning of preparations for the first sail of the next spring.  You start with the list of modifications you intend to make for better sailing next season.  After all, she is sitting in your boathouse and would be lonely if you didn't commiserate with her during the long cold Cape winter.  After all, there is plenty of time for modifications between the last sail and an early spring launch.

     Your life rushes through the winter solstice; daylight disappears in mid-afternoon.  The holiday season is full of family and friends and the days begin to lengthen slightly.  Unfortunately the cold Atlantic keeps the climate on the Cape raw and cold.  In mid-winter your mind wanders to the woodstove in the frozen boathouse, but you quickly persuade yourself that there isn't enough time to heat the boathouse for any meaningful work so you decide to wait until the sun is higher in the sky and the days are longer.  After all, the sun will begin to provide warmth; and, with a decent day and the stove, you might get enough heat to get the varnish to set before the boathouse chills down.

     The sun finally passes the equinox, and you pull out the list of changes you want to make.  You leave the Cape to test the boat show circuit and get new ideas, fiberglass in Boston and wood in Portland, Maine.  The new catalogs arrive, and you begin to make phone or Internet orders and wait for FedEx to arrive with the new gear.

     The days get longer and warmer, and you see occasional working boats on the Bay, and then an occasional sail.  Of course, you are not ready to join them because there are

still more items on your list to check off before you launch.  A little more sanding here, touch up paint there, perhaps some joiner work to accommodate the "must have" gadget that you acquired at the boat show.  Unlike the fall, however, the boat is not in the water and ready for the first sail on that perfect spring day.  No, everything has to be perfect.  You check the reflections of the paint and varnish in the boathouse -- perhaps a little more sanding and touch up to meet your standards. Finally, launch day arrives.

     Months of contemplation have passed and the finishing touches have been completed. You are ready. She slides off the trailer, and she is back at home in her environment. Step the mast, bend the sails, and you are off on your first sail of the season.  Of course the Bay is now full of boats; now you can get out and join them. 

     The preparation during the long cold months has paid off.  Everything works as it did in the last fall sail.  The new gadgets provide some imperceptible change in mechanical advantage or sail trim, at least in your mind.  You are at home again on Pleasant Bay in your boat, ready to see the waterside of the constantly changing shoreline.  Once again, as you trim the sail, touch the tiller and experience the wonder of sailing, you realize you have harnessed the power of wind and water on our Bay.