kateandjohnsail.boats

Our last visitor of this sailing season was our friend Sara, a salty sailor with whom we have raced for several years on Iris, a Hylas 42 on the Columbia River. Sara is a great sailor, flexible traveler, and all-around fun human: therefore a good fit for Quintessa.

We have now deployed all of Quintessa’s sails! This was one of our goals for this season. With Sara’s help we tried out the staysail, complete with running backstay. Initially we used it in addition to our large genoa, but then the wind began to build so much that we furled the genoa and were actually using the staysail for its intended purpose: sailing in “sporty” conditions.

On a day when the winds were much lighter, we tried out the asymmetrical spinnaker. It performed perfectly, pulling us along at 3 knots, which is not bad in only 6 knots of wind. Again, Sara’s expertise and teaching skills helped make this happen.

Sadly, we didn’t actually have many days of good wind during Sara’s stay, but we found other things to do: explore Greek towns, swim and snorkel in little bays, eat pastries and tzadziki, bake with phyllo dough, traipse around a volcano, expand our Greek and Yiddish vocabulary, play epic games of Skip-Bo and Farkle, and laugh until our stomachs ached. We kept in touch with the Iris crew and warned them that we may have spoiled Sara as a racer, as she clearly resonated with the cruising vibe. We miss you, Sara!