Sailing today

We called last night and my cousin and wife were available to sail with us today so we sailed out into Long Beach harbor. It was really great weather for sailing today because the winds were out of the Norhwest at about 15 to 18 miles per hour so we were sailing at about 5 to 6 knots which is really great sailing because hull speed is around 8 or 9 knots (Hull speed means that if you go faster than this speed in a sailboat it is actually counter productive on a variety of levels. On a Sailboat you have the shape of the hull which is designed not to be blown over in a wind (over 20 feet in length sailboats usually with enough ballast to do this.) So, the hull goes deep with the ballast to weight the ship right so it doesn't turn over in most conditions even if a really strong wind is hitting you from either side (starboard-right, and port-left) (if you are in the cockpit where the tiller or wheel is looking forward to the bow of the boat.) On this boat we have a wheel and also an automatic pilot if you want the boat to sail itself for awhile. So, one person who is experienced enough could single man it while sailing and putting up sails. Today we only needed the Jib (the frontsail) so we never even tried to put up the mainsail because it would have been just too much wind for the boat. Wonderful day with at least 15 kite sailers out too who ride something like a snowboard (or a hydrofoil under a snowboard like of device. They are pulled by a paraglider shaped device on wires that they control by tweeking it depending on wind and placement. Usually they have one line attached to the board because you don't want to be separated from your board or your parasail because that could be dangerous.

There was a racing powerboat out in the Long Beach harbor today where the Queen Mary is anchored like a hotel and restaurant on the water. I stayed in the Queen Mary in 2006 one night and also had dinner there. I'm not sure what is happening now there but I imagine you still can eat there and rent a cabin there too. The racing powerboat I first noticed when I could only see a roostertail a few miles away which looked pretty strange from a distance because that is all I could see. Soon I heard the racing engines and it went by between 50 and 60 mph we figured What was amazing was it left almost no wake at all even though it passed within 1/2 block or so of us on the ocean.So, It was pretty amazing to watch it haul by us at this speed inside the breakwater. The temperature was about 80 to 81 today so the conditions were perfect for a really good and pleasant sail today. Sailing doesn't get any better for us than the conditions today in Long Beach Harbor.