Well! The New Years Day sail didn't quite go as planned: The strong East winds and cold created a situation here on the Columbia. We got out of our slip OK, as it is partially protected from the wind. The river was flowing at 2.5k + from the East and had a nasty chop on top of it also coming from the East. At 80% throttle, normally 6.8k, we could just barely hold our position. We once saw 19k on the anemometer, but nothing less. 25k and above was the norm, with gust to 35k. As we could not afford to allow ourselves any movement towards the West, I chose not to raise any Main sail nor even the trysail. With freezing water coming over the bow every 10 seconds, I chose also not to raise the jib nor storm Jib. So After 1/2 hour with the cold wind, strong current, and a screaming diesel, we limped back into the more protected marina. We did not sail. There were no other boats in all of Portland out that day.
Back in the marina, we celebrated that nothing was broken and had a great time in the 75 degree cabin. We were soon joined by the Scribner family, ex owners of the W-32 Gamen, and with 10 people aboard continued to have one of the best New Years ever.
Happy New Year, Dave & Ruth, Saraband
