Celebrating the Solstice Under Sail

December 21, 2010

John Cabrall filed this report on Saturday's solstice sail:

If you read The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille you’ll find a section in it where he describes sailing around Long Island. At the end of that passage is the statement: "A boat is sort of a litmus test for relationships, the close quarters and solitude compelling people into either a warm bond or into mutiny and murder."

In the early weeks of the formation of the Got Wind and Water group, a small group, now known as 'The Usual Suspects', was flying along in the Slot on a J/105 with the asymmetrical spinnaker up. The helm is a particular joy of a fast boat moving in concert with the waves. There is an edge that is very real that communicates its boundaries through just the right amount of weather helm. When that amount increases you begin to recognize that there is a line you want to avoid. You cross that line and all hell breaks loose.

It's called broaching, and if you've never experienced it before (and have little or no faith in your captain and crew mates) it is terrifying. 

The Usual Suspects crossed the line that day. About half had done that before, and the other half lost their sailing virginity that day.

The Suspects kept their cool. Someone said, "Oops," in a quiet voice just before they lost it, and everyone either did their job or introduced the jobs to those who'd never experienced it before. The vang was let out, the mainsheet was let out, then the spinnaker sheet was finally let out when the end of the boom collided with the water and the deck became vertical. No one yelled, no one cursed, they just did what needed to be done (and some learned what that was rather quickly).

When the boat was back on an even keel and the sails quiet with the only sound the rushing of the water past the hull, Gabriel Johnson, a member of the Usual Suspects and one of co-founders of the Got Wind and Water Group, smiled and observed: "Character is revealed quickly on a sailboat."

A warm bond was sealed between The Usual Suspects.

Last week Gabriel was onboard the Beneteau 45f5 Ohana working its way back up the coast from Cabo. He did the Baja Ha-Ha, and was doing the character building exercise of the trip back from that lovely beach of the warm waters and glowing sunshine. During that week the management of the Got Wind and Water Group was struggling with the weather forecast.  A Winter Sailstice event was planned to celebrate the passing of the shortest day of the year and six months of days, each longer than the other. By Thursday the string of low pressure systems were starting to swept into the Bay Area by a large low pressure system to the north.

NOAA Surface Analysis, Thursday afternoon, Dec.16. ©2010 NOAA

Got Wind and Water is an online Sailing Network Group. It is different from most crew lists. On-the-water events are held and people RSVP to get connected to other sailors. Character is revealed on sailboats, on the water, in the wind (and the weather). The group is a way for experienced sailors and total novices to get together and meet each other. Sailing is addictive for some people and Got Wind and Water is a way to both reveal and feed that addiction. 

It’s free to join, and there is often a small charge to connect and RSVP.  The small charge tends to remove the tourists. By the end of the second year of the group, the membership has gone from 0 to 600 members. The group has held more than 300 events.

This year the group celebrated its Second Annual Winter Sailstice on Saturday, December 18. As Ohana was making its way north, and enjoying not taking it on the nose courtesy of a string of weather systems streaming onto the California coastline, Got Wind and Water had another problem: How do you get people to sign up to go sailing in the rain?  All week long, the weather forecasters were predicting doom and gloom.

The answer was surprisingly simple: “Who Cares?”

We are sailors, and the hardy ones in the group will jump on an opportunity to sail, no matter what the weather is. For some it’s better than standing in the driveway and hosing off the sailing gear – just sail in the rain and let the fresh water from the heavens rinse off the salt.

Ohana sailed under the Golden Gate early in the morning and as soon as Gabriel had a cell connection, he asked: “Can I still make it?”

So 17 members of the group (including Gabriel) piled onto three sailboats and left from three different locations. SiJambo left from Modern Sailing in Sausalito, About Time left from Pier 39, and Ay Caliente! from Richmond YC.
They rendezvoused in the Central Bay and headed over to a deserted Ayala Cove.

Aaron’s Beneteau First 36.7 Ay Caliente! ©2010 John Cabrall

Before they could finish tying up, the Waypoint Pizza Protector showed up with six large pizzas.

Tom Purdy and the Waypoint Pizza Protector. ©2010 John Cabrall

It turns out that 17 people can cram themselves into the main cabin of a Beneteau 423 and consume large pizzas. Gabriel entertained us with some offshore stories. He was happy to be home and sailing on the waters of San Francisco Bay again. Cabo is nice, but hanging out with friends in Ayala Cove is home.

Gabriel, happy to back among friends. ©2010 Mark Tischler

Mother Nature was not exactly smiling, but there was at least one patch of blue sky sighted. While it rained as the boats left the dock, there was wind in the afternoon, and the Golden Gate beckoned, so lunch was cut short, the pizza boxes distributed to the various boats, and we did what we do – we went sailing.

About Time passes under the Golden Gate. ©2010 John Cabrall

You can check out more of the photos here: http://www.gotwaw.com/photos.

- John Cabrall, Founder, Got Wind and Water