Where, oh where do we start?  What a day!

Our friends Jim (Jim2) & Arlene picked up a 34’ Cal sailboat and we were invited along for her maiden voyage.  We had no idea that it was the maiden voyage, and it is such a great privilege to be included, we would have brought along the champagne if we had known!

 

NOAA called for clear blue skies, sunshine, and NE 9mph winds.  We were not disappointed!  Well, except for that wind part.  We ended up motorsailing to Fisherman’s Village to drop Arlene off for an appointment due to a complete lack of any wind.  But once we dropped her off at 3pm, Mother Nature woke up from her nap!  Enough wind to push us along nicely at 5-6 knots, with 6.3 showing as the high. Nice!  Especially considering that hull speed on the 34 Cal is 6.5!

Could it possibly get any better than pure sun, clear blue sky, 6 knots, and great company?  YES!  Dolphins!  An entire pod appeared near the boat, and I counted 10 dorsal fins on the surface at once.  They frolicked alongside the boat, surfacing and blowing at us, and diving under and around the boat for several minutes.  Simply the best dolphin experience that we’ve had to date!

A nice steady sail back home, and a great job navigating and docking by Captain Jim2. We’re looking forward to going out for an early sail tomorrow since I have to head to the airport at 1:30, it’ll be nice to spend more time out on the water and get Jim2 more helm time on his new baby.