First Sail Of 2016
By John Buhrmann
With dirty snow still lining the edges of the highway, I headed up to Falls Lake in Durham, NC for an afternoon of winter sailing. The temps were in the upper 40s heading toward 50F. The wind was blowing out of the southeast light, but steady. I got to the ramp at about 1:30 pm and the Terror of the Sea (HIN 856) was tacking into the wind shortly thereafter. I kept warm with layers of wool and rain gear, but the sun felt great. The easterly component of the breeze meant I was taking it on the nose and had to make 15 tacks to get into the main body of the lake. Then I made a nice close reach straight east down the lake before tacking about for an awesome run to the southwest. At one point the wind really kicked up and I even jumped up on the rail. After that it was time to run on home to the dock. I practiced a few jibes along the way. The sky was a super blue. There were lots of gulls and cormorants on the water and black vultures circling over the northern shore. It was a fabulous afternoon for the first sail of 2016 which added another 6 NM to the log of the Terror of the Sea.
Cheers
-John