Lindy Thibodaux

Thanks, Alison, for all the photos! This Wednesday Night Sail was full of firsts for me: — My first WNS as First Mate; — First time meeting our skipper, Jerry, plus first time sailing on Miss Haps, Jerry’s boat; — Also first time meeting crew member Michelle G.; — First time doing tiller tacks by handing off the tiller each time to another crew member (rather than 1 person switching sides) - very cool and worked really well; — First time seeing Jerry’s particular way of implementing a whisker pole (seen in one of Alison’s photos)— I think this was new to all of us, including being able to jibe the jib with this setup in place! For me, all the firsts are one of the best parts of the OWSA’s WNS program— the opportunity to get to know different skippers, their boats, and all their various areas of expertise. And being a part of crew members that are new to me makes each WNS an even richer experience. I’m always so grateful for every one of these sails— particularly to the skippers who volunteer their time and boats to make this program so great. Thank you!

Aren’t they all??

Spoiler: I passed!!! (Details later when I have a few more brain cells to rub together.) [the next day] This almost didn’t happen yesterday— the wind forecast did not look promising, and completing this assessment depended on being able to actually sail. Luckily, Colleen decided to chance it, and we got started. We were using a Ranger 20 belonging to one of Colleen’s friends; I’ve been sailing quite a lot since the end of January, but it had been over 6 years since I’ve sailed on one of these— not since the last time I sailed with my late daughter, Valerie. Tiller! Hanked headsail! Which was a Genoa! Outboard motor! 2-person crew! That was a lot to get my head around when I was already nervous about this test. And it was quite hot, with no great prospect for wind — until we got out of the marina and onto the river. Even then, it took a while to get anything but light and variable, which was fine with me, since I was now at the (tiller) helm. When the wind did strengthen, it quickly became quite gusty, resulting in several rails-in-the-water heels (slightly unnerving for me, still trying the get into the tiller groove). Things eased up a bit as we were heading back to the marina, and, after Colleen talked me through my very first docking into a slip (!), we had a lengthy debrief to finish the test. We started out a little before 5:00pm, and the sun was setting as we walked back to the parking lot. (Hence my temporarily non-functioning brain— that was a lot.) But what a great experience! I got to know Colleen a little (this was my first time meeting her), and I learned so much thanks to her guidance, on this tricky-wind kind of day. FYI about OWSA’s First Mate program (from their website, OWSA.net: “The First Mate Certification Program recognizes OWSA members with intermediate to expert sailing skills who want to support community skippers during Wednesday Night Sails and other OWSA events. First Mates assist skippers in sharing sailing techniques, help foster a safe and welcoming environment on the water, and serve as positive ambassadors for OWSA. The program is a great way to sail more often, sharpen your own skills, and support hands-on learning in a group setting.”

We had a mini pre-celebration carrot cake for Fran’s birthday (which is tomorrow)— I guess I was enjoying it too much to think to get pictures. (That’s the birthday girl/skipper at the helm.) The wind was indeed all over the place today, both in direction and strength. Not exactly unusual, but hey, it keeps us on our toes. Gorgeous sunny day with Mt. Hood looking clearer than usual, lots of holiday-makers out on their boats and the beaches (I use the term loosely), plus 2 barges from 2 directions just in case we got bored. (We didn’t.)

A long list of firsts for me today: — first time on Skipper John’s boat River Weasel — first time participating in anything having to do with racing — first time being on a boat that anchored — first time learning about the role of the Race Committee Boat, including an introduction to the Great Flag Codes — first time meeting most of our crew, including Claudia, Dana, Letha, & Skipper John! While we were out on the river, we saw the I-5 bridge raised to let a big barge through, several long canoes (or something of that ilk) that looked like they were out for a training session, a large cruise boat, and a second, smaller barge. The wind, which was almost non-existent when we were on the dock, cooperated very nicely during the 2 races— then died down just when we were thinking of starting a 3rd race, so we decided to cancel it. Naturally, the wind came back up as we were on our way back to the marina! Still, it was a wonderful, beautiful time out on the Columbia!

And then there was the premiere episode of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Socks! In which I give an extra pair of socks to Alyson, who will pass them along to the next sailor in need. Stay tuned for the next thrilling installment! And I just now realized that, in all the docking practice excitement (which more than made up for the lack of wind), I never took any photos during this sail. Hopefully someone else got some?? And thanks especially to Alyson and Fran for guiding me through my first docking experience!!

This was a big one for me: my first Wednesday Night Sail without my daughter, Valerie (my original sailing teacher). We had done several WNSs together in 2019, before the pandemic shut down our sailing. It was also the first WNS for one crew member, and for the other, it was her very first time on a sailboat! It was a beautiful evening with quite good winds, and lots of traffic on the river including a cruise boat, a barge, and a multitude of Jet-skis— and more WNS boats too. Afterwards, we enjoyed the traditional post-WNS snacks and drinks on the terrace of Rose City Yacht Club— all provided by me and the other crew members to thank our incredibly kind and generous host, Arnie, for sharing his boat, time, and expertise. A memorable evening for us all.

… and straight into a very active* (she understated), slightly crazy, and, dare I say, educational sail in winds gusting into the 20s. Gorgeous day with my new sailing friends on the Columbia, wouldn’t have missed this for the world! *Hence minimal photos.

What an incredible afternoon on the water! Sunny, a perfect 70-degree temp, and the gorgeous view upriver of Mount Hood. Not to mention wind at roughly 10 gusting to 20+ knots, changing direction and speed about every 30 seconds. So much fun, including some wonderful heels and tacking back with a partially-furled jib to mitigate some of the heavier gusts. Thank you so much, Leticia, Michelle, and Julie, for including me today! Now I shall sleep for approximately a day and a half.

Note: We were actually at Ryan’s Marina, which didn’t show up as an option on the map when I manually added this sail after we got back. LOL = Labor of Love, an annual OWSA event when we show appreciation to our Wednesday Night Sail skippers by helping them clean, repair, and generally beautify their boats. Along with Glenda, Karen, and Bree, we helped skipper Carisa with hull cleaning, creating & testing a new system for attaching fenders, cleaning storage bins, even removing a stove for repairs. It was a gorgeous breezy day, and Ryan’s Marina put us directly out into the river, so Carisa was nice enough to treat us to a lovely sail!