Lindy Thibodaux

No exaggeration— along with beautiful blue skies and spinnakered (is that a word?) racing boats as a picturesque backdrop, we saw wind from the south, then northeast, then west-southwest, followed by north, northeast, and east, possibly more that I’ve forgotten in all that excitement. It was like a giant, delicious wind buffet today. So much fun!

Okay, I’ll say a little more: Beautiful weather with changeable wind that ranged from NNE to WSW, and occasionally disappeared entirely while apparently making up its mind where it would come from next. Wonderful way to spend a late-summer Friday afternoon, especially in such good company.

Hard to believe Wednesday Night Sails are already coming to an end for 2026… The Moving Trees: I had heard a few skippers mention this trick to (I think??) figure out another boat’s position and speed relative to our own boat— you have to pretend the other boat is not moving, then focus on the trees on land beyond that boat. If the trees appear to be moving to the right or left (or not moving at all), that gets interpreted as… well, that’s where the mystery still continues for me. But at least now I’ve picked up the point about visualizing things differently— it’s challenging to picture a moving thing (the other boat) as not moving, while simultaneously seeing stationary things (trees) as in motion. Not easy! Like thinking about negative space. I will be practicing this…

Our skipper, Fran, brought along her 2 daughters, we spotted ospreys and the first sea lion we’ve seen since late spring, and the Blue Angels flew over us —twice!— in formation en route to an air show. A thrilling day that also happened to include beautiful weather and near-perfect wind!

Not necessarily in that order. Details to come.

A.k.a. Making the best of the no-wind situation. Thanks for all the lessons, Carisa! And Lara, in addition to your anchor-hauling skill, you made an amazing river current/ladder tester when you went for a quick swim! Congratulations, Carisa, on your first Wednesday Night Sail of 2026!!

In which we became Honorary Weasels. (Weaselettes??)

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!