Mark Gurling

Imperceptible winds. Wesley's favorite part was when we got bored and ate snacks on the water.

Much the same as lesson 5, but the temps had warmed up a bit. Saw some green swirls and foam in the wake (algal bloom). I passed my practicum! I think everything went pretty well except, when doing the MOB drill, I got focused for some reason on tacking from a close haul to another close haul, instead of just heading back to Bob (the floating seat cushion). Lesson learned hopefully. I'd like to do some MOB drills solo and with the people who sail with me on the Minicat.

Pleasant lesson with Todd. Very light air. There was an odd phenomenon where the water was completely undisturbed, but we were traveling at about 2 kts. Surprisingly good visibility with the smoky air. Clear skies. Cool temps; we were wearing our jackets.

The front frame piece snapped, and the mast came down.

Clear skies but smoky air when leaving the jetty. Upon leaving the jetty, I was surprised at the greater amount of visibility than was anticipated. Around 13 knots of wind, northwesterly. Reefed immediately. Todd had me take the helm, and we headed direct to Bird Island. Once there, hove to and watched the birds mill about, a few of them peeling off here and there. Todd explained the travertine reef that ran out from the island and explained how to avoid it. We headed straight back, and in a few tacks, we were ready to douse and head into the jetty. I wrestled down the main in a sloppy "flake." Back at the dock, we cleaned up the sails, and I headed home for the night.