I did it!

No, not that... and not that, either. (sigh.) What I did do is singlehand my boat for the first time! Last Sunday was a beautiful day - temps in the low 70s and not a cloud in the sky. Not much wind... but I thought it might be an okay day to try my hand at singlehanding in a low-pressure situation. It was a joy to spend one of the last few warm, sunny days of the season at the lake with The Admiral.

The Admiral (Judy Jetson)

I dropped the docklines and left my slip without drama. It wasn't all that long ago that I felt like leaving and returning to the dock singlehanded would be a nearly impossible feat -- a super-advanced move. Now... easy-peasy. (Yes, Murphy. I'll be prepared to hit something next time. Thanks, man. Back atcha.)

Unlike her previous sails, The Admiral seemed rather relaxed. I lugged her up onto the cockpit seat using the handy handle on her doggy-PFD, and she promptly made herself comfy and dozed with her pretty little head on my knee. I guess she was either feeling very relaxed... or she was just closing her eyes in an attempt to escape from the horror of it all!

The Admiral - snoozing?... or silently pleading for mercy?

The key to my new-found singlehanding prowess is most certainly my new tiller-tamer. Before the tiller-tamer, my helm was way too floppy. Just letting go of the tiller long enough to... say, remove the lid from a bottle of Dasani?... caused Central Air to immediately round up. I guess that's what she was designed to do, of course, but it just made it impossible to go forward to raise the mainsail.

Literally singlehanding - one hand on the tiller and one on the camera!

In summary, apparently any moron can singlehand a little sailboat in very light winds (provided that said sailboat is equipped with a tiller-tamer.) For now, I'll resist the enthusiastic urge to apply for membership with the GLSS. Hmmm... maybe next year?

A sunny Sunday afternoon at the lake for just we two girls.