DCIB 10/14, 8.5m Sail

[JimSouthwick]

With the heavy cloud cover and drizzle, the wind pattern at DC was on the weird side today. The wind first shifted around to the SW at about 7:30, built to a peak of 13 mph within a few minutes, and died out by 8:15, then built back to a second peak (23mph this time) at 9:15, only to die again by 10:30. Fortunately it almost immediately started building once more, this time to a peak of 22mph a little after noon. Surprisingly, after a brief lull at 12:30, it then held steady (yes, by DC standards) until almost 4. I sailed from 1:30 to 2:30 on an 8.5, and except for blown jibes, was able to plane most of the time. No boats. Water temp about 55F. A little grim when the overcast was at its thickest, but very pretty when the sun broke through.

http://gallery.me.com/jsouthwick