Puffin’ along

I quit smoking years ago, so that’s not what this is about. This is about a steam powered boat at the Center for Wooden Boats, called Puffin.

Today we went down to the Center to go sailing. It was a beautiful day, with a good North breeze coming over Lake Union. And it was crowded.

CWB was holding an event they called the “Spring Cruise”. The idea was that all the boats would go out and cruise around the lake together, and pretend it was 1954. I didn’t get a deeper understanding than that.

Just about every boat was taken, but we were invited to take a ride on the Puffin. It’s steam powered – a wood fire, boiling water, and a nice puff-puff sound. It also has a very loud whistle.

The 3 of us climbed on board, sitting on the foremost seats. My toddler was approaching nap time, and was looking very mellow as we got under way. They blew the whistle as we left the docks, and boy was it loud. I covered his ears, but it was still a bit much for him.

About 15 minutes into the ride, my baby fell asleep. He was sitting upright, propped mostly by his PFD (the bulky foam type), and partly by my leg. He slept right through the whole rest of the journey, including several more whistle blows! He didn’t wake up until we got off the boat at the docks.

We stuck around at the Center for a while longer, hoping that a boat would become available for rental. None did, and we took off in search of food. Sandwiches in a park are nice, too.

I watched someone on a small boat sail right into one of the big, expensive fiberglass yachts that are docked near CWB. (You know, the kind that never leaves the dock.) Well before it happened, I had this funny feeling that something wasn’t right. The sailors on board seemed to be having a great deal of trouble handling her. There’s a no-sail area near these expensive boats (for good reason, it seems!) and they drifted right through it. The wind was blowing where they didn’t want to go. Twice I saw them try to tack and fail. Stuck in irons, they made only leeway. When they got within a few feet of the big plastic number, they gave up sailing & switched to trying to fend off. After getting clear, they headed right to the docks and called it quits. I’m sure they felt pretty miserable at that point; I know I would have.

How do you fail to tack? I haven’t had it happen to me, but my experience is pretty limited; I bet most of the boats I’ve been on are easy to tack. In close quarters these sailors lacked searoom to gain good steerage way, but they probably should have used the sails to steer her more.

It’s easiest to criticize from afar. When I’m at the helm, things are sometimes pretty overwhelming, especially since I’m new to it. I’m sure someday I will make a big mistake of some kind. I hope that when it happens, the costs are all in dollars, not in humans.