First Sail

Rye Gewalt (ryeg@vais.net)
Tue, 06 Apr 1999 06:18:36 -0400

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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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After a delightful winter of fixing up the Grace II we finally got her
on the water over the weekend (another missing list member accounted
for). While I could have launched her single handed I got my two
daughters to come down and help out. The are not that skilled in boat
launching, but seem to attract more able assistance from bystanders than
I can -- given my knobby knees etc.

The boat launched and rigged flawlessly. The remainder of the family --
all six of us -- went out for the first sail and had a splendid time.
The '19 is even bigger that we thought and nobody seemed to feel
cramped. My four year old grandson crawled into a sail bag and took a
long nap courtesy of the fresh air and sunshine.

Jack Ramsey, a local Potterer and list member, made a special trip to
the marina to welcome us and has offered to help me identify the "thin
spots" in the Potomac water.

That memorable sail was due in no small part to all of the advice,
encouragement, and assistance I have received from list members over the
past months. Thanks guys (and you too Judy).

Rye Gewalt
'90 HMS '19 Grace II
Springfield, VA