klb67pgh
Member III
The weather has been fairly atrocious for weekend sailing in Western PA this summer - many 90+ days with zero wind. We got in the water late this year in mid June, but we didn't unfurl a sail until early August. We finally got some fall-like days over the last three weekends and have enjoyed maximizing our sailing and willingly minimizing our at the dock or raft up socializing. Two weekends ago we spent the day sailing most of the lake, watching the Hobie 16s fly a hull at will, while we had a good lean ourselves and discovered what wasn't adequately stowed below for the conditions. We noticed a small performance trimaran with a solo cockpit at the very aft end and laminated sails of some sort very much enjoying the heavy air day. My oldest enjoys using our club's Hobie 16s on days like that and was commenting on the trimaran, how much it might cost, what fun it looked like, etc. I had to agree, assuming you wanted a fast solo day on the water. At some point, the trimaran sailor worked his way over to us and slowed up (a lot) to match our hull speed and proudly informed me - "That's an Ericson 25. I had one and sailed it on Erie for years. God I loved that boat. I'd sail that boat anywhere in the world. I miss her." We had a brief chat about our Awela, his Ericson 25, his current boat (although I never got the manufacturer or make), and the beautiful day on the water, finally, and then he pulled in his mainsheet, set the jib, and zoomed off ahead of us. I had to chuckle at the thought of each of us at the same moment admiring each other's very different boats, perhaps wanting to trade places, if just for a bit. It's nice to be recognized on the dock or on the water by folks who know and appreciate that you are sailing something a bit special.