Lake Forest: 65 years and other photographs

 

That is what sixty-five years will do.

The top picture was taken in 1959.  I ran the hurdles in track in high school.  It is the only photo I have of me under age 30.  I have twice lost all my physical possessions and don’t hang onto the past except for some words.  The photo comes from a high school year book and was sent to me several years ago by a classmate.  I did not keep the yearbook myself.

The second photo was taken a month ago by Steve Earley while we were enjoying drinks on the screened porch in Hilton Head.

Age 17 and age 82.

I came across the top photo while looking for ones of the Jordan Drogue to send to Colin in Ireland who is making his own drogue.

That is the drogue in its deployment bag, which folded up looks like this.

Two parts of the drogue are missing:  the bridle which is shackled to the eye at the end of the drogue to the right and the weight which is shackled to the eye at the end at the left.

The bridle is massive as are the shackles.  Far larger than anything else on GANNET, indicative of the strain expected on them when the drogue pulls tight when the boat is caught by breaking waves.  The weight at the aft end of the drogue is fifteen pounds/6.8 kilos.  I use a length of heavy chain.

With all three components connected, the drogue is heavy and awkward to move and would be difficult to attach to the plates bolted through the hull in the extreme conditions in which I would want to use it.  GANNET has been through two 55 knot gales in which I was not tempted to deploy the drogue.  In the second, off Durban, South Africa, the met service said the waves were 6 meters/20’ and the little boat safely lay ahull, so I would not expect to use the drogue in less than Force 12.  I think it would already have to be in place for me to do so.  Set up and connected ready to deploy probably before leaving port.  On GANNET this is complicated by not wanting to block solar panels or the cockpit drains.  I have not yet come up with a solution.

And I also came across this photo.

I am sailing GANNET out the Mission Bay Channel.  I think Carol must have taken it, but neither of us remember her doing so.  I am using the tiller extension so I can handle the jib sheets while short tacking.