SUMMER'S END

Once again summer has ended way to quickly. Fortunately I spent a lot of time on the water this summer. I raced the Sabre Spirit in the spring and early summer and just finished the PHRF-NE championships with Spirit #1, "Remain Silent".

The PHRF-NE championship is locally our most competitive regatta and our class had extremely close racing, with very few mistakes made. There was a cross section of wind speed and direction this year, with very little signs of a Marblehead drifting contest. This was real racing.

The Spirit was very good in light and medium wind conditions. The higher wind ranges favored the bigger boats up wind. Down wind we were fine in all conditions. I was surprised how well the asymmetrical spinnaker worked. The spinnaker was easy to handle, jibe, and trim. With the huge cockpit sailing was extremely comfortable and the lines were well thought out for handling. After seven races over three days, I was tried, but a lot of those racing juices were flowing again. Thank you Tom Dreschler for having me on "Remain Silent" and I know you will continue to win races with her. Not only is she the most beautiful yacht on the racecourse, she also sails at the front of the fleet.

This summer I also had the pleasure of going cruising. My wife "Kim" and I took the Hanse 40 "Ten" down to the Cape for a week of sailing, swimming, hanging out, and enjoying life. The first comment I have is that when cruising bigger is always better. This yacht is huge. I cannot remember seeing any yacht under forty-two feet that can rival this one for interior volume. The self-tacking jib, autopilot, and lazy jack system make life pretty easy. It rained three of our seven days, the other four were beautiful. On the rainy days we read, watched our TV, went to the movies, and Kim shopped. The Hanse was dry and comfortable. The galley worked great, the berths are huge, and the shower was like at home.

On the beautiful days we sailed, swam, and enjoyed the views. I have been to the Elizabeth Islands many times and every time I return it takes my breath away. I know the Hanse is a great yacht because my wife said this was the best vacation ever. It was not my personality that made her say that.

The sun's going down earlier every day and at night there is a chill in the air. The fall in Marblehead is beautiful and I look forward to watching the leaves turning while sailing under bright blue skies.

Please mail comments to me at Bump@newwaveyachts.com

Bump Wilcox