New Member - Sort of...

[Harrier]

Hello all,
There have been many new member posts as of recently and it is a constant reminder that I have never formally introduced myself to the board.  I lurked around for sometime getting to "know" people and having been leaving the occasional post since last fall.  As I mentioned on at least one of those posts, I am not an experienced sailor.  I did however grow up on the water and was always intrigued by sailboats.  I guess I got tired of bobbing dead in the water as my father hung over the transom of his motor boat, with his bucket of tools, attempting to revive life into the outboard.  
I knew I loved the water, and as an engineer I also found the principles of sailing interesting.  I am somewhat of a purist and find harnessing mother natures energy much more satisfying then "punching the throttle".  
Aside from alot of reading, my first "lesson" was on the day we bought Harrier ('93 27/2).  I had to sail her about 8hours from western CT to eastern CT.  We motored for good bit, and once I felt comfortable the sails went up and the motor went off.  I was instantly pleased by the calming silence.  As I've been discovering, the fundamentals are simple, but perfecting the nuanced aspects provide a constant challenge.  Our first year was a blast.  I made several greenhorn mistakes, but nothing so bad as to cause damage to property or person.   We even did a couple overnight trips, including one through Plum Gut on the tip of Long Island.  That was a hair raiser .  My wife lost her lunch on that trip as we beat our way through 20ft waves.  She had nightmares for a couple days.  
Anyway, I digress.  
Just wanted to say hello, and thanks for the input and help I've already received!   Looking forward to the year!  

[Craig]

Welcome! Ah, Plum Gut! Know it very well having spent much of my childhood and youth at my grandfathers summer place near Orient Point. One deceptively nasty place! Calm as a pond one time and a rolling, boiling cauldron another.  Tell your wife not to feel bad, I have seen seasoned sailors turn white then green running the Gut at the wrong state of the tide. Congratulations on passing your baptism of fire (or should I say water)! We had to transit it often to get from the Sound to the bay.Generally one only transits it once at full flood especially if the wind is up.  Once is enough!  Knew a powerboater  who got caught and was scared so bad he almost gave up boating. I miss the Sound! Great place to sail! Sounds like you doing just fine as a new sailor.

[Harrier]

We actually caught the slack tide, it just happened to be a really rough day.  Winds were bouncing around 30knots.  If we would have also been in the flood, we would not have made any forward progress.  As it was we barely made 2knots SOG.  Despite my wifes panic attack, I actually felt pretty comfortable.  Harrier handled it all with the grace, even thought the bottom fell out on us a few times.  We would crest a wave and the bow would drop and pound into the water below and then get buried by the next incoming wave.  If you've never seen it, watching the bow of your boat disappear into the water is quite a sight.   

Not that I'm interested in getting into the kinds of waters again, I at least know the boat is more than capable of handling it.