Petit Chat heading North

[alsantini]

Well, today was the day to pull Petit Chat out of the salty water of the intercoastal and next week head north to Northern Illinois and the fresh water of the Chain of Lakes.  Other than the hick-up of the centerboard, it was a good winter sailing season.  Having the boat in the water definitely increased my sailing time.  Somedays I would go out for a couple of hours only, something I never did while trailer sailing.  I have made arrangements with the dock owner for next year and God willing will do it all over again next year Jan - March.  I dropped the mast yesterday, so I just had to motor across 50 feet of channel to the trailer.  we (Carol and I) were on the road in less than an hour.  Boat is now back in storage where I have a few things to tidy up before we head home next Tuesday.
I have had Petit Chat for about a year now and can honestly say it has to be one of the best boats of the nine I have owned.  It sails like a dream and has little if any weather helm, and with steady winds will heel, then set and track with little tiller action.  Only problem would be if I fall off, it will sail off and there is no way I could catch it.  So, I sail with a PFD when I am alone and clip into the midship cleat.  This way she will drag me and drown me rather than leave me alone...  Find the boat and find me - what a deal!  Hopefully I never have the results.
As this is the last boat I will buy, I'll list the boats I've had.  Started with a Zuma, followed up with a Laser II, then a MC, then a Catalina/Capri 14.2 (still have her), a Cat/Capri 16, precision 18, Precision 21, Com Pac Eclipse and now the Com Pac Horizon.  All unique boats that had their own style of sailing.  The P-21 and Eclipse were in my care for 22 years, while the Laser II only 2 months.  Been sailing for 52 years and turned 80 (ugh) yesterday.  The Horizon eliminated the outboard hauling around, and with one sail, fixed mast with mast-ender system simplified the mast raising to sitting in the cockpit and using the winch to haul it up.  That plus more room in both the cockpit and cabin makes a win win for this old man.  Sail On    AL

[crazycarl]

Happy birthday AL!

80 times around the sun? You must be dizzy.

[kickingbug1]

happy birthday al, be safe on the roads

[alsantini]

Made it home in fine shape.  Left in rain and a head wind but the 2nd and 3rd day were beautiful in the 70's with a tailwind of about 8 mph.  Gas prices ranged from a low of $3.69 to a high of $4.49.  I averaged 15.8 mpg for the 1450 miles, so no complaints.  Now I need to clean the girl up and get ready to launch in a few weeks and then CLR in June.  Sail On    AL

[kickingbug1]

look forward to seeing you in june

[passagesfromtheheart]

Happy belated birthday, Al, and glad y'all made it back to IL safe and sound! Hope to see you at CLR!