My long time friends Frank and Paul both retired this year from the company where we had spent most of our adult lives. We became friends back in the 90’s when we worked together “Transforming the World of Healthcare” with such “bleeding edge technological innovations” as Desktop Computers, Networks, Email, Chat, Virtual Meetings, and the Intranet. (Yes we are old). During those years we would hold “Strategy and Planning” meetings while sailing the bay in my Hunter 26 and later, my Hunter 46 sail boats. Ah, those were good days.
As is typical of any multi-decade career in a large company, we went our separate ways in the early the 2000’s as projects, promotions, and life events took hold. We kept in touch through technology and occasionally I met Paul or Frank one on one for a work project, breakfast or a day sail, but yesterday was the FIRST time in almost 15 years that all 3 of us have been together in the same place, at the same time. It is only fitting that we would get together on Narnia for her post refit shake down sail. We quickly fell back into our rhythm as if no time had passed at all.
The weather was clear and sunny, with patches of dense cool fog, the wind was from the SW 10K-15K. All in all a typical summer sailing morning on San Francisco Bay. We left the marina, motored out through the channel, and after a bit of futzing with the furling lines, the newly mended Main, Jib. and Staysail were raised and filled with wind. Narnia was ready to strut her stuff! While Paul and Frank took turns at the helm, I wandered around the boat checking rigging, thru hulls, electronics, etc.
In Her Element
Ok at this point I will admit that we were all having too much fun talking and “catching up” for me to do any real calibrations on the auto pilot, radar, speedometer, or other instrumentation. 🙂 I was also distracted by the bilge high water alarm that kept sounding intermittently. A thorough check of the bilge confirmed it was bone dry and pump not running (This alarm is for the backup to the backup bilge pump, Narnia has 3). I finally disconnected the alarm (not the pump!).
We made our way to Angel Island and ate lunch in the calm stillness of it’s wind shadow that extends several hundred yards from it’s shores. We bobbed and drifted with the tide until we emerged back into the now 20-25K afternoon winds pouring through the Golden Gate bridge, “the SF Bay slot”. We furled in the Jib and made our way home on a close reach, through the building fog, under full main and staysail.
Back at the dock we took care of some of the issues identified during the sail. We adjusted some fairleads (losing a socket wrench overboard in the process), noted that we lost a fender somewhere during the day (need to practice knots?), and tightened the stay for the staysail. Along with the high water alarm we also noted that the battery charger set itself to GEL at some point (Narnia has AGM). A pretty uneventful shakeout given all the work done.
Frank, Paul and I parted ways with a promise to once again make sailing together as a team a regular part of our friendship. Hey, we’re retired, it’s not like we don’t have the time!!
