On Friday May 1st we got all the gear loaded, rig tuned, sails bent on, recalibrated the course computer, and cleaned out and filled the water tanks. Around 8:30pm or so Kyle and Everette arrived by Metra and we popped a pizza in the oven for dinner and watched the geese chase each other around the harbor. We decided to spend the night on the boat so we didn’t have to get up early and catch the 6:35am train. Ted, Adam, Jason and Patrick we’re due to arrive by 8:30am on Saturday to join in the fun and sail to Adrenaline to Chicago. I had little hope of Patrick showing up as he was the best man at a wedding Friday night—and such was the case. At 8:30 on Saturday Jason and Ted arrived but Adam had had literally missed the train.
The weather on Saturday was perfect for the ride south. We left Larsen’s at 9am and once out on the lake we found the wind on the beam at 10-15knts and were quickly reaching SSE along the Illinois shoreline doing 7s and 8s, frequently breaking into the 9s. For most of the ride we had the wind on the beam but saw it oscillate between 30° and 120° apparent. With wind speeds as low as 5knts and gusts to 25 we found ourselves paying attention to trim for the entire ride. The morning started out chilly and everyone wore hats and gloves but once the sun came around the sails, it warmed up wonderfully. We passed Gross Point by 11:30 and entered Chicago harbor at 1:30 making the 35 mile trip in 4.5hours—an average speed of 7.77knts under main and 135%!
Ted brought great sub sandwiches and refreshments but as we got close to Chicago we alerted Adam to bring reinforcements. Meeting us in the harbor we enjoyed the rest of a beautiful sunny day.
Yes, summer has finally arrived!
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