Sailing Away

This morning's feature was a cruise on an inflatable sailing ship. I inflated the vessel with my shop vac, then launched it into the surf next to the pier where Ruby's is located. Once aboard, I was trying to get the mast and rigging set up right, while also getting my navigation software configured. I wondered why I hadn't done that before the launch.

The sea was fairly choppy, and the ship seemed to be just a little bit floppier than would strictly be desirable. I finally got the jib up and the boat headed out to sea, where it seemed to be smoother sailing. Once under way I went below to set up my cabin, essentially a camp stove, bed and cooler with power provided by some solar cells on Mylar atop the cabin. I didn't like the way the cabin was flexing, and started the process of adding more air to the ship.

Te further out to sea I got, the better the sailing became. Soon I was skipping along over the waves, and the ship bounced me along like a giant wind driven bounce house. I was glad I had a safety line.