Outing 10A was on Jim's boat, Katzenjammer, which is a 34' C&C (pretty sure about the C&C part - I have a lot of trouble remembering boat kinds, though it's quite important to the boat owners). He's taken great care of this boat & has had it for a very long time, and it shows. I'm pretty sure he could drive it with one hand tied behind his back. We took it out and had light winds on the Columbia, and cruised up towards the bridge. It's interesting to me to really FEEL how much larger everything is on a bigger boat. The sails are - to me - enormous. The deck is large, the cockpit is spacious, and I envy the seat he has at the wheel. The seat is curved so when you're heeled over, you can still comfortably sit upright rather than just hanging on. I steered only the very tiniest bit - I actually really enjoy having someone else skipper. I can relax a huge amount more if I'm not 100% responsible for driving. I thought steering with the wheel would not be a big deal - after all, I use a wheel to drive a car - how hard can it be? Well, hard. Apparently finally internalizing the tiller movements needed to change direction on my boat means that I turn the wheel the wrong way. I kept changing "the other right, the other right" but it was not pretty. Brain...hurts... Mike (landlocked yacht club) told me that Don once hit another boat while racing because it was a wheel rather than a tiller. I can believe it!
Jim used the autohelm to hold course while we put up the sails, which worked like a charm, though it made me a little nervous (but honestly, what doesn't?). It's clearly how you can deal with singlehanding, also.
So, the other wheel that I can handle... I finally got back into my little studio after the clearing exercises in August, and threw a few cylinders. I'm trying to duplicate a favorite mug, and... it needs a little work. I made 5 cylinders, but cut through the bottom of 2 of them, and the remaining three look like distant cousins but not all that close. Definitely needs more practice. Oh, I haven't forgotten how to wedge or center, but there are a lot of rough edges in the shaping. The very last one I threw was shorter and stubbier than the others - probably due to leaving more on the bottom, and hand fatigue. I've lost so much strength in my hands and upper forearms! Some preventative icing was applied.
If I can get some mugs that look halfway decent, they'll be for Heidi's birthday present. Fingers crossed, more practice will be in order this coming week! But for now... There were some casualties:
And some that actually look like mugs:
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