A February sail on "The Donkey"

Well...it has been a while, hasn't it? We moved about a year ago and as a result, I have been pretty busy with house stuff, and setting up my new shop (YES!!!) so although I have been sailing, the Donkeyrider blog has been pretty stagnant. Actually, seeing as how the boat is essentially done, I won't have much reason to continue to update the D/R blog, other than for the continuing observations of learning how the Duckpunt sails, and making the resulting commentary as I see fit. 

So, I took "The Donkey" out on Friday for a sail on Greenlake, which since moving is only a block and a half from my house. This is so amazing because I can simply put the punt on a cart and roll it right down to the lake for a sail, and never have to deal with grunting the thing onto my car, and driving to a put-in. Greenlake is a beautiful little lake in Seattle, and is a charming sailing location. I feel so lucky to live here!

While thoroughly enjoying it, I am still struggling a bit with truly mastering the Duckpunt. Part of this stems from not sailing it often enough to really build a skill set. I also screw up something in the rigging nearly every time I take it out, which is embarrassing to admit since it is only an Opti rig, and does not get much simpler. Still, I manage to mis-rig something almost every outing! I also sail so conservative that I don't ever realize the hull shape's true potential. The punt must be sailed well heeled over to dig the chine in, and I am just not confident doing that when it is cold out, and I am terrified of the water. More practice is needed, although I am still having a blast, whether sailing the boat as good as I could be or not. It will be a long time indeed (if ever) until I am as good at sailing this boat as the Duckpunting chaps in Mersea. They are amazing!

I was able to film a bit on my outing, and I hope you enjoy watching the video. I hope to continue filming my punting trips, so hopefully there will be many more videos to come.

Click on the link below, sit back, relax, and enjoy!

 Video of February Duckpunt sailing on Greenlake