Our boat is in the water. Sailing season has begun. We can now reclaim the garage, after putting all of our gear back on board. Last Saturday, we had an exhilarating sail back to our home port in Oyster Bay from Huntington Harbor. Before we left the marina in Huntington, there was an unresolved issue with one of the battery switches. It was too beautiful a day to give up the sail home, so instead we decided to push off and deal with fixing or replacing the switch in a few weeks. The sun was bright, the wind was up, and all was well. Just past the lighthouse at the entrance to Huntington Harbor, we turned the engine off and put up the sails. It's a wonderful sound to hear the water rushing past the hull of the boat as the wind moves the boat through the water. Even better though, is to hear the sound of the engine starting when you want it to.

Last summer, we ran down the batteries overnight, running the refrigeration while we were anchored out off an island near Greenwich. Like most boaters in Oyster Bay, we keep our sailboat on a mooring and not at a dock. To keep the batteries charged, we need to run the engine frequently, which is not something we want to do when we are in a peaceful, quiet anchorage. Friends of ours, anchored out for the weekend with us, commented that we were using the refrigeration too liberally. We disagreed, claiming, "If it's on board, it's meant to be used." Once we accepted that the engine was not going to start the next morning, we called Boat US, and they came across to Connecticut with a Hot Box to jump-start us. This year we have our own Hot Box. We have also added solar panels, and we've kept our membership in Boat US, just in case all else fails.

Just as we were entering Oyster Bay from the Sound last Saturday, the wind died. We decided to motor the last few miles to our mooring. When we went to start the engine, we heard the wrong sound-nothing at all. We knew that the batteries were fully charged and that everything was working, but the engine wouldn't start-as if the batteries were dead again. Bob grabbed the 200-page manual and as always, what we needed was not in the manual. This had happened once before, and we knew we were just doing something wrong. After several attempts to start the engine, we pushed the preheat button and the start button at the same time. Like magic, we heard that other wonderful sound- the engine turning over. After not using the boat for all of these months, we had forgotten how to start the engine.

Wednesday night, Sagamore Yacht Club had the first race of the season. We had twelve boats, which is a great turnout, considering it's still early in the season. Bob is regular crew on Comanche. This was the first time out for the crew on the new Comanche. Captain Darren just purchased her and brought her to Oyster Bay from Connecticut. Other than the quick trip across the Sound he had never sailed her before. Comanche is a racing boat with a tiller rather than a wheel. Most sailors have used a tiller on a small boat, but this is a big heavy 35' boat with a lot of pressure on the tiller, and it takes some time to get used to sailing this way.

The crew only had 30 minutes before the race to figure out all the lines. Before the race started, we practiced tacking several times, and had to work out the sail hanging up on a line with a pulley on it forward of the mast. With that done, we had two minutes before the start. The most exciting time of the race is when all of the boats are jockeying for position, just before the start. So in those two minutes, Captain Darren discovered how hard it was to use the tiller. All of this, while trying not to hit any of the other boats at the starting line. We did manage to foul the Sagamore Yacht Club Commodore at the start of the race. To avoid hitting the Commodore's boat, we had to make an extra two tacks, which gave us a bad start and put us in the back of the fleet. The only consolation was that a friend Dave on LOKI was behind us after the start, along with a few other boats.

Comanche is a Beneteau First 345, which is a very nice, fast boat, with a high rating. We were getting to know the boat and were doing OK for the first time on her. At one point, we passed another boat that looked as if it was standing still. We were doing well, but we weren't gaining on the rest of the fleet, to the dismay of the captain who had just spent a lot of money with that very thing in mind. Then we blew it, the race was shortened and we didn't notice it. The boat we passed standing still, crossed before us, and so did Dave on Loki, who ended up first in his division. To make matters worse, when we did our last tack in front of the committee boat, the sail got hung up again.

We weren't the last boat to finish and we weren't where we wanted to be at the head of the fleet, but we were out on a Wednesday evening, and we were on a sailboat, racing. Afterwards, we headed back to the Sagamore bar to discuss the race, to apologize to the Commodore, and to congratulate Dave for finishing ahead of us.

Bob & Shelley-Sue can be reached at swpny@aol.com