The duldrums have arrived

Oct 28, 2013
678
Hunter 20 Lake Monroe
I swear trying to sail in Indiana is just an exercise in patience! From no wind, to shifty winds, to gale force winds we get it all, just never when you need or want it. The forecast for the next 10 days is sunny skies, warm temps, lower humidity, and NO WIND!!!!! ARGH!!!!!
Our sailing season is about over as we loose our slip on the last day of September which bites as we know once we have her tucked away in the garage at home the wind will start blowing. We picked up a small Mirror day sailor we can take out on smaller lakes close to our house but it needs some work before it is ready to hit the water. Imagine that, a sailboat that needs work. That never happens!
We just have to take the good with the bad. We had good wind early in the season, if you call sailing around double reefed and hanging on for our lives good wind. It was good practice for the North Channel as the wind was howling the week we were there this summer. Wish we lived closer to the lake as our best winds this summer have been just prior to or after a line a thunderstorms. Hard to hit it at just the right time when you live an hour away from the boat.
Just venting and wishing we could actually sail our sailboat...

Sam
 

Sailm8

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Feb 21, 2008
1,746
Hunter 29.5 Punta Gorda
For years we were lake sailors in Carlyle IL and faced the same problems. On the last week of October we would pull the boat and drive to the Keys for 3 weeks. My wife taught in an all year round school with a 9 weeks on 3 weeks off schedule so in the winter we would go to the Keys. For years we lived on the boat, a C22 but got smarter and found a condo rental in Key Largo with a boat slip. Did that for years but finally found a place to store the boat in the Keys making the trailering much easier. Finally, we bought another boat for the Lake and we were set. Now we live in SW Florida and love it. Just food for thought.
 
Nov 9, 2012
2,500
Oday 192 Lake Nockamixon
I get bummed having to pull my boat by the end of October. Usually the club pulls together for the weekend just prior to the final weekend for haulouts.

This year, I'm not so bummed. I have a Force 5 that I can easily trailer and launch, and I also have a drysuit. I figure, why not keep sailing as long as I want - and there's no ice. But by the time there's ice, I doubt I'm going to want to have to deal with the cold for rigging. Last year I did my first sail with the Force 5 on Black Friday. It was breezy, and I did wind up swimming. Didn't even feel it through the drysuit, though I had the boat righted and back on board pretty quickly. Much less likely to capsize now that I've had some practice with the boat. We'll see how far into the Fall I get.

Some years, the lake freezes well enough I go snowshoeing on it.
 

jwing

.
Jun 5, 2014
503
ODay Mariner Guntersville
I feel your pain. This summer was the second hottest in history for N. Alabama (following 2010). Just the kind of weather from which to get relief by sailing! Unfortunately, I burned up the spring weekends with boat projects and the summer has had dreadfully little wind. I've been sailing exactly 3 times this year and for two of them, the predicted breeze did not materialize. Both times were so hot that I regretted taking the boat out. Even the water was too hot for an enjoyable swim. One day was great.

I'm sure if I lived/worked within a few miles of the lake I could've gotten a few more sails in, too. Someday...

In the mean time, I'm hoping for a good autumn, but so far, September has been no different than August, except for the shorter days.
 
Apr 26, 2015
660
S2 26 Mid On Trailer
I remember those days Sam. We were just at the restaurant where all of the local sailors hangout on Tuesday nights during the season listening to The Castaway (local talent Gary Peaslee) play Buffett and other sailing songs. The crowd was thin and a table was easy to come by. One of the fellows said, "enjoy being able to move around in here because we only have about 2 more weeks before this place is packed". You see Sam, our season is just about to kick off. Come on out and join the fun. :)
 
Jul 1, 2015
4
san juan 26 Boonville boat club
Just couple hours south of you on the Ohio. Bought our boat last year. Worked on it all winter and half the summer. Launched it 3 weeks ago. A couple of great days on the water at first but now water is like glass every time I'm near the boat.