Spinnaker Pirouette

My shipmates feel that I missed some of the better stories of our passage. I keep pointing out that I just actually mentally missed the passage, so it is hard to recall all the great stories- you can't recall what you didn't 'call' in the first place! But, I must admit that I did catch some of the spinnaker pirouette. The story begins when Terry decided that perhaps adding the spinnaker to the sail mix would help ameliorate some of the washing machine action. Peggy said those immortal words, "Do you really want to do that?" But of course he wanted to do that. And it seemed to be a great decision. I was able to rest comfortably on the settee right up until the moment when the spinnaker caught a burst of wind and wrapped itself around the forestay. Sam said, "I know how to fix that!" He took the helm and proceeded to pirouette the boat. Yes, he literally turned LUX around two or three times and unspun the spinnaker. We went back to cruising along at 7 knots. Yes, Tom, you not only missed great sailing but you missed a phenomenal sailing maneuver! So then we are cruising along for several hours with just the spinnaker. It was such a clear, bright beautiful day. But the wind was building. And, suddenly Terry was heard to say those words that EVERYONE hates to hear. He said, "SHIT!" and, he bounded up out of the helm seat headed for the front. This time, the pennant had snapped. The spinnaker, ever the most graceful of sails, slowly draped itself onto the churning waters. It the proceeds to drift backwards right under the boat. Luckily, no motors were running. By this time, Terry has returned to the stern to reel in the fishing line. Carol, meanwhile, grabbed the boat hook and used it to snag the sail. Best catch of the day, considering the fact that we had not caught any fish. She began trying to pull it on board. But, it resisted. Both Carol and Terry were hanging upside down looking under the boat to see why it would not allow itself to come aboard. Terry then went forward and realized that the tack was still attached! After undoing all of that, they started to pull it on board in earnest. Another great photo op lost. Where was Linda when we needed her? Especially since Carol ended up seated in the stern with Terry pulling the spinnaker over her head! Yards and yards of wet spinnaker passing all over Carol's head. Boy, was she glad that we have such fine showers on board! Anyway, the spinnaker was rescued. So, it will live to fly another day.