Our "Other" Boat

While we're in Switzerland, it isn't possible to sail Callisto very often.  Luckily, we have a wonderful lake just outside our back door.  The Lake of Lucerne, which is part of the Vierwaldstättersee (lake of the four forest-states), is an incredibly beautiful place to sail.

After David had acquired his Swiss sailboating license (more about that some other time), we bought "Little Dipper," a Beneteau First 21.7S.  She is 21' long, and weighs 2740 lbs.  Her keel is adjustable, with her draft at 5'11" when the keel is down, and 2'4" when it is up.  Beneteau has been building boats like her since the early 1990's, originally called a First 210.

The Lake of Lucerne is beautiful, but has one characteristic that is not so good for sailing:  very light winds.  If we get up to 5 knots, that is an exhilarating day.  Little Dipper is great for these conditions, because it takes very little wind to make her go.  We carry an asymmetric spinnaker for broad reaching home when the wind is light.