April 09 2013 - Stay-sail try-outs

Well, it is now official... I am going to race in the Swiftsure Classic Race, out of Victoria. I have done this race may times way...way back in the late 70's and 80's, but will be the first time with Hank.
Hank will be entering us in the race next week.
I will keep you posted on the up and coming events and preparations leading to the race.

Needless to say... more safety gear needed! They say the word "BOAT" means.. "Bring On Another Thousand",  humm so true.

light breezes

Well today, Hank, Richard and I sent sail to try out a new proposed sail. The Swiftsure Race rules recommends that we need to have a "Storm Sail"... a small jib, but made out of very heavy material to withstand high winds. Hank wants to put the storm sail where my stay-sail used to go, but did not know how I would sail.

Looking really good, seems to have added about 1/2 knot more speed, but more lines to the cockpit.

Once out in the winds, they raised a sample stay-sail, to see how I would perform... Well, it performed better than expected. It did help in providing more speed (1/2 knot), was easy to set, and easy to tack. In addition, it looked great too! However, raising a storm sail in heavy winds may be a bit of a problem, as it would be uncontrollable until it was completely raised and tied down. The sail would have a built-in fore-stay, so it would really flap around until raised. I guess a solution would be to raise it before the heavy winds kick in.

Hank is getting a price on the new sail.

Keep posted...

Tarka out!