Had a nice sail up Macatawa, and on to Lake Michigan on Sunday. The wind dropped out on the lake so I decided to strike the Genoa and put up the Drifter for the first time. This is a huge headsail made of very light cloth. For the first time I used the dual track arrangement on the headfoil to raise one sail and at the same time drop the other. This worked well, but the lashed helm doesn't work so well during changes so an autopilot is in the budget. Singlehanding without steering assistance is proving to be quite the chore but it seems to be like my job; too many things to do, and not enough time to do them - prioritize or die. Managed to run aground as well - after reviewing the charts the night before, I mentally noted areas NOT to sail. I promptly sailed right into the Macatawa Middle Grounds but was able to heel Allez! over enough to escape the shallow area.
Along with running aground, another occasion of poor seamanship reared its ugly head on Saturday. After 5 hours of sailing, most of it upwind, and 2 of it in rain putting Allez! away on the dock was the only task left for the day. I made a decent show of it, without having to use the outboard motor. While scrambling to secure the 3rd dockline, I slipped on the wet deckhouse, and managed to shoot between the lifeline and the toe-rail. I managed to grab the toe-rail, and hoist myself up on the deck with no shortage of adrenaline. After securing Allez!, I pondered the the actions that let up to the incident. Although I've been exceedingly careful, especially out on the "Big Water", you can never let your guard down. I always used to tell students that you must fly the airplane until you set the parking brake. Same. Deal.
After securing Allez!, I managed to put the wet sails in the cockpit lockers, along with the sheets. I lashed the mainsail down, but with a thunderstorm approaching I kept my exposure to the elements to a minimum, leaving much work to be done on Sunday. After raining like crazy for a 3 hours, some leaks started to manifest themselves on Allez!. I think most of these have to do with bedding on the toe-rail, which I'm NOT going to tackle. At least I know where to intercept the leaks in the future. Some easy and obvious things need to be re-bed, including the handrails on the deckhouse.
Sunday was a drying/laundry/recovery/cleaning day. Living in a tiny space takes an extra-ordinary amount of work to keep in decent living condition. Keeping things in sailing shape is an even bigger challenge. I Vacuumed, scrubbed, and organized most of the boat, and dried and folded most of Allez!'s sail wardrobe. I made the pilgrimage back to Grand Rapids to do some laundry and continue the move in/move out process. Three straight days of single handed sailing have left me battered bruised and worn out as well. Even though the conditions were ideal today, I'm happy I took care of essential business.
Pics and a video tour for Super-Rookie are in the works for tomorrow,
...in the works for tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteOkay, Kruse.