I made a crappy cell phone video tour of Allez! for the Super-Rookie - Enjoy! (or don't)
Went out on the big lake on Saturday with a friend for the first double handed sail of Allez! The workload was much lighter, and we had a fun time out on the Big Lake. It was the biggest swell I've been in yet, with waves averaging 6-8 feet in height. The reefing points in the headsails work like a charm, and do a great job depowering the boat, and as an added bonus are really easy to put in. Drop the halyard a bit, and scramble to the foredeck to pull the sail down to a higher clew. I've yet to set up the jiffy reefing system for the main, but with as small as the main is it would have to be 20+ knots before it would take a reef.
Went out again singlehanded on Sunday afternoon. I decided on Sunday morning that I'd have the day off, but I changed my mind when I thought there'd be a good chance at a Lake Michigan sunset. The winds were steady from the West at about 10 knots for the first hour or so on the lake, but suddenly the winds came up enough to start the whitecaps forming. I quickly got a very necessary reef in the genoa in, but as fast as the wind came it went away. I was becalmed for about 20 minutes, making less than a half a knot towards the Holland Breakwater. I used the time to check the calibration on the sextant that my Uncle Jim gave to me. With a little fiddling it seems to work fine, although I need to get an almanac to get proper positions with it. About 3 miles from the breakwater the wind started coming up from the East. The wind had switched 180 degrees, and I would now have to beat upwind to the Breakwater. I managed a whole day of sailing closehauled, both to and from the harbor entrance.
I made my donation to West Marine last week and purchased a Davis Tiller Tamer, and a Garmin Colorado 400 GPS.
The Tiller Tamer works great at holding the tiller where you leave it. Simple deal. Allez! sails herself very well with a lashed tiller (especially into the wind), so the skipper can go and make sail changes, etc.. without manning the steering. Not as nice as a windvane (5,000 dollars) or an auto pilot (400-1000 dollars), but for 30 bucks it's worth every penny.
I've been really impressed as well with the Garmin Colorado 400 GPS. It's a handheld chartplotter with all the Great Lakes and Coastal maps built in. The nice thing for a singlehander is that it clips on to my vest, and is always easy to get at. I use Garmin products at work, so the interface is familiar as well. Although it's no replacement for good seamanship, it makes getting out to the lake without bumping the bottom very very easy.
Next time I'll have updates on some structural issues, the ongoing outboard saga, and details of tomorrows sail.
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