Saturday Southerly 23/1
Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 12:27 pmJust wondering whether anyone was out in the errr..... weather last Saturday.
Gabi and I took my cousin and her husband Rob out on Saturday just gone, and whilst we knew there may be some high winds, we were pretty confident in not having a problem.
Spent a leisurely time sailing up and around West Head from Careel Bay, down into Refuge Bay, arriving abour 3pm. We were sweltering, the pate was even melting! All four of us spent at least an hour bobbing around in the water, attracting nothing but jellyfish.... oh, and the prawn man who sold us a kilo for $34..... during the ensuing feast, the wind did come up pretty severely, and the weather report on VHF 22 mentioned 100kph winds in Kiama? We had two choices, sit it out, or make for home. Because Rob and Fiona lived in the mountains, we made the choice.
Once out of Refuge, we unfurled the #2 about 50% which was plenty to get us cooking at a good speed on a broad reach straight for West Head. We hadn't worried about the main, it had been wrapped and covered, because if we didn't get speed out of the #2, we were going to motor anyway. About 3/4 of the way to West Head, we were strangely becalmed, so I let out the rest of the #2. This lasted for about 10 minutes at which time I started the outboard because we weren't moving at all. It was then I noticed the blackwater racing towards us, causing me to bark to Rob "furl that headsail!" too late it seems, as the wind hit us, we got laid over quite a way, but not flat as I'd already let the sheet way off in anticipation. The girls let out a mild scream, but the old Dulcamara did her thing brilliantly, rounded up, stood up and simply asked "What's all the fuss?" In hindsight, it may have been better to have been under double reefed main and storm, but time was against us, hence the lazy option of a partly furled headsail. We simply motored with a small triangle out of the #2 and made the lee shore, but not before getting soaked by the spray from the choppy swell.
Sure, the going was a bit tough for the little outboard, which is on a transom bracket, but we made good ground and it proved the abilities of these great little boats. Rob was extremely impressed, not only by the great layout of the cockpit, rigging and interior, but of the way she handled the fairly decent weather we encountered. It seems he's now sold on something like a Top Hat, but Fiona may need a little more convincing of how much she'll enjoy the occasional "life at sea" journeys home to the mooring.
Michael
Gabi and I took my cousin and her husband Rob out on Saturday just gone, and whilst we knew there may be some high winds, we were pretty confident in not having a problem.
Spent a leisurely time sailing up and around West Head from Careel Bay, down into Refuge Bay, arriving abour 3pm. We were sweltering, the pate was even melting! All four of us spent at least an hour bobbing around in the water, attracting nothing but jellyfish.... oh, and the prawn man who sold us a kilo for $34..... during the ensuing feast, the wind did come up pretty severely, and the weather report on VHF 22 mentioned 100kph winds in Kiama? We had two choices, sit it out, or make for home. Because Rob and Fiona lived in the mountains, we made the choice.
Once out of Refuge, we unfurled the #2 about 50% which was plenty to get us cooking at a good speed on a broad reach straight for West Head. We hadn't worried about the main, it had been wrapped and covered, because if we didn't get speed out of the #2, we were going to motor anyway. About 3/4 of the way to West Head, we were strangely becalmed, so I let out the rest of the #2. This lasted for about 10 minutes at which time I started the outboard because we weren't moving at all. It was then I noticed the blackwater racing towards us, causing me to bark to Rob "furl that headsail!" too late it seems, as the wind hit us, we got laid over quite a way, but not flat as I'd already let the sheet way off in anticipation. The girls let out a mild scream, but the old Dulcamara did her thing brilliantly, rounded up, stood up and simply asked "What's all the fuss?" In hindsight, it may have been better to have been under double reefed main and storm, but time was against us, hence the lazy option of a partly furled headsail. We simply motored with a small triangle out of the #2 and made the lee shore, but not before getting soaked by the spray from the choppy swell.
Sure, the going was a bit tough for the little outboard, which is on a transom bracket, but we made good ground and it proved the abilities of these great little boats. Rob was extremely impressed, not only by the great layout of the cockpit, rigging and interior, but of the way she handled the fairly decent weather we encountered. It seems he's now sold on something like a Top Hat, but Fiona may need a little more convincing of how much she'll enjoy the occasional "life at sea" journeys home to the mooring.
Michael