I have become increasingly enamored by the idea of
shorthanded offshore sailing. This grew initially out necessity; I wanted to
sail and couldn’t find anyway to join me so I went out on my own. As each
season has gone by and with my increasing knowledge of sailing in different
conditions, my goals have increased. I plan to compete/participate in the
Newport offshore 160 in July 2016. This is a solo race of 160nm that is a
qualifier for the Bermuda 1-2 that is to be held in 2017 (more about that in a later
post).
My first solo sail was to Provincetown from Boston. This was
in the first year of boat ownership and was an exciting trip. I left Boston
early in the morning with light winds which gradually grew in strength. My
autopilot failed part way through the trip and by the time I reached the tip of
Cape Cod winds were +30kts. I ended up motoring the last 5nm and was getting
soaked from sea water breaking over the bow.
I radioed to Provincetown marina to request a mooring ball and proceeded
to attempt to pick one up. Anyone
watching me must have been laughing. I would approach the mooring, dash to the
bow to attempt to pick up the pendent only to have the wind blow the bow away.
Thankfully there were few other boats so no collisions happened. After a few
attempts I tried a trick I had learned from a friend n Slovenia. I reversed up
to the mooring, tied a long dockline to the ball and proceeded to walk to the
bow to turn the boat. The wind prevented me getting this achieved. So as a plan
C I just moored in reverse to the ball and attached the pendent to the port and
starboard cleats at the stern of the boat. Success.
The marina launch came out to check on me and to take cash
and ask if I wanted a ride to shore. When they arrived they told me that I
couldn’t attach to the mooring stern on because it puts too much load on the
mooring system. You can imagine my excitement at hearing this. So I asked them
to wait by the mooring ball and clip the pendent on my bow as I approached. But
they wouldn’t “Not allowed to do that” was the answer. So I started trying
again. After a couple of close attempts the launch driver deviated from
protocol and attached me to the ball. After paying my fee I went into the
saloon played music and drank a few beers and was quite satisfied with my day.
Fast forward a few years and I have several solo
experiences, as well as numerous double handed sailing adventures. So now I
will head off to Newport (solo) in less than two weeks for the offshore 160.
Over the winter and spring I have been preparing the boat
for easier solo and shorthanded sailing and have made several changes that
include adding a new clutch and routing a spinnaker tackline to the cockpit.
Rerouting the genoa furling line. Adding two winches to allow controlled
deployment of the spinnaker. An extra cleat was added to the mast to permit tying
the spinnaker halyard there rather than my needing to run back to the cockpit. A
folding propeller was installed.
Today we were going further through the list of items on the
checklist for the offshore 160. Sail numbers needed to be added to the genoa.
Yolande helped and can be seen doing her Vanna White impression beneath.
We also needed to find a way to hold the washboards in the
companionway in case of being knocked over. I hate to drill extra holes but we
came up with a simple solution. A loop of 300lb breaking strength line together
with a Cam Jam to tighten. Importantly it’s accessible both from the inside and
the outside (one of the requirements). When installed I applied very strong
forces and it doesn’t budge and I am assured it is within protocol!
Only a couple of remaining items left to do – sail numbers
to be added to the spinnaker and I need to find a better mechanism to hold my
radar reflector up the backstay. I have a system that works but I would like a
much better one. Still noodling on this one
If anyone is interested in sailing down to Newport with me
on Wed July 13th or returning with me on Mon July 18th please
let me know.
No comments:
Post a Comment