It looked like being a great weekend for getting out on the water, the forecast was saying variable 1-2, this time the forecast was right.
I had raised the mainsail before leaving the mooring, we motored off at 1800hrs and set sail but only making 1-2kts we soon decided it was to slow so started the engine and motored across Falmouth Bay. On entering the Carrick Roads there seemed like there was some wind so we set sail again and started to goose wing north up the Roads. As the way came off from the engine we could see our speed was down to 1.5kts with the tide, the chart plotter was telling us we would not arrive until 2200hrs, to late we thought, so on with the engine again.
It was interesting watching the racing yachts rounding a mark and heading back into the tide, they were not going forward, just sliding sideways! A little while after passing them by I decided to have a play at reversing Elektra (there had been some discussion on the SSOA facebook page, about how it was impossible to reverse a Sadler) After our last yacht, I hadn’t had any problem with reversing Elektra. But I just wanted to make sure I could and knew how to do, as I thought I had no problem, I found I needed to get way on first and then just a little rudder and she would turn which ever way I wanted to go. The only problem was, I think the racing yachts must have thought I had lost the plot with me weaving around the Carrick Roads in reverse!
We got going forward again and arrived to drop anchor in Channels Creek at 2000hrs having logged 8.5nm.
Love Sailing 