After being aboard for 2.5 weeks in some pretty awful weather, we were both glad to get home! Even if the weather did improve over the next week.
So when my friend Paul asked, could l take him across the bay in Elektra, to see what she sails like, Paul was thinking of buying a bigger yacht. He also sails his Hawk 20 from Gillan Harbour. It was at least a few days after we had got home, so looking at the forecast, Saturday looked the best, we agreed to meet at St Anthony at 0900hrs.
Motoring out to Elektra in the dinghy, we could see she was bouncing up and down on the mooring, and getting aboard was going to be interesting. The forecast was only east force 3-4, vearing southeast force 3 later. But Gillan Harbour is open to the full force of the English Channel from the east. Very carefully, we both made it aboard without falling in.
Elektra was bouncing up and down while l carefully got her ready to leave. Once ready, l attached the dinghy to the mooring, and Paul motored Elektra out of Gillan while l set the sails. Reefed main and all genoa, l asked Paul who was on the helm how she felt. Paul said she had quite a bit of weather helm, so l rolled up the genoa a little, which balanced Elektra up, and we headed north-northeast across Falmouth Bay towards St Mawes in a lumpy easterly swell. Aftert a nice sail we dropped anchor in St Mawes for lunch.
After about 2.5hrs, we had bee chating and time had slipped by, I pulled up the anchor again and we headed back towards Gillan to start with on just her genoa. Before Paul suggested we headed for Manacle Buoy, so I pulled up the main, but the winded had backed into the southeast and Elektra couldn’t head in that direction, so we cotinued south, until the wind started to disaper when we were east of Nare Point. At that point we turned for Gillan and sailed arround the Nare Point at a sedate 2-2.5kts, we sailing into Gillan entrance before starting Elektra’s engine. We had logged 12.5nm over 4.25hrs
Love Sailing 