Vicki had been reamitted to hospital yesterday, and I had been there well into the evening, so when Patti, Vicki’s daughter had offered to give me a day off visiting duties, I thanked her. I had spent the morning getting some washing done and going out to the builders suppliers for some sealent. Once I fixed the 2 new hand rails in the shower for Vicki when she get back home. After I finished I thought looks like a nice day for a sail and so looked at the tides and weather forecast, both of which looked good.
I got down to St Anthony beach at 1400hrs, refilled the outboard fuel tank launched the dinghy and pushed the dinghy out as I climbed aboard. The outboard started first pull, it had improved a lot since changing the fuel to E5 instead of the E10 I used last season, of course it takes a little while to clear the system completely. Once out aboard Elektra, I got her ready to leave. I made the dinghy painter off to the pickup buoy.
The forecast was north-northwest, top end of a force 4, but I had a feeling it was more just looking around at the trees blowing about. Elektra dosen’t need much wind and she gets unmanageable with too much sail up very quickly! She almost carries twice as much sail as her little sister a Sadler 26, with is only 3ft shorter. I have often thought she is tender but a friend who also owns a Sadler 29 likes to say she has a sporty rig!
So when I dropped the mooring over the side at 1500hrs, I had already decided only to use her genoa. I got her ready as I motored her slowly out of Gillan between Dennis Head and Carcrock. I had set just her genoa with one reef and when the wind took her, I shut the engine down. Elektra was soon logging 5-6kts in a north-northeast direction, this was obviously her right amonth of sail, or so I thought until a gust put her side deck under the water. It always amazes me how well she points on just her genoa, here she was going though the waves into the wind, one reef in the genoa only and still logging over 6kts. there were other yachts out as will, all reefed well. At least with the reef in her tiller pilot could cope, we sort of did 50-50% of the helm while sailing. This is what I would call exciting sailing. Once into the entrance of Carrick Roads, I turned her around and headed back, now on a broad reech things seemed a lot cailmer but the wind was just as strong. I had let the reef out but she seemed in danger of broching, so I pull the reef back in’ she was still logging the same sort of speed. once back in Gillan, Elektra had covered the 9nm in 1.5hrs.
Back at the mooring, my dinghy was gone! I motored out and could see a dinghy in against the rocks in the cove, west of the Nare Point. I contacted David J from the boat yard, who was out in Gillan Harbour in their work boat, and he went and got my dinghy for me, will I packed up Elektra. It was 1800hrs when I got back to St Anthony beach in the dinghy
Love Sailing 