Blue sails again

Back in Cyprus, I couldn't wait to get out on the water again.

Neil and Paula had repaired Blue from the capsize on 26 August.

They had taken the top section from an old albacore mast and an old albacore sail, plus manufactured a rudder and tiller from educated guesswork. There are no plans they could find for a Laser 16 rudder.

Anyone have any plans for one they would love to have them.

They told me that making the albacore top section fit the laser16 bottom section was a little more of an engineering feat than they originally expected, but looking at the mast it seems that it will keep Blue sailing for many more years.

The wind was very light and so I offered James the helm. He normally sails an optimist, and he said he found helming the Wayfarer very different, she was much less responsive. If you look carefully in the photo you can see James' parents sailing Blue coming up astern.

We had a very very enjoyable day sailing. The wind picked up somewhat in the afternoon, making for a more interesting sail. Because I haven't sailed the wayfarer for a couple of months the mainsheet block was a little stiff and the mainsheet didn't run through as well as it might. With the wind light in the morning we ended up pushing the boom out by hand!

Sue [my wife] had given me a pair of Icom M34 handheld radios for my birthday and these worked very well for boat to boat communications. Had we had them when Blue capsized then they could have called for help. Actually this is the first part of my safety upgrade for our sailing. I also want to buy a masthead buoyancy unit.