28 September 2008 - Sailing over HMS Cricket

19 nautical miles

On the way to the club we saw a mast for what looked like a pretty big yacht - actually I should say really big yacht. So we went hunting, but it was in the commercial harbour so we couldn't see her. So, I thought, lets take a look by sea. The aim then was to sail out from the cub and then tack across in front of the harbour and run back to the club by 11:30 to help Sheila into the water.

But... the wind was too light, so we got out to about the place to tack across to the harbour by 11:00, which meant there wasn't time to even sail back by 11:30 - the GPS was showing over an hour sailing back. So we flaked the sail and tied it to the boom, brought out the outboard and motored back in 30 minutes. The outboard runs really well when the sea is very calm. Which is what I want it for - running back when the wind drops and motoring into difficult places like Potamos.

After helping Sheila into the water the aim then became to try for Cape Pila or Potamos as it felt like the wind had come up quite a bit. However, we were still sailing at only 3-4 knots so there was no chance and diverted to sail over HMS Cricket. Which we did.

Had a bite to eat on the way and then went about and sailed back. The wind was a little fresher, so thought we might be able to get over the commercial harbour and see the yacht, but didn't happen again, so came into the club.

Pity not the see the really big yacht, but it was a very enjoyable day sailing. Windguru said it was Bft 1 in the early morning, Bft 2 late morning and Bft3 in the afternoon. The new position for the topping lift worked much better, meant we could easily [relatively] flake the sail out on the water and motor in... and unflake and sail off from a buoy back at the club.

Oh, and... yes, those are my feet in the first picture - I'm sitting our on the foredeck with my right foot locked under the kicking strap treating it like a hiking strap. But having the weight that far forward makes Galini dig in a little, so not recommended for long periods of time!

And... you can just see the engine in its sailing position - with the screw suspended under the front starboard seat and the engine itself secured under the thwart. It makes is slightly more difficult for the crew going about as the handle sticks out a little. I shall have to think about the engine position in the future, but having the screw suspended means that its away from the hull, where it could damage the hull and not sitting on the floorboards where it could damage to the screw itself.