May 15, 2023 - Sunday

Sunday was my first single-handed practice sail with Pierless.  I spent the morning getting the deck cleared and checking the rigging.  My friend/neighbor Peter came along in case I needed assistance.  We were up against a noon low tide, so decided to head out between 8 and 9 and be back by eleven.  The harbor entrance is narrow and shallow in places.  I have seen depths of 8 or 9 feet on occasion.  My boat has a draft of nearly 7 feet, so we wanted to be in before the maximum low, otherwise we would have to stay out until early afternoon.  

We motored out in light winds of 8-10 knots.  Swells were about 3 to 4 feet and wind waves were around a foot.  This was the first time I used the electric autopilot.  It worked great!  Easy to use, quiet and it does not use much electricity.  While I have my windvane and have used it frequently when sailing, the autopilot fills another function.  It keeps the boat on a heading when motoring or during sail changes.  Without it, you would have to be at the helm almost all the time.  This is okay for motoring, but does not work well for sail changes when going up to the mast is often required.  I can lock off the wheel and the boat will hold a course for a short while, but not enough for some tasks.

Once we cleared the harbor and motored past some shoals, I turned into the wind and set the autopilot.  Turning into the wind lets you raise a sail more easily since it is not under pressure from the wind.  I went forward to the mast and started hauling on the halyard.  I decided to raise it to the first reef point so I could practice the reefing process.  I plan to sail conservatively on the trip, so reefing will be a common strategy.  

Diagram of a reef in a mainsail.

Reefing is a fairly simple way to reduce the amount of sail you have up.  As winds become stronger, a full sail can become overpowered.  Putting in a reef makes the sail smaller and keeps the boat sailing comfortably.  Reducing sail often has little effect on boat speed and it makes the ride much more comfortable.

Photo of boat (not mine) with reefed main and staysail.

We sailed for about an hour and a half, then headed back to the harbor.  I took notes on things I need to change, but overall the sailing was good and we did not have any problems.  On the way in, the swell was a little larger, so we were watching carefully to try to anticipate the waves.  We did a little bit of surfing as we rounded into the harbor, but all went well.

Later in the afternoon I worked on the lines for the staysail.  I brought them back to the cockpit to see if I could raise and lower the sail from there.  I needed to add a new cleat, but otherwise it looks like it will work.  I'll try it in the morning at the dock to see how it works.

New deck cleat.