Second November Sail

It was a nice-ish day and we were keen to get out on the water, so on Sat 11/21/09 we headed out on another adventure. I was working on the boat most of the morning and Brigite was catching up with her things. We got a late start around 1pm. We had prepared for an overnight trip, but with the short days, we had to find somewhere that was within 10 miles.

I wanted to visit the Kipoteake anchorage, and we decided to try that even though it was going to be a late arrival - around 1930, with darkness at 1800, because the 15 mile trip was straight upwind. We went with the big genoa, and the wind was just starting to create white caps. I decided that this is the upper end of this sail upwind. Wunderground reports it was between 12 and 15 mph.

It was quite chilly upwind, and after we ate, etc we decided that the overnight cruise to Kipoteake would have to wait. Instead we sailed out the first gap in the CBBT, tacked, hoisted the chute and sailed back. It was quite bumpy and we had our hands full. I could not leave the tiller for a second, as the boat would roll off course immediately. Brigite had her hands full with the boat at 20 degrees and pitching as she Teed up the Spinn.

Once up, it took a while to find the most comfortable and stable sailing angle, but after that it was smooth sailing - until the topping lift broke at one end! The pole fell to the deck, but we scrambled and attached it to the end of the pole and were off again. The lifting strop at one end broke, the wire just seems to have parted in the middle.

We had a great sunset in front of us as we sailed back to port, and took a ton of photos!

As usual after a sail - the engine refused to start! Dang it! And I was pretty confident my new starting technique would have fixed it! The symptoms only occur after sailing. At the dock or after motoring it starts great - but after some sailing; no dice.

So we sailed into our dock spot (again), and then after a while got the engine started. We had a glass of wine and a chat in the cabin with our clean cushions being very inviting.

Re the engine: I am now stripping the fuel system. I have the shut-off switch working again, cleaned the sediment bowl, and am replacing (and relocating) the fuel filter. Plus I will inspect the fuel tank for rust or other crud.