We sailed our new acquisition, Poetry, a 1988 Sabre 38 both days this weekend. On Saturday, we had 18 kts gusting to 23. With a single reef and a reduced headsail, she handled beautifully and we had her up to 7.8 kts.
On Sunday, the winds were even stronger. We headed East with 15 kts on our stern. Our friend's Phil and Joy joined us for the second outing. Joy was at the helm and pointed out the at the wind was up to steady 25kts and gusting up from there. It was an interesting ride home to windward. We tried putting in the #2 reef on the main but the shackle holding the bock to the foot of the mast exploded. At this point we dropped sails and motored home. Thankfully and touching wood, the 33HP Westerbeke worked well.
Somehow I cut myself in the excitement and dropped blood all over the place - Appropriate for Halloween. You could say we really blooded Poetry.
Below are various photos of Poetry, yours truly, the missus and our friends. If you look carefully, you can see blood on the binnacle.
No more problematic outboard! Enjoy the boat, she's beautiful.
Posted by: Baydog | October 31, 2010 at 05:40 PM
Touch wood, the engine works fine.
Posted by: Adam Turinas | October 31, 2010 at 06:37 PM
You haven't really sailed a boat until you've blooded the binnacle.
Posted by: Tillerman | October 31, 2010 at 08:51 PM
Spoken like a true pirate
Posted by: Adam Turinas | October 31, 2010 at 08:55 PM
Finally - Poetry in motion!
Are you up for a little experiment? The next time you've got 25 knots, try dropping the main completely and going under jib alone. Will she go to weather without bearing off?
For some reason, our boat will with a nicely balanced helm and it's an easy way to calm things down in a hurry.
Posted by: o docker | November 01, 2010 at 01:53 AM
I will try that for sure
Posted by: Adam Turinas | November 01, 2010 at 06:07 AM