Race Night 2014-07-16

I don't know why, but for years, on Wednesday evenings when we hold a sailboat race night, the wind disappears. The only exception to this is when it is blowing a gale, and not a good idea for the smaller boats to be out in the harbour. Today not only was there almost no wind, but there was fog, something we very rarely see.

None of the other boats wanted to race in such conditions, so I took advantage of the light air to try out my sails. My main sail had just recently arrived back from a sailmaker in Nova Scotia where it had been sent to be refurbished. It is old, but the budget did not allow replacement. This should get a few more years out of it.

The main did not receive a lot of attention, but it does now have all new slides/slugs. The design of the new ones is different, and while they will protect the webbing better, they tend to get jammed in the mast gate. Some sort of modification is required there.

Also, I have been given a genoa which I estimate to be a 130, but I'll have to take measurements to confirm it. It has been raised at the dock, just to confirm it could be raised, but never before taken out sailing. With almost no wind, this would be a good test.

The genoa does not have a lot of clearance at the head, but there is a long pigtail that I use for the jib that can be bypassed or replaced for this sail. Otherwise, it works very well on Serenity. From the shore, friends could see me moving along pretty good, as I was able to maintain 1.5 to 2 knots, and occasionally get up to 4 with no wind to see on the water.

Sailing up to the fog bank

Moon Shadow trying to catch up

Photo of Serenity by Dave Leyden

It was a good evening for the testing I wanted to do, but I did not get back to the dock quickly enough to avoid the rain. I could see the weather was changing, and rushed to get the sails down and get in. It started just as I was entering the marina. Never good weather on race night.

When to Change Sails?

Serenity is a small boat, with a LOD of 22' 7". It is also a fairly light wind boat, with the BDR being about 38, and the SADR at 20.5. Considering these bits of information, and my opinion that 15 to 20 degrees of heel is generally what most modern boats require to sail efficiently, I've been pondering when to change sails.

The boat does not have furling, so my sail choices are a 130? genoa, a jib with one reef point, and a mainsail with one reef point.

Here is what I plan to experiment with:

up to 10 knots (up to Force 3) - upwind or downwind - genoa and full main
11 to 16 knots (Force 4) - upwind or downwind - full jib and full main or genoa and reefed main
17 to 21 knots (Force 5) - upwind reefed jib and full main - downwind full jib & reefed main
22 to 27 knots (Force 6) - upwind or downwind - reefed jib and reefed main
28 to 33 knots (Force 7) - upwind reefed main only - downwind reefed jib only
34 or higher knots (Force 8 and above) - be safely docked somewhere protected

The idea is to have the boat heel no more than 25 to 30 degrees in gusts. If it is consistently tipping past 20 degrees, then it is time to reduce sail. This makes things more comfortable for the passengers and crew, and puts less stress on the gear.

When racing, perhaps 5 or 10 degrees can be added to the above heel numbers, but at extreme angles of heel, you will be making more leeway, so probably not getting any benefit from a fraction of a knot speed increase.

When sailing solo, I'll set the sails more conservatively. ie In a force 5, use just reefed main and reefed jib. Winds around here can be very gusty. It is better to go a bit more slowly, than be overpowered, and unable to do much about it.

I'd be interested in knowing what other people's opinions are on this, so if you have any thoughts, please comment.

Harbour Sailing

On Saturday, June 28, there was a very light wind and a big blue sky, and the harbour was full of sailboats. Among them was Serenity, trying to make way with just a jib.

This picture was taken by a buddy, Lloyd, aboard a 12' Petrel while I was coming over to visit.

This is what Lloyd looked like when I passed him.

My friend, Byron, and his family were out in their Bayfield 23/25 for the first time ever. The light wind allowed them to raise the sails, and try sailing the boat.

I was out again on Sunday, and went a little further out the bay to see if any icebergs were visible, but the only white spot in the distance may have been a large boat. There was even less wind, so no point in raising the jib.

Stepped and Launched

On Wednesday Serenity went to the marina. With the most important pre-launch jobs completed, I no longer needed it in my driveway, and it was time to think about going sailing. The engine and rudder were attached, and everything was put in place for stepping the mast, but it was too wet and windy to attempt.

On Thursday conditions were better, so with the help of Byron and Mike, the process went smoothly. Now preparations were begun for launching.

On Friday morning Serenity was launched with help from Peter and Byron, and a couple of passers by. With the tide falling we had to be quick. Another issue was having Serenity too far back on the trailer. With the angle of the ramp, the bow wanted to lift, so Byron had to stay aboard while the boat was let back into the water.

In the afternoon, the rigging got an initial tuning, and the jib was installed. The boat will have to do without the mainsail for a couple of weeks, but this is the earliest in the season that Serenity has been on the water. It is usually a week or more into July. I'm going to aim for launching in May from now on. I've already missed a few good sailing days.

Since my main is away to be refurbished, I had arranged to borrow one. I checked on it, and discovered that even though it is from a smaller boat, the foot is longer. I guess that the PY23 has a higher aspect ratio than an Alberg 22 at 7.5' vs 9'. Looks like I will be sailing on jib alone for a while.