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Chapter 1: Our first cruise

2K views 19 replies 18 participants last post by  blutoyz 
#1 ·
We made big plans. We were going to sail 25 nautical miles, from Port Charlotte down the Peace River to Cayo Costa state park aboard our new 1978Watkins 27, Miss Marisol. Crew included my wife and 5 year-old daughter.

Although I have experience sailing dinghy's, my only experience with a 20+ foot sailboat was in ASA 101. This is also my only experience with a winch.

As I hoisted the main halyard for the first time I managed to foul the line on the winch at a point where the main was as tight as it could get. Damn.

Leading up to this point, I had dreamed about sailing Miss Marisol every night for the past week. Literally. In every dream, every night.

I unfurled the genoa and we were sailing. But I had a problem I couldn't fix. I pulled out my iPad and started searching for solutions online. I tried running the line forward and around to another winch to break the catch. This and every other idea was useless. My girls were getting upset.

At this point, the wind died. We moved 100 yards in 40 minutes. I spent this time working on my fouled line. I had to cut the halyard to drop the main.

We then motored a few miles to find the wind, and started sailing on the genoa. This was a good decision. We saw several dolphins including a mother and baby, and some large rays. The motor was off and my girls where smiling. I had worried that my girls would have a bad experience and not enjoy sailing.

Our big plans were cancelled. We decided to turn around and head back to the dock where I could replace the halyard. We stayed aboard Miss Marisol (kept at a dock behind a strangers house via Craigslist) and awoke the next morning to solve our problems. I bought a new line, met with a rigger who could splice the end loop, and arranged to get my 1 missing mast step replaced.

Then we enjoyed another 3-hour cruise, sailing on the genoa.

This wasn't the grand adventure I had imagined, but it was great family time. My girls loved it when the sails were up and the diesel off. They played cards (Go Fish) while I tacked up to Punta Gorda. Their smiles told me everything I needed to know.
 
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#6 ·
I sailed a little borrowed Catalina shoal draft center board thing, from Ft. Myers up to Gasparilla, back down to costa, and down to Cabbage Key on a three day adventure over Thanks Giving with my dad. Still one of my Favorite weekend cruises of all time! I love that area. Get back out there, they are gonna love it.,....bring bug spray and a mosquito screen, and coils.....and fans.
 
#12 ·
Sounds like sailing - mess up a bit, learned a lesson or two, had a great time, and became further addicted.

I have been sailing for 40+ years and sailed for tens of thousands of miles and the summary above still applies.
 
#13 ·
It was just the beginning. I had two goals for my first few days of sailing Miss Marisol: 1. Get to know her. Practice docking, tacking, running, etc etc etc. 2. Ensure my Wife and daughter want more sailing after the first experience.

With both goals accomplished, I'm looking forward to more adventures.

I'm definitely going to research alternatives to slicing my main halyard next time. My self tailing winch is located to starboard on the coachroof. It runs through a clutch then block and up the mast. I tried running the line forward around the traveler and back into the cockpit to the Genny winch. I pulled it in and it didn't move at all.
 
#14 ·
There is absolutely nothing better than the elation that comes with "I can really do this " after some time spent sailing, and the funny thing is it happens again and again. I went through it with my first two boats and am about to experience it Thursday with sailing my new boat for the first time. The real bonus in it all is having your daughter along and her enjoying it, my 18 year old son was helping me prep the boat yesterday and told me "dad, I want to learn to solo sail this year and maybe you could help me find a boat of my own." All I could do was sit for a minute and then say it would be my honor.
 
#15 ·
Ryan,
A rolling hitch as cited previously is the main way to get the tension off, but then you still need (and should always have) a 'marlin spike' on your knife/person - basically it's just a knot picker. Your basic knife (you do always have a knife available?) from WM has a blade and marlin spike for 19 bucks.

The other thing I'd recommend is to use McLube or some other dry lube on your main slugs and slot. Your avatar shows you to be relatively young, you should be able to hoist a Watkins 27's main hand over hand (no winch) to the top and then just use the winch to set tension. That (lube) will also make is set better.
That's provided you are headed into the wind, any deviance from dead in can put premature pressure on the sail and make hoisting difficult and even impossible.

I don't know your commuting situation, but you may find it helpful to go out and single hand, starting with just the main, then adding the jib. Get comfy on the boat by yourself - then add the wife and daughter. A confident skipper who knows the boat goes a long way to making crew feel good and times enjoyable. Find a friend to help if you need to.

Good luck, have fun and stay safe.
 
#16 · (Edited)
" confident Skipper" It's the truth. If a skipper is yelling and frustrated with his crew, it's beacuase he does'nt know what he's doing well enough to just do it by himself. I saw an Ausie capt. speaking poorly with the guy ( who was paying him for the chareter/ lesson)pulling up to fuel dock on 50 something foot sail boat. I finally said to him, that captains 'round here can dock a little boat like that by themselves, so why are you trying make it look like it's the newbie on the bow that's making this difficult for you.
But I digress, yes, def. go out alone and work through the curve in private, curse the sky, the boat and every body invloved with designing the gear you're having trouble with, skin your knuckles and break a few things, and then take the wife and daughter out with confidence.
 
#17 ·
What a great story. You even had the balls to set a pretty high goal for your first time out. I personally believe that you have many years ahead of you of fine sailing and quality time with your family. Enjoy!
 
#18 ·
Ryan.

Thanks for sharing your story and Welcome to the club.

My first few times out I was using the winch on the halyard also. The joy of Teflon lube on the track and eliminating a rub at the base of the mast and now I hoist by hand. Works like a charm and gloves help a lot.

One first things I did with the wife was beat into the wind in a narrow channel. She worked the port jib sheet, I the starboard. After 4 or 5 tacks we got it down and now she loves sailing and working as a team. There is nothing better.
 
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