Nice solo sail this evening out of Rock Creek, MD

[jaschrumpf]

I've done a bit of re-rigging on my boat to make single handing easier, and since the changes worked out pretty well last Sunday when I had help aboard, I thought I'd give it a true solo test this evening. One additional change I made was replacing my 1/2" genoa sheets with 3/8" double braid line so that the heavy lines wouldn't drag down the clew in light airs.

I motored out of the creek around 6 or so, and since the winds were out of the south for the most part, I had to do a U-turn to head into the wind. As I began my turn to starboard to come into the wind, I saw a very large racer with about ten head of rail meat on the side and what I took to be a gray Kevlar sail bearing down on my port side, close hauled on a port tack, heading for a yellow buoy about 150 yds upwind of me. I didn't want to start raising sail right in his path, so I continued motoring across his course, figuring that he was heading for the buoy to make a leg around it.

So I get off his port side and out of his way and he passes me, and I come into the wind and hoist sail, which takes me a little time because (1) I'm still getting used to this single handing thing and (2) the bungee cord I use as a tiller tamer does not do a very good job holding the boat into the wind, so I have to haul-steer-haul-steer-haul until the sails are raised. I lost sight of the big racer, though I did see him doing something abrupt and possibly violent right down at the buoy. I was busy with my own affairs.

Sails hoisted, I fall off onto a broad reach on a port tack, heading for the Key Bridge -- and there are no less than four, maybe five other racers coming straight at me. I don't know if I stumbled into their race or if they were just all taking a practice run at the buoy, but the feeling was like entering an interstate and finding out you're in the wrong lane. They were on port tacks, I was on a port tack -- but I was upwind, and I know the rules of the road. And the rules become very interesting when you have four or five stand-on vessels to take into account.

But it was easy to pick a path through them, and by the time I'd gybed onto a beam reach on a starboard tack, they were coming back out into the river with spinnakers set. I kept a course to cut 90 deg. across their path, heading out towards the Bay until I was far enough out to weather the White Rocks, whereupon I bore up and sailed back into Rock Creek close hauled on a starboard tack. I stayed on the east side of the Rocks until I was down by the yellow buoy again, when I fired up the ol' A4 and headed into the wind to drop sail. The jib downhaul worked perfectly (changing from 5/16" to 3/16" line made all the difference), and the main practically drops itself -- I hardly have to pull it down at all. A couple of sail ties to keep things in place, and I motored back into the slip to put everything away.

So, my apologies to the Oak Harbor racers, if that was you. I was the blue-hulled 28-footer staggering around your buoy trying to get his sails up this evening. I hope I didn't cause too much anxiety and/or teeth-grinding! Sure was a nice night for a sail.

[sailingdog]

Nice post... Good to see the modifications are working out for the most part.

[chef2sail]

I have cut through the Wed evening Rock Creek racers a few times, even have sailed along side of them "shadowing" them. They are a great bunch.

Great to see you got out and your adjustments are working out. We are headed out somewhere this weekend but havent figured out where as of yet. Looks like a fron comming through on Friday night/ Sat morning so expecting NW winds on Saturday...somewhat gusty. May be a day for Corsica on the Chester or Whorton ( which would be a better ride for Sunday comming home)

Dave