On 7/28/2016 12:37 AM, John Schinnerer wrote: Hi John, Sure sound familiar. That's how we started sailing, at the Rursee near the Belgian border in Germany. It was a dammed up valley with twists and turns; high hills right and left; and as you so nicely describe, lots of gusts. There were still German bunkers along the shore; part of their Siegfried Line, and at the edge of the Huertgen Forest of Battle of the Bulge fame. Years later when we were sailing from Italy to Yugoslavia, I built a wind vane autopilot. It took a bit of fiddling to get it adjusted, but when that was done it would hold a course hour for hours (unless the wind changed direction; then it had to be reset) and it was a very dependable extra hand on board. Also used it in our New England sailing, though I had then perfected sheet to tiller steering that made life in the cockpit a lot simpler and more pleasurable for the Admirable; fewer lines to get tangled in when she wanted to snooze in the cockpit. I've used a simple system on our M15 but we never went on long hauls where something more elaborate might be needed. It's one thing sailing on Lake Champlain for a few hours vs. doing a 35 NM haul from Block Island to Cuttyhunk in the open ocean. Ciao, and happy sailing Connie
On 07/27/2016 03:59 PM, Jazzy wrote:
Today brings a bit firmer winds, not sure how much. No white caps but 5he surface is disturbed and I'm showed 7.5 kts with current. ...As an aside, I spent about 5 minutes trimming the sails, then I locked the tiller tamer and sat on the bow for 23 minutes before I got bored.
Boy would it be nice to sail the same course and trim for even two or three minutes...haven't done that for quite a while, been sailing on inland lakes in hilly country with ever-shifting winds (even when the shifts are predictable and consistent at various places on the lake, they still are shifts, gotta keep correcting, and then there's the gusts...).
Just pulled Pajarita out from a month slip/mooring in Howard Prairie reservoir (the main sailing lake in these parts, in the hills east of Ashland, OR). Was nice to have her in the water, sailed more for sure than if she was on the trailer, took out a few friends who used to sail, had lived on boats, blue water experience, etc. but hadn't been out for 5 or 10 years. One who'd never sailed on fresh water or dealt with a boat on a trailer. Lots to learn from gusty lake sailing, but I would like to get someplace with a steady moderate breeze for a while! I've only used the genoa once since I got her.
cheers, John S.