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When I got to the marina the winds were around 5 kts. By the time I got the boat rigged and the sails up the winds had dropped to about 2 kts and then further to 8 tenths of a knot. At one point a group of butterflys actually flew past me at about twice my speed!!! I "sailed" across the lake (about 1.5 miles wide at the point I crossed it) and since the winds were so light I decided to sail back and go home. The entire sail lasted about 2 hours.

As I was coming back (still under sail power) the winds started to pick up again, 1 knot, 2 knots, 4 knots, 6 knots 8 knots all in about a 10 minute period. The weather report said 15 to 20 kts in the afternoon. It was the afternoon!!

I went home.

Try that site: http://www.windguru.cz/fr/index.php?sc=116
They are usually not to far from the truth in their wind predictions.

I am just back from a nice sail. The wind was as they predicted.

I am considering going out today. Right now (7:30 AM EST) the fog is so thick I can't see out my back door. I will take me 90 minutes to get to the marina so maybe by then it will have cleared. My goal for today is to sail to Persimmon Cove,which is 6 miles from the marina on the map, have lunch, sail back before dark.

This may seem a long time to just sail 6 miles but the winds are almost always blowing directly from the cove so the actual sailing distance is closer to 10 miles. If the wind gods are kind and maintain a steady 5 to 6 kts that is still a good 3 hour or so sail to the cove for my boat (the Lusty Slogger has a theoretical hull speed of about 4 knots)

Be of good cheer yall

All my best for that sortie! Have a lot of fun and try to give us some images of it if this is possible!

Michel wrote:All my best for that sortie! Have a lot of fun and try to give us some images of it if this is possible!

This turned into a near disaster!!! The winds were around 8 to 10 kts and the boat sailed fairly well. I never made it to the cove but only because the winds were straight down the lake and progress up the lake was somewhat slow. Anyway, when I got back to the marina I dropped my phone into the lake, unfortunately it was in my pocket at the time! I tried to sail into my slip and not use the engine at all. I got within about 18 inches of the pier and stood up to get out of the boat. As I was moving to disembark the wind was blowing the boat away from the dock. I tried to leap out on the dock, lost my footing and went straight into the lake between the boat and the pier!! I had the dock lines (which I always keep on the boat and disconnect from the dock) in my hands so I was able to keep in contact with the boat. however, I could not pull myself into my boat. I do have a boarding ladder but that was safely tucked away in the cabin so I wouldn't trip over it. No one else was at the dock, I couldn't get back into my boat and I couldn't swim and pull the boat up to the dock. I was more concerned about the boat drifting away then I was drowning to be honest. I ended up letting me and the boat drift to the stern of another boat which had a boarding ladder attached. I climbed up his ladder and used that to get back in my boat. This time I used the engine to get back to the slip and all was well. Except for the fact my inflatable life vest did not inflate, even when I pulled the cord. Apparently at some point it had already been inflated and the compressed air was gone. I don't know if that had happened before I bought it (From Bass Pro Shop) or if it had inflated at some point and then leaked back down. I don't know how that could have happened without some outward sign, especially since I keep it in a tight storage bag. I now don't trust the automatic inflated vest but they are really a much more comfortable device.

Boathook?

PASAILOR wrote:Boathook?

next to the boarding ladder
Actually, I had used the boathook to pull me up to the dock in the beginning. However, I had laid the hook in the cockpit and was getting off the boat when the wind blew the boat away from the dock, widening the distance to the dock. I should have not tried to come in under sail alone. But, like all events of this nature I have learned several things. First is that my Tilly hat floats, secondly, my sunglasses did not. I also learned that I should check the life vest every time before I do out. I should have made sure that it had not discharged accidentally. I also learned not to come in with the wind blowing away from the dock with a sail up. I learned I can't climb back into my boat from the water so I had better come up with another solution. Truthfully, hanging the rope ladder off the stern at all times would not be doable so, I need to do something else. Maybe secure the ladder in a place I can reach in and get it.

It was interesting.

Well!... I guess everything will go better now! Your karma must be paid completely! You were probably a pirate or a raiding viking in a past life!

You were lucky nobody was there with a camera.

I have to admit that the same thing almost happened to me this year! An off the dock wind was present and I barely managed to jump on the dock with my dock lines in hand as the boat was drifting off. It was really close!

One other time, I tripped both my feet on the jib sheet and fell face first on the dock! I managed to break my fall instead of my face only because I had done some judo years ago!... I could have hurted myself real bad there!

Luckily there was no body there to film the scene!

I forgot to say that I also dropped my cellphone in the water! I was installing the motor on its mount and plouf!.... It fell from my shirt pocket!