Sea Ya

Motoring with fouled propellor 

Basic Cruising Standard

Pleasure Craft Operator Card

Plan was to take the boat out with motor only since it had been a few weeks since last outing.  Noticed some floating seagrass on the way out and wondered if it would become a problem.  It did foul my propellor almost right away, but I didn’t notice until I came very close to the shore and almost could not steer away.

With the current I was able to return to the mooring field without pushing the motor too hard, drop anchor, turn the engine off, and clear the propellor with a boat hook.  I have heard it may be possible just to put the engine in reverse, but didn’t think to try it.  Next time I’ll try that first.  

Pulled anchor back up and returned to port.  

Motoring in antigonish harbour 

Sortie tournage Ohana 

Exuma

Raised the main sail in stages (reef 1, reef 2, full) to get more comfortable with reefing.  Was able to get 3-4 knots of speed at full sail.

Mainsail in light winds 

Motoring with +1

Less eventful than yesterday.  One of the Dutchman guiding lines has snapped, but I’m not sure the system is all that useful anyway.  May repair it, or just remove it and flake the sail normally.  

Replaced some worn plastic end stops on the traveller.  

Still working on the jabsco toilet pump.  It leaks water at the joints.  So far the base valve and joker valve have been replaced and the problem is still there.  New top valve is next, then the whole pump if that doesn’t work.  

Sailing (mostly with main + motor) and upkeep

First true test of solo sailing with both sails up and engine turned off.  Was able to raise the main to full with no trouble.  Saw a loose buoy and made a few attempts to recover it, then continued with the plan to raise both sails by unfurling the Genoa.  This was also not difficult and soon the motor was turned off.  

Did a false jibe early due to a loose cleat on the traveller, but got it under control and did some wing on wing before returning to broad reach.  A laker approached me from astern and I thought it was going to the seaway,  but he warned me to get out of the way and I understood he was going to the old port instead.  This flustered me a bit and I furled the Genoa (which had come loose) and turned the engine back on to get out of the way.  After that, I came close to some sailing school boats out doing sailing lessons, and I figured I had enough for one day.  Got up river on engine enough to turn around into the wind, drop the main, and head for port under power. 

Solo w/ Genoa and main

Chose a point of sail with the wind coming from behind (broad reach) and unfurled the Genoa.  Misjudged and unfurled the Genoa on the wrong side.  While trying to tack and fix the issue, the sheet came off the clew of the Genoa.  I thought it was broken, it but just needed to be reattached.  With that done, it was possible to tack a bit using the autopilot (seven clicks on the +/-10 button), and generally enjoy the sail a bit.  A large yacht came out of the seaway.  Saw a few people on board Exuma, moored to a ball near the club.  Then pointed Sea Ya back into home, got the fenders out, and docked safely after a few tries.  

Single handing with Genoa and motor only 

Mainsail does not have a boom vang.  There is a topping lift, but it’s not possible to adjust it either at the mast or from the cockpit.  

Genoa unfurls well but the sail is a bit old, a bit big, and has no UV strip.  

Windvane might need to be calibrated to accurately show area of no wind.  

1106225: shaking out Genoa and mainsail 

Wind was favorable and a neighbour moved, granting a bit of extra space.  Cast off, exited the club, and tested maintaining a course with the autopilot while bringing in the fenders.  Motored around the North cardinal buoy at la Ronde, put the fenders back out, and came back in to port.  Needed two tries to dock, but second try was successful.  Was able to back in to the slip without hitting anything. 

Alex MacCaull