Lighter winds, still a great day
Dubbel Zout at Sea
Nik Ormseth
Thu 5 Jan 2023 19:57
| We had light winds today so slower progress towards Las Palmas — now expecting to get into port midday tomorrow (Jan 6) — but we still hit a couple good milestones onboard — not to mention it was a lovely day out on the water! First, we got the windvane self-steering working. It's equipment that came with the boat, but I hadn’t had a chance to test it before now, and the prior owners, Leo & Liesbeth, hadn’t used it extensively or for quite awhile. But with not much more than an hour of tinkering, we had DZ steering herself to a steady angle on the wind — best of all, with zero electricity required. (We have an autopilot, too, which is also great, but it draws power that we need to think about conserving on a weeks-long voyage.).  The other major accomplishment of the day: Getting the spinnaker rigged and flying for the first time. We were a little ragged on that, but nothing that a day or two of use won’t resolve.  |