COG 290T

SOG 6kts

More trade wind sailing today. It is blowing at 15 or 16kts with gusts coming through to about 23kts. We sailed overnight with two reefs in the mainsail and about half the genoa out. Before dawn the wind rose and we were flying along at 7kts. Now 7kts on an Oyster 55 might seem rather pedestrian. On a Malo 37 in the dark it feels like falling into the abyss. I furled the genoa and we cruised along at a more comfortable 5.5 to 6kts under reefed mainsail alone.

After morning tea and updating the weather forecasts and in line with our somewhat belated policy to get Annie more involved in sail changes she went forward to the mast to hook on the cringle for the third reef in the mainsail as I lowered the sail from the cockpit. Tighten up the third reefing line from the cockpit for the leech of the sail, re-tension the vang, resume our downwind course and, hey presto, job done! We’ve been working on our reefing and un-reefing technique. We can now just angle the boat more into the wind to de-power the sail, put in or take out the reef and resume our course without having to touch the main sheet or adjust the preventer (I am going to assume that after six years of describing these things I no longer have to name in lay terms each part of the sail or it’s controls, even for my brother). Furthermore I had forgotten the joy of not having to leave the cockpit when it is Annie going forward.

Having three reefs in the mainsail together with partially reefed genoa gives a much better balance and feel to the boat than mainsail alone - and hence more comfortable ride. It is always useful to think that the centre of effort of the sails should be around the mast. Too much mainsail and the centre of effort moves aft, pivoting the boat around the mast towards the direction of the wind. Too much genoa and the boat turns the other way, away from the direction of the wind. This is critical when using the Hydrovane wind steering because if the sails aren’t in balance the Hydrovane will have difficulty holding course. You can counteract this by locking the main rudder a bit to port or starboard as necessary by turning the wheel, but ideally the main rudder will be centred.

There are of course variations of sail trim in different conditions. Usually it is better to have more genoa out than mainsail and we will usually reef the mainsail before the genoa. Downwind the genoa will be blanketed by the mainsail so you either need to pole out the genoa on the opposite side to the mainsail or drop the mainsail and just use the genoa (or drop them both and use the cruising chute, or put up the staysail and pole out this or the genoa - sorry Jim).

Supplies of fresh fruit and veg are holding up well. Today we will break into a rather large squash and together with the last of the red pepper and sweet potatoes make a Thai curry. Pressure cooked of course. This should last for a couple of days. There are still a couple of carrots in the fridge, half a white cabbage and loads of onions. Together with our stock of lentils, rice and pasta and tins and jars of fruit and vegetables and pasta sauces we should be able to stave off scurvy before we reach Antigua. There is a Christmas pudding that Annie is savouring and she’s even threatening to put out the fishing line.

Backgammon is 2-0 in Annie’s favour. Grrrr.