Breeze On

We anchored at nearby Trappe Creek for a night to practice raising and lowering our mainsail in light wind. Steve, whose group installed the system, suggested we practice at least ten times. He suggested that one of us operate the winch while the other stands at the mast and watches to make sure the sail is even and not shifting backward or forward. George took the first shift at the winch. His ten practice sessions went very well. When it was my turn at the winch I did not do as well. Raising the sail is very easy. The difficulty comes when furling the sail into the boom. To furl the sail I wrap the furling line around the winch, then hook the halyard around a cleat and hold the halyard tight before opening the clutch. If I did not hold the halyard tight the weight of the sail would have caused it to fall to the deck. Also, if the luff of the sail (forward edge) is too loose the sail tends to shift forward while furling. If it shifts too far forward it hits the hardware and gets chewe

The crew finished their work on Breeze On by Wednesday afternoon. Thursday morning Steve gave us our tutorial on how to use the Leisure Furl system. When we started the wind direction was perfect. Steve spent quite a bit of time explaining how each part of the system worked and why it is important to use it in a certain way. The most critical part is to make sure the lines are set so the boom is at the right angle for the sail to furl without shifting forward or backward. Steve demonstrated a few times before we were ready to try it. When the time came for George and I to practice raising and lowering the mainsail the wind was strong and shifty. George was able to do a partial raise & lower. Steve suggested we practice on our own while anchored in winds of 10 knots or less. So, we left the dock at Jabin’s and motored south to anchor for the night in the Rhode River.  This morning we raised the anchor in the rain and motored and/or sailed home with the jib only. It rained the entire

We left home Sunday morning and motored across the bay in relatively mild conditions. We anchored for two nights in Harness Creek, just south of Annapolis. It was a great choice—while it was gusting up to 30 knots out on the bay we barely noticed any wind in our protected anchorage. We had put the enclosure up to keep us warm and dry. It rained the entire day on Monday and we noted a few leaks from the new dodger which we will address once we get home. We weighed the anchor Tuesday morning before sunrise and motored two hours to Jabin’s Yacht Yard. The stepping of the mast went just as smoothly as when they removed it two weeks ago. This time they had a trip line attached to remove the strap at the end of the crane. We took a few photos of the new furling boom before they attached it. By the end of the day they had attached most of the lines but still had to reconnect the electrical lines and rig the boom brake. It was a cool and cloudy day so it was a challenge for us to find a dry, w