Our Leisure Furl Tutorial

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 time. Within a few days we should have the right conditions to practice using the Leisure Furl boom. We both think we will enjoy it once we become adept at using it. 

In other news...

We finally decided that we will not be going to the Bahamas this winter. It was a very difficult decision for us and we put it off as long as we could. Taking this year off makes the most sense given all of the uncertainties caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. The outbreak in the Bahamas is only getting worse and their one hospital is at capacity. If either one of us were to get sick we would have to leave the boat in the Bahamas and travel (probably by special medevac) to the US for treatment. Because of the current testing and medical visa requirements necessary to enter the Bahamas we would have to sail all the way to Florida before crossing to the Bahamas. We have heard that there have been “horror stories” from boaters already unable to find slips at marinas in Florida. One of the marinas in Beaufort, NC where have stayed was recently closed to transient boaters because the owner had COVID. For these, and many other reasons, we decided it made sense to stay home. We are sad to miss the warm weather, beautiful water, and friendly people of the Bahamas but hope to go again next year. 

Our new mainsail furled in our new boom. The cover is pulled over the top of the sail. The black line is used to pull the cover on and retract it. We are going to love that feature. I will make an additional cover for the bit of sail that sticks out of the boom.