My first solo sail

[rsahlender]

What a weekend... I finally launched my new to me 88 CP16 in Lake Nockamixon PA this past weekend.

After having work done over the winter I was finally able to take her home from the boat yard on Saturday. I was a little nervous having never trailered before but had no trouble getting her home. I decided to spend the day Saturday in my driveway getting used to the rigging and raising and lowering the sails. I put the mast up and took it down, attached and detached the boom, and raised and lowered the sails all multiple times. The CP16 sure is easy.

So I go to the Marina on Sunday and proceed to put up the mast and attach the boom and thinking I'm hiding my nerves pretty well until I realize I never attached the halyards... aarrgghh. So I take it all down and include the halyards the next time. I finish all the launch prep and see that the ramps are open and drive on down to try a launch. A friendly guy prepping an old O'Day daysailer agreed to hold and tie off the dock lines for me after launch so I attempt to straighten out enough for the launch but... needed to pull forward and back down about 3 times before getting it right. But once right, the 16 floated off the trailer easily. Whew. My nerves are calming down a little now.

I go park the truck and trailer and try to hide some of my excitement as I hurry back down to the dock to thank the guy for helping me launch. The little 2hp Honda fired up after 2 or 3 pulls so I wait a few minutes that seemed like hours for it to warm up enough to idle without any choke then pull the dock lines and off I go. It takes a little getting used to spinning the little Honda around to go in reverse and back again for forward but not as difficult as I imagined. So I motored on out to the middle of the lake and shut the motor down so I could raise the mainsail. Well... clumsy me doesn't hold the sail cleat stopper thingy tight enough and it drops on to the deck and bounces overboard... aarrgghh again. No trouble getting the mainsail up just no stopper above the wide spot where the cleats are fed.

Well she begins to move with the mainsail alone but I'm too excited to go slow... the winds are only 5 to 10 which is perfect for someone like me to putz around and get used to everything but... must go faster, must go faster, so let I out the sheet and head into the wind and proceed up to the bow to hank on the jib. No issues attaching the jib so I bring the lines back to the jib tracks and quickly raise it... by now even in the light winds she has been blown around enough that the wind is beginning to catch in the mainsail so I tighten up on the main and job sheets and off I go.

The winds on an inland lake, at least this particular lake but I assume at many, are not consistent and change depending on the landscape and trees etc and this too takes some getting used to but somehow I find the groove and my little GPS says I'm doing 4.5 - 5 knots across the lake. Woohoo!

So I'm out there about 4 hours tacking all over the place trying to get used to how the telltales on the jib react to wind direction since I do not yet have a windex. I'm also try to nudge her passed the 5 knot mark but just can't quite do it... and of course it is because the winds are too light and has nothing to do with my being a newbie! <grin>

Anyway I finally realize that 4 hours of tacking has made for sore muscles that just don't get worked enough at my desk job so it's time to head in. I once again head into the wind and take the sails down so I can motor to my slip. When I get near the docks and my slip I quickly realize it is a good thing the winds are light. Perhaps I just need to get a little more practiced and experienced with the little Honda but find the centrifugal clutch to be a little tedious for docking in a slip. My mind tells me it would be easier if I had forward and neutral gears as opposed to having to rev up some to make the propeller spin but I don't know... I am just glad the winds are not strong enough to blow me into the dock on the starboard side of my slip or the other boat to my port. Thank goodness I picked up a telescoping boat hook and was going slow enough to pull the CP16 to rest in her new slip.

What a blast! I can't wait to do it again!

Rich   

[DOUG142]

Wow!  What a blast!!!   

Sounds like your hooked.  Like we all are.

Isn't Com-pac sailboats a great sailboat?  We think so. 

Glad your solo flight went great!  Many more to come.


Doug and Linda
Compac 19, s/v Sweet Dreams

[gato chateau]

Rich,

Sounds like a lot of fun.  I took delivery of my Sun Cat Saturday and was able to put her in the water at Lake Nock later same day.  Not singlehanded mind you, but with my Dad (who traveled from an upstate town near Lake George) and my wife who had just arrived home from Ithaca NY.  We had a great time.  So much so that I dropped our boat back at Riverside Marina in NJ today for bottom paint after securing a slip at the lake yesterday.  Stop by at G 42 in a week or so.

--Brian