Eclipse 18 mile sail .......

[Glenn Basore]

On the 23 rd of August I set sail out of Ventura with two sailing friends aboard my Eclipse.

No sun shine, cool 65 to 70 degrees by late afternoon, no swells, no chop, no white caps and a constan wind between 8 and 12 mph. an occasional gusts to 15.

The Eclipse really sailed well, pretty flat sailing with the traveler set to leaward so she would not round up in the gusts.

We saw three porpoises as we left the marina , the winds were  from the west blowing on shore which stay that way the whole day.

We watch a large regatta of boats set sail for a race around one of the islands which would take them all day.

According to my crew with their high tech gps devices, we were maintaining a 4.0 to 4.6 speed, I don't know how good this was (or Bad) but we had a good day sailing together.

When we returned to the boat docks Bryan's GPS recorded us traveling a distance of 18 miles.

Time and distance seems meaningless when you are having so much fun together.

Glenn B.

[elibobeli]

Glenn,

Sounds like a great day of sailing.  Porpoises - can't wait to sail with them.  I sail amongst and endless stream of Salmon fisherman trolling the river mouths.  Still good sailing, but Salmon rarely ride the waves.

About your sail - I have a handheld GPS (Garmin etrex Summit) used more for hiking but works for me on the boat.  When I have it out, and the boat is moving at 4-4.5 knots it really feels like it is in the groove.  This past weekend, we had the boat moving along in good wind (I am sorry, I have no measuring device, but the flags were constantly flapping, and enough for a reef in the main).  I had the full jib and reefed main with traveler to windward and much twist in the main.  It was gusty.  I felt the boat sailed fairly flat in this range.  While I had the GPS out, I decided to take the twist out of the main to see how much speed we could eeck out of her.  As I untwisted the main, we picked up speed to 5.2, but heeled over as well (the rail was several inches from the water).  I loved the way the rudder powered up and the boat sliced through the water.  I wanted to round her up but I let the boat sail for a few more seconds heeled and hauling.  Digging in was the best way to describe what it felt like.  The boat dug in and made way and the captain and his mate found comfort in that.

Thanks for sharing your sailing story.

[Glenn Basore]

Elibobeli,

Sounds like your getting a custom to your Eclipse!

I have a Garmin 110 or 120 Radio and GPS. I cant seem to get the darn thing to work.

First off, I thought the radio would have at least channel 16,this doesn't it, I can talk to others but if you cant use the emergency channel, what the heck !

It was advertised as a simple to use system with gps, tracking ect, I cant figure it out and the booklet is way too complicated for this old dog, to much grey mater between the ears..............:-(

I thought a simple hand held wind speed indicator would be nice to have but they are not cheap.

Glenn B.

[DanN]

E

First off, I thought the radio would have at least channel 16,this doesn't it, I can talk to others but if you cant use the emergency channel, what the heck !

It was advertised as a simple to use system with gps, tracking ect, I cant figure it out and the booklet is way too complicated for this old dog, to much grey mater between the ears..............:-(

Completely different frequencies.   The Garmin uses the Family Radio Service (FRS) and General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) which are intended for short-range land-based use.  They operate in the 462 and 467 MHZ range.    Marine VHF is 156-157 MHZ.     You'll have to buy a separate VHF radio for marine use.  iCom makes some decent models, some of which are waterproof.

[Glenn Basore]

Thanks Dan,

I will look on the web to see what is available and best price.

I think I want a hand held device, this way it wont disappear from the boat when not in use !

Glenn B.