On the water...finally!

[cal27sailor]

 I bought my 1984 Compac 19 in late June, drove her 700 miles back home to NW Arkansas and spent all of July getting her cleaned up, retagged, and ready for my vacation in Wisconsin.  This included building several versions of a gin pole system for stepping the mast by myself.  Other than shredding a trailer tire in Iowa, towing my new baby to Wisconsin was uneventful.  I did have a problems with stepping the mast as my bridles did not work as well as when I tested them but two local sailors helped me get her stepped and secured.  She has been in a slip in Egg Harbor, WI all week and I have had several great sails out on Green Bay.  I could not be more impressed or happy with "Rita Marlene"!  I purchased her with the hope that a smaller boat would be less stress on me physically than my Islander 28, especially since I single hand most of the time.  From the very first time I backed her out of the slip she has been near perfect!  All of the raising and trimming of sails, tacking, jibing, and chasing wind have been effortless.  She has handled and responded extremely well.  The Mercury 4.5 iron wind has been flawless.  Even mundane chores like cleaning and scrubbing her after the drive up here have been so much easier and less difficult.  My CP19 has brought back all of the fun in sailing and owning a sailboat!  I have another five days here in Wisconsin and plan on having her out every day!  It is still early but I am definitely serious about downsizing permanently and finding a new owner for my Islander.  There are so many things I want to do to upgrade and further improve "Rita Marlene" and even these are going to be more easily accomplished and more affordable than with a larger boat.  Looking forward to many years with my Compac 19 and also tapping into the great knowledge from this group to become a better sailor and insure my baby is top notch!

Tony Rodriguez
1984 Compac 19, Hull #231

[Bob23]

Tony:
   That was a great letter and I'm so glad you are enjoying your Rita Marlene! (nice name, by the way).  Feel free to keep us posted about your adventures and please contribute here as you have the opportunity to do so. It's what makes this place tick!!!
Bob23 and "Koinonia" in NJ

[fiddledance]

Congratulations Tony!  Your email is inspiring and it makes me happy to be a fellow CP19 owner.  Many happy sails!!  Brendan

[Vipersdad]

Tony--Please call me.

George

[cal27sailor]

Down to my last few days in Door County, WI and plan on getting my CP19 out at least one more time.  Actually took her out on Sunday morning when it was very windy...a small craft advisory was issued in the afternoon.  Really just planned to motor around the protected harbor for an hour to better understand how she handles heavier winds and rough waves and get more comfortable with the iron wind.  After a little while I decided to put a reef in the mainsail and hoist it.  Everything went well and I was very surprised how well she handled the rougher water and wind gusts.  Reefing was fairly easy to do versus my bigger boat.  It was good practice for me with the boat and with reefing....plus I just liked being on the water for a few more hours.  Weather forcast looks promising for Wednesday afternoon.....can't wait to get out on Green Bay.