It finally picked up around 1000, so I figured I'd give it's try. However that only lasted for a little while and I was again becalmed out in the middle of the bay. Now, I need to get used to sailing the boat in all conditions, so I played around with sail trim and did the best I could. I'd hooked up the wind vane and used it a little, but once the wind died down, I disconnected it and pulled up the servo rudder so it wouldn't drag. I really need to be out on the sound to test it out, since it's a pain to adjust wind direction with such short tacks in the bay.
After about an hour, the wind picked back up again, and I sailed all around the bay for the next few hours. Unfortunately, the spot where I'd intended to anchor had some buoys marking it off as a managed area, so I ended up re-anchoring in the back same general area once the wind died down again around 1700.
The sailing was good, but I did have a few gear issues, most of which I already knew. However, I did have one surprise. The shackle connecting the mainsheet block to the traveler car has a tendency to release the spring loaded stopper, and allow the car to slide freely to the end of the track.
I'm not sure this is on my list yet, but changing cars and stops, either back to the original type, which where broken, or something else, would require removing the traveler. Since it's such a pain to do, 14 hard to get to through bolts, I'm not in any hurry to pull it off. I'll try to do something with the shackle and see if that fixes it. In the long run, I may go back to something similar to the original setup, but in any case, will need to buy a new car as well as other hardware -- the flow of money is never ending.
After we got back, anchored, secured everything, and took a swim, Michael came over in his kayak and invited over to their boat. He and his wife Roseann live on Center Island and have a 32' Beneteau moored nearby. They had some friends on board and after a while, the wind picked up and we all went for a sail on their boat.
It's always good to see how other boats are rigged, and how others sail. Although their boat's only one foot shorter than mine, mine's considerably heavier. And not just the fiberglass hull and deck, but all the rigging as well. In fact, I was surprised at just how small their lines and wire were. Michael said he figured it was due to earlier boats being over built before anyone really had a good idea of what was absolutely necessary -- no reason to make something bigger than it needs to be. I think that's right, but think it also has to do with the conditions the boat was designed to handle, and I don't think I'd take his across an ocean -- neither would he.
Zoe watch:
Zoe went with us of course, but their little dog growled at her when she came on board. She pretty much ignored him, but now being much closer to land, she whimpered and let it be known, she really wanted to go ashore.
I realized that it was about that time and since Michael had come by right after our swim, she hadn't had a chance to go on our boat. So Michael ferried us to the beach and she went right away. She didn't even make it fully on land. She's really funny, and even though she hadn't been on land in over a month, was much more interested in swimming and pretty much stayed in the water the whole time.
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