4:30 PM PDT
I’m absolutely flying along under main only. Very nice breeze 15-22 knots off my port quarter at 120 degrees. (that’s 60 degrees from being right behind me, which is perfect for sailing). The seas are getting pretty rough with some decent wind chop, but it’s manageable. I rolled up the yankee a little bit ago and didn’t seem to lose any speed at all. I just hit 8 knots through the water (9.2 speed over ground, according to the GPS) while surfing down a swell. This is the way to do it, but at the same time I’m being careful. Rolling up the yankee was fairly conservative, but with the direction of the wind it wasn’t super-effective anyway. And like I said, I didn’t really lose any speed. And I’m continually keeping an eye on the wind behind me and considering putting a reef in the main soon, but she’s sailing along very comfortably right now. I’ve still got the engine idling just in case I need to come into the wind to reef the main. How’s that for conservative! :)Anyway, we’ve passed Cape Mendocino and we’re approaching Punta Gorda (the next nib down the coast from Cape Mendocino, right before the coastline turns into the west. Don’t know when I’ll be able to post this (I don’t have reception here).5 PM PDT
Update 15 mins after I just wrote that…. I just put a reef in the main as Chemistry was starting to sing to me (the mast/rigging was straining a bit). I can’t really describe it, but I’m quite sure she was telling me that a full mainsail was too much. Seems to have picked up to 18-25 or so, with some 30 knot gusts. I’d love to take some video of this, as this is what I really expected when I thought about sailing down the coast – lots of wind, decent-sized swells, big wind chop… and yet still sailing. It feels good. Please don’t worry, friends & family – I’m very comfortable, confident, and yet humble and very cautious. Bottom line, I know where I am. Though I’ve got the windows zippered, I’m still latched into the cockpit with my harness and PFD. And besides, this boat is absolutely amazing. What a great boat.5:45 PM PDT
Wow – uh… things are really picking up here. Lots of whitecaps all around, big ones. I just put yet another reef in the main, and I now have only 3 battens showing (of 6). It’s hard to say how much I’ve reefed, as it’s a boom-furled main. Basically, I’ve got a little more than half of the main’s total area rolled around the boom right now, and still doing 7.5 – 8.5 knots. I’ve got the engine running in gear but fairly slowly, just to help keep forward momentum and motor out of the troughs – it’s quite a bit more comfortable than just main, but the wonderful autopilot is steering great – probably better than I do when I hand-steer. Time for some food; it could be a long night if this picks up much more. I’m headed a little closer to land which will eventually put me in the lee of Cape Mendocino / Punta Gorda (a little more protected from this northerly). So hopefully the wind chop will be a little bit flatter there.8:45 PDT
Wind has eased just a bit now that I’m a bit closer to land (about 15 miles off, about midway between Punta Gorda and Fort Bragg), but about 30 mins ago I was relaxing and resting my eyes, and “bang” – the main had gybed as the wind shifted a bit and the boat rolled on a swell. Ugh. I knew I should have rigged a preventer. Done now after much planning, thought and very careful execution (while constantly strapped into the jacklines, of course). Starboard tack was quite a bit breezier – port is much nicer but I’ll have to gybe in a while, when I get about 5 miles from shore. Now that I’ve got the preventer I’ll relax a bit more and just watch for lights. Chemistry is sailing herself along at 6 knots in 15-25 knots of wind with a deeply reefed main. Conservative, but it’s dark & the winds are forecast to pick up.11:50 PM PDT
Looks like I’m coming into range of Fort Bragg cell reception, so I’ll be able to post this. Nothing new, just lots of wind and lots of wind chop. Pretty rolly, but we’re doing great. Watching the horizon, listening to my iPod, and planning a gybe pretty soon to head back to the SW away from land. I’d just motor down the coast and not worry about keeping the wind on a quarter, but it seems to be just as rough here in closer, so I might as well keep my speed and keep using the wind. For friends/family who aren’t familiar, the quarter would be like back-left or back-right. It’s a lot better / easier to keep the wind coming over a quarter (120-130 degrees off the bow) than it is to have it come directly over the stern (from 180 degrees of the bow, which is directly behind).TT
