May 15

When Tim and I bent on the sails on launch day, we tried to figure out where my jib lead needed to be. Last season it was definitely too far aft. But at the mooring it was hard to get a sense of how the sail would set when it was full.

Today's forecast was for light winds (and continuing grey!) so Tim suggested I take the boat out for a sail, and actually hold the lead down by hand to get a better sense. (There are currently no tracks on the boat... I'm trying to determine the best location before I drill for the new tracks!) He agreed to come out for the sail.

We met at the town landing at 1545 and headed out to the boat. The wind seemed stronger than predicted, and we were skeptical that I'd be able to hold the jib in by hand. But we decided to give it a try, as I figured at least I'd get to see how my new fully-battened, loose-foooted mainsail would set.

It turned out that I was just able to hold the sheet in, and we were able to get a better sense of roughly where the lead would be optimum, so I can go ahead and install my new tracks tomorrow.

We then rolled the jib, and spent a nice hour and a half sailing lazily around the anchorage under main alone. It was nice to be out, even if it was cold and grey, with light winds, and we had no jib.

At about 1800 we returned to the mooring and headed back to shore. I can hardly wait to get out for a "real" sail!