Approaches to Blackhole Cr
Otto hard at work
Sillery Bay
telltale bucket (no fenders at least)
I picked up RAINBOW (thanks Morty!) for one simple reason: the i550 was fun but a total PITA to singlehand. It was way too fussy and constant vigilance was mandatory. It was tiresome to singlehand for more than an hour and waaaaaay too easy to become an MOB and watch the boat sail away (never happened, but again, only due to a high level of paying attention).
The solution was RAINBOW.
I hadn't gotten a chance to singlehand last season, as the slip was too narrow (and shallow) to deal with getting the boat in and out, plus I was killing a lot of time with getting the i550 sold. So, yesterday I motored around the corner and anchored inside the breakwater to get the sails hanked on and put a reef in the main. It was blowing 8-18 and I wanted an easy test sail, not a lot of work. I went with the jib-top and sinlge reef and it was PERFECT.
Plus I got a chance to try the autopilot and, while there is a learning curve, after a few unintended tacks, I got it sussed to the point where I could trust it. 8 - 18 is a task for a lot of the older generation Ottos and this also meant 25-30 degree veloctiy headers and cold air windshifts, so I got used to switching it OFF and quickly disengaging it. But the thing is pure gold for setting an anchor or docking below for food and refreshments.
Saw most of the racing fleet headed out and INCOMMUNICADO was nice enough to circle around, take a photo and razz me about the anchor bucket I was too lazy to stow once I got underway. The SPINSHEET pennant is pretty pimpin' though!