Laura and I stayed in to watch Djokovic claim his Wimbledon title. Some of the greatest tennis I've seen in years. Both he and Federer brought their 'A' game. Time for some real sport - sailing !
It was warm this afternoon, sunny, 26C, winds WSW 14 - 17 knots, gusting up to 25, 1/8 cloud, and we're off.... For the first mile or so, I was pinching like crazy, getting used to the gusts. Then I settled on 14" of traveler, cracked off about 15 degrees, and we beat upriver for nearly four miles. My buddy on his NACRA 500 screamed past us, heading back to the Club in a cloud of spray, and I cursed myself for leaving the trap harness on shore. Oh well, we have wings. We tacked, locked the traveler at 20", and set a course of about 120 degrees true, and started to run. We picked up speed, holding 20 mph without trouble. This was fun sailing!
Then a rudder popped up.... Yikes.... I managed to turn the SX18 into the wind, we locked the rudder down, and zoomed off once more. It happened again, this time to both rudders, so I decided to let out another 6" of traveler. That seemed to solve the problem.
No, the water is deep here, and its freshwater, so there is no kelp. The only thing I can figure is that the 'sideways' pressure on the rudders was huge. Is this a traveler adjustment thing, or do I tighten up the delrin screws?
_________________ 2015 H16, with spin, SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..." 'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'
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