With everyone busy with mundane things, I decided to make the trek to Lake Erie by myself. I wanted to get some chores completed and maybe, just maybe.... I'd take Therapy out for sail by myself. The weather forecast was terrible all week with 70% chance of thunderstorms, 25 mph winds and 6 foot waves predicted. On Saturday morning, I awoke early to check the Lake Erie forecast and found that it had changed overnight... now predicted to be sunny with wind out of the east at 10 mph. Perfect! So with a change of clothes thrown in the car, I was off. That was, until I got a flat tire in Lima. Luckily, I noticed the tire pressure was dropping and managed to find a tire shop at 8am before it went completely flat. Two hours and $160 later, I was back on the road.
Finally at the boat, I accomplished the few repairs that I wanted to tackle, including the installation of a new speed transducer. With the wind starting to pick up, I really wanted to get out on the Lake. A crosswind out the east, however, presents a problem when launching and docking with two people, let alone just one. Since our neighbors, Max and Donna aboard Sin Sal, were already on their summer voyage, I had a lot of room to navigate.
Once on the Lake, I found the wind to be between 12 and 15 mph and small whitecaps on the waves. The sailing was great with speed averaging 5 and 1/2 to 7 knots. I sailed south to Lakeside, then northeast to Kelley's Island, then north towards South Bass Island before heading back to Herl's Harbor on Catawba. The next challenge was docking singlehanded. This was accomplished successfully... more or less. The approach to the dock was perfect, however, as I was securing a line amidships, a gust of wind caught the stern and pushed the bow into the dock which crunched our plastic hose holder and tossed it into the water. Other than some cracked plastic, however, no other problems were noted. All in all, a successful first singlehanded sail!
Finally at the boat, I accomplished the few repairs that I wanted to tackle, including the installation of a new speed transducer. With the wind starting to pick up, I really wanted to get out on the Lake. A crosswind out the east, however, presents a problem when launching and docking with two people, let alone just one. Since our neighbors, Max and Donna aboard Sin Sal, were already on their summer voyage, I had a lot of room to navigate.
Once on the Lake, I found the wind to be between 12 and 15 mph and small whitecaps on the waves. The sailing was great with speed averaging 5 and 1/2 to 7 knots. I sailed south to Lakeside, then northeast to Kelley's Island, then north towards South Bass Island before heading back to Herl's Harbor on Catawba. The next challenge was docking singlehanded. This was accomplished successfully... more or less. The approach to the dock was perfect, however, as I was securing a line amidships, a gust of wind caught the stern and pushed the bow into the dock which crunched our plastic hose holder and tossed it into the water. Other than some cracked plastic, however, no other problems were noted. All in all, a successful first singlehanded sail!