Don't get your dog drowned by not having the sense to leave it at home. Love your dog. Love sailing. Just not simultaneously. (Just speaking on your dog's behalf).
True, on the edge, but sailing just fine, not luffing or spilling wind. The boat is balanced and sailing herself. Sometimes it’s the nature of single-handed sailing to conserve your energy and wait to see what the wind will do. If you look closely, there’s a reef already tucked in. A 2nd was added after filming when the wind piped up. To clarify, older full keel designs sail much differently than modern fin-keel/spade rudder/flat-bottomed hulls that have to sail upright to stay in control. Many older full Keel designs with overhangs sail faster with the rail down. Additionally, a bluff bowed W32 sails better to windward with the rail down as it presents a finer entry that parts waves with the hollow at the waterline. I suspect it’s one of the secrets to Billy Atkin’s “Atkinized” hull shapes. NGH did it too.
@ridesthewind7551 I don't think you were sailing 'just fine' the vessel was over pressed and it was all a bit inefficient really. Glad you put in another reef. When you sail single handed it is best to sail with a few percent in hand
Yeah, me too, but I wasn't too worried. There was only one scoop of water in the dinghy by the end of that all day passage, which is typical for that kind of passage. She has followed Neverland around like Tinkerbell in all kinds of conditions over the past 20 years and has always been well behaved (unlike that other Tinkerbell). It's a 45 year old Dyer Dhow that brilliantly fulfills the 3 classic design requirements for a tender-rows, tows and stows well, especially the towing. Designed by Phillip Rhodes and Charles Wittholz for the then revolutionary, strong and lightweight fiberglass construction. It also sails well (they're famous frostbiters) , is very stable with a 650lb capacity and can carry an outboard motor.
Yup, it was on the verge, but still charging along nicely and making good way to weather. The W32, as with many traditional designs, sails better to windward with the rail down. And it is especially true with the W32, as its bluff bow has a finer presentation to waves when heeled well over. I had to put in a 2nd reef when it started gusting to 40kts later. So, was still on the verge, yet still sailing along nicely. When single handing , conserving the crew's energy factors into how and when sail changes occur, and then sometimes you find you just have a lazy crew.
Hello from Juneau Alaska, where we do a lot of sailing in the mountain fjords. Beautiful downwind sail for you with a preventer on the mainsail and whisker pole on the headsail! Looks like you were moving along at 7 to 8 kn. Well done.
I would recommend clipping into the headstay up on the 'sprit, and with a short tether if you've got one. The fall factor from that high up could break your back, or if you don't get hurt in the fall, you've got nothing to climb back aboard with and would just be dragging in the water. Also, in big waves, you've got possibly more risk of being thrown off *upwards*, not over the side, just be aware of that.
I have a question: how much of the time is lake Superior windy and stormy, and how much of the time is it a placid lake? All the pictures I see of sites on the shore show a windless expanse of water with no waves.
It has typical temperate zone weather with conditions changing daily. Any given week during the summer can have a day or 2 with strong winds (18-30 kts), a day or so with light & variable winds and the rest something in between. Frequent thunder storms in summer. The mix of cold and warm air in spring and fall will produce stronger storms with waves reaching 20 ft or more and winds of 40-50 kts. It's a big lake. Cold and deep.
@@ridesthewind7551 There are so many stories of ships lost due to huge storms; but all the pictures of Superior I see are those of a windless placid lake. Even in your video it is fairly calm. I'd like to for once see a video of Superior in a real storm.
@@indrekkpringi Keep in mind that waves always seem to look disappointingly smaller in pictures. While this video was not from a particularly big day, there was a nice 4-6 ft high, long period, ocean-like swell, enough to get a 20,000 lb Westsail 32 surfing. While Lake Superior can produce a pleasant long duration ocean-like swell, it also produces some unique conditions when the winds blow long enough over some of it's longer fetches. The cold and deep fresh water can create a challenging combination of short duration and alarmingly steep faced breaking waves that, when first encountered, will snap to attention any experienced ocean sailor. While I don't purposefully go out in storms, I don't shy away from sailing in strong winds from a favorable direction. After nearly 70 yrs of sailing, both here and on the eastern seaboard, I've been caught in enough storms to know better than to purposefully tempt fate. Lake Superior deservedly demands respect from those who sail the inland sea. I'm sure you can find what you're looking for with a simple internet search.
Thanks for the comment. The mission on this day was to make it to the next harbor before dark ; ) The wind vane is a Cape Horn installed about 15 years ago.
What??No loud music…no bikini clad supermodel RU-vid couple??? Just a beautiful W32 and the sounds of graceful power under sail. Thank you for the ride. Beautiful!
Where is this? I grew up on Lake Superior. Way back in the day, maybe in the late 1970's or early 1980's, a family friend built out a Westsail 32. I was around a lot during the build, and on a couple of short day sails.
Thanks Dave for another exceptional video, I got to see Pie Island from across the bay with Linda and Dennis a few years ago, thanks again for the sweet memory.
Tom Petty's "sappy?" song of farewell to a lover, or maybe a song to himself, " you belong on a boat out at sea" and "sail away to kill off the hours" and find happiness and freedom is nicely juxtaposed with this sailing video far from a relaxed and dreamy ride one imagines when picturing "sailing away from it all". It all comes with you. While this was filmed during a long and exhilarating day of sailing, it was also a grueling solo effort in building winds. Fortunately no trouble, but maybe some worries. Anything can happen, at anytime and you have to be prepared to deal with it. I had to tuck in another reef later as the winds built to over 35kts. A memorable passage! Besides, I really love the Jenny's harmonies and how they soar above the wind ;) And the banjo doesn't suck in a blow either.
@@ridesthewind7551 Well, there you have it I guess. A love song. Anyway, I didn't mean to strike a nerve. I enjoyed your video. But in my opinion, the actual sounds aboard the vessel are much more enjoyable to hear than any music. Nice thing is, I can always watch on MUTE. And more often than not, I do. Guess its a sign of my old age creeping in....
+ 1 on the music for me. And in conditions like that, mostly you just hear the wind (after all the loose clunking stuff inside is found!). Just enough of the wind and wave sounds for me in this video.
Sailing a bit overpowered here hoping to finish the passage without having to put another reef in. Then the wind piped up a notch to 35+kts requiring the 2nd reef and was still a tad overpowered. It took all my weight to haul the staysail down by the luff at the harbor entrance! ...and the engine at full throttle barely pushed the boat upwind into the harbor.
Nice footage of the great Gitchi-manitou. I've seen you moored at Red Rock in the past. Coincidentally we sail Neverland, a C&C29 out of Thunder Bay. All the best to you in 2024 and see you on the water!
