We took Free Spirit out for a first time day sail. A complete video will follow on You Tube as soon as we can catch up on our Boat yard progress. We are a few months behind in video to release. We had some friends come with and spend the day. There is a hurricane coming but in the meantime, we wanted to get her out for a day sail. After reviewing weather and tide charts we planned for a departure of no later than 10:30am. We all got on board, put our things down below and prepared to get her to leave.
We get her out of the slip and out into the ICW (Inter Coastal Waterway) so we can get out into the open water. We motor out under the bridges and past the hotels and make our way out. We then have a safety briefing as to where the doc lines are as well as the medical kit and life jackets etc. Andy had a plan already to turn north bound once we have cleared the channel. Then this amazing thing happens, Andy turns off the engine, releases the line and out goes to main sail... What a truly awesome sight to behold. Everything that we have spent months working on for this moment right here was completely worth it. Every high and low, every tear and heartache (thank you shipping and engine debacles) and while she did give us some fits every now and again, she is slowing coming back to life.
I (Nancy) went up and just listened to water as it crossed over the hull and she glided thru the water. We all took turns at the helm in hand steering. My 1st lesson (how to read the chart plotter and learn my degrees) and she isn't very easy to move and takes her a hot minute to respond to the wheel and direction you needed to go.
I experienced light winds and if you go outside of those winds and you loose the air in the sail, you just stop (I didn't know this) but if you turned back into it, then the sails fill back up again. Good for me to feel that and learn what to expect.
Andy put up and took down almost all of the sails to get them opened and closed during this adventure. We sailed approx 8 nautical miles today (one way). Watch a playful pod of dolphins frolic in the waters next to us and the coastal boat races that were having a practice session.
We ate lunch on the boat and had a good time chatting with friends. We headed in as we knew the tide and winds were changing due to the impending hurricane. We finally made it to the dock however, the current and wind (20 knots) was too strong for us to bring her in. We tied her up to the dock and waited. Finally after an hour, we pulled her into our slip, tied her off and grilled up some dinner.
What a day! You can view the video Andy captured on Facebook below with the link.
