Took Sunday off ....

Yesterday was offline for the Microskiff project. Went for a nice long bike ride with my wife on Sunday Bike Day. For people that don't live here, the national capital area shuts down a bunch of local parkways to cars Sunday mornings so bikes, rollerbladers and walkers can move without fear of cars. After the bike ride, I went out sailing in the Falco, although there wasn't a lot of wind.

Sailing in the Falco never ceases to amaze me on light wind days. I think it never fails to amaze the local keel boat sailors as well. Yesterday it was very light with wind from 0-5 knots. As Pornstar (one of our local I-14 sailors) said - it's the reliable Ottawa afternoon seabreeze - all 100 square feet of it. Ottawa is known for little random patches of wind surrounded by huge glassy expanses of nothing. The Falco often can sit in one of these patches, planing with the kite up - ripping along at 8-10 knots while the keel boats 20 yards away are sitting dead with sails slatting and drooping. One of the keel boaters yelled across at me (half trapped) "Where is the motor in that thing?". He's completely becalmed and I'm half trapped, planing with the kite up 20 yards away. The thing you have to be aware of is sailing right through the patch of wind (since you are going much better than windspeed) and teabagging. On the way back in to the dock, I was able to keep up with an elderly Tornado/tanning platform.

I've figured out how to single hand the Falco a lot better. Getting in and out of the water is the big challenge. You have to drop the rig across the dock (like the International Canoe folks do) and just let it sit there while you deal with dolly and ramp issues. Capsizing the boat intentionally across the dock isn't pretty, but it is the only way to buy time to get things done. I also concluded yesterday that I've got to get a new rudder headstock/tiller built, as the one I'm using right now has the tiller extensions attached too far aft. The tiller extensions just aren't at the right angle, and combining poor sensitivity with awkward angle just makes steering uncomfortable.