| February 16, 2006 |
Date: February 16, 2006
Location: New Orleans, LA
Lake Pontchartrain
Crew: Jason King
Theresa Cassagne
Wind: Southeast at 15+
Seas: Light chop to choppy
General weather: Sunny and 70
degrees. A few signs of distant squalls.
Notes: What a sail! The weather was
warm for this time of year and it was
very breezy. However, as the wind was
southeasterly, the lake was not too
rough.
We sailed on all points of sail and the
boat got its first true shake down
cruise since I put her back together.
The breeze was forecast to be at 15 to
20 knots and was supposed to lie
down a bit in the evening. We got on
the water and sailed from 2:30 until
close to six and, if anything, the wind
built. It stayed consistently south
easterly, but was gusty. I do not know
how high it got as I do not have an
anemometer on board, but it was really
whistling through the rigging.
We were probably a bit overpowered,
but not outrageously so. The
traditional Triton mantra when the wind
climbs above 15 kts is to "reef early,
reef often." However, with my
masthead rig, I have a smaller main
and I can go a bit higher before a reef
is really necessary.
The headsail was a genoa that I would
put at about a 120. I am honestly
surprised we didn't blow it out in some
of the gust. I'll just have to wait a little
longer before I can rationalize a new
sail. I am looking for a quality used one
though.
We had the rail buried sailing close
hauled and the occasional spray found
it's way to the cockpit. However, we
stayed quite dry and comfortable,
despite the boat being drenched from
the front of the coamings to forward. If
there was much more of a chop, I
would have had to reduce sail to stay
dry.
In short, it was a fine day on the water
and it's a shame more boats weren't
out. The only other boat we saw was
an unusual ketch with "Sustainability
Project" boldly painted on the side. It
was heading in as we were heading
out. It looked like quite a tough little
ship, with short rigs, a fair beam, and a
very robust cabin top. I spoke with the
crew at the dock that evening and they
are cruising and spreading the news
about eco-friendly systems and
lifestyles. The boat featured a number
of solar panels and a seriously nice
wind vane. Pretty cool. They'll be in
New Orleans for about three weeks,
just in time for Mardi Gras.
Coincidence?
We sailed Northeast from the harbor
for about five miles then turned west
for a nice, fast reach to the Causeway.
We then beat back towards the
marina, taking our time and not sailing
too close to the wind. We put the boat
up and had her hosed off before dusk.
While cleaning up, we had a guest in
the form of an unusually curious
pelican. He settled right onto the dock
not three feet from both Theresa and I
and watched as we went about our
work. He finally flew off in disgust when
we tossed him a Ritz cracker. Rude
behavior, as we only had a few Ritz left
and they were the only food we had on
board. I would have been happy to
share some fresh mullet if I'd had any.
Location: New Orleans, LA
Lake Pontchartrain
Crew: Jason King
Theresa Cassagne
Wind: Southeast at 15+
Seas: Light chop to choppy
General weather: Sunny and 70
degrees. A few signs of distant squalls.
Notes: What a sail! The weather was
warm for this time of year and it was
very breezy. However, as the wind was
southeasterly, the lake was not too
rough.
We sailed on all points of sail and the
boat got its first true shake down
cruise since I put her back together.
The breeze was forecast to be at 15 to
20 knots and was supposed to lie
down a bit in the evening. We got on
the water and sailed from 2:30 until
close to six and, if anything, the wind
built. It stayed consistently south
easterly, but was gusty. I do not know
how high it got as I do not have an
anemometer on board, but it was really
whistling through the rigging.
We were probably a bit overpowered,
but not outrageously so. The
traditional Triton mantra when the wind
climbs above 15 kts is to "reef early,
reef often." However, with my
masthead rig, I have a smaller main
and I can go a bit higher before a reef
is really necessary.
The headsail was a genoa that I would
put at about a 120. I am honestly
surprised we didn't blow it out in some
of the gust. I'll just have to wait a little
longer before I can rationalize a new
sail. I am looking for a quality used one
though.
We had the rail buried sailing close
hauled and the occasional spray found
it's way to the cockpit. However, we
stayed quite dry and comfortable,
despite the boat being drenched from
the front of the coamings to forward. If
there was much more of a chop, I
would have had to reduce sail to stay
dry.
In short, it was a fine day on the water
and it's a shame more boats weren't
out. The only other boat we saw was
an unusual ketch with "Sustainability
Project" boldly painted on the side. It
was heading in as we were heading
out. It looked like quite a tough little
ship, with short rigs, a fair beam, and a
very robust cabin top. I spoke with the
crew at the dock that evening and they
are cruising and spreading the news
about eco-friendly systems and
lifestyles. The boat featured a number
of solar panels and a seriously nice
wind vane. Pretty cool. They'll be in
New Orleans for about three weeks,
just in time for Mardi Gras.
Coincidence?
We sailed Northeast from the harbor
for about five miles then turned west
for a nice, fast reach to the Causeway.
We then beat back towards the
marina, taking our time and not sailing
too close to the wind. We put the boat
up and had her hosed off before dusk.
While cleaning up, we had a guest in
the form of an unusually curious
pelican. He settled right onto the dock
not three feet from both Theresa and I
and watched as we went about our
work. He finally flew off in disgust when
we tossed him a Ritz cracker. Rude
behavior, as we only had a few Ritz left
and they were the only food we had on
board. I would have been happy to
share some fresh mullet if I'd had any.
