PYXIS

Ships Log 1997 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

5/6/97 LAUNCH DAY '97
Launch at 1330. Dock > D26
Motored around from travel lift to dock.

5/14/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E-SE, 10-15 knots, temp 50-55, waves <2', partly clear, visibility good.
Full main, 130.
Went out for first time. Also first sail with Tuff Luff. Behind the wall the wind was 8-12 and we made 4.5-5 knots upwind and 4-4.5 at about 165 deg off the wind. Outside the wall we made six knots easily and 6.5 on a close reach (60 deg). The rig needs some more tuning - the shrouds are still a bit loose. Boat tacked easily and accelerated quickly. 130 may need some changes at head and tack. The webbing loop at the head is too thick to easily fit the halyard shackle through and the webbing loop at the bottom is parallel to the sail, the hook on the deck is perpendicular. It does twist over OK bit it might be better if it were the same direction as the hook or if it had a steel ring in it. Also, the prefeeder on the tuff luff is about 2 inches too high. Depth sounder was working while we were sailing.

5/17/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W-SW, 10-15 knots, temp 55-60, waves 2-3', partly clear, visibility good.
Full main, WJ.
Went down wind behind wall making 4-4.5 knots at 160 deg off the wind. Jibed and headed north east into race course to see ho far off station the race marks were. Saw E and F, both about .4 miles off station. Headed up onto a close reach and headed north west for about 1.5 miles making 6+ knots. Tacked back towards entrance, had to tack again at entrance to clear break wall. Sailed back up river. Depth sounder worked at first but stopped.

5/18/97

Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind N to N-NE, 10-15 knots - building to 15-18, temp 55-60, waves 2' building, mostly clear, visibility very good.
Full main, 130.
Put main up at end of river and motor sailed out main entrance then raised 130. We headed NE on a close reach for about 1.5 miles making 6.5 knots. Tacked and headed back towards entrance on a close reach making close to 7 knots and hitting 7.5 occasionally. We were overpowered with the 130 in the building wind. We started for the east end of the wall but decided to fall off for the main entrance instead since the wind and waves were building and we would have to beat for the east end. Inside the wall we turned east and sailed to the far end of the harbor on flat water. We tacked and headed back to the river entrance on a beam to broad reach. We made 6-6.5 knots at 140 degrees off the wind. When we got to a point north of the river we jibed and headed up the river on a broad reach making 5-6 knots up to the salt dock. We then dropped the jib and went into the turning basin to drop the main. Shroud tension is good. Mast is straight on both tacks. Stbd lower may be a bit loose when on port tack. Depth sounder worked for a bit then locked up.

5/20/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W-NW, 10-15 knots diminishing to 7-12, temp 55-60, waves 2', clear, visibility excellent-20+ mi.
Full main, 130.
Went out with Chris Duer. Raised main in turning basin and shut off motor. Sailed down river passing ship Yankcunuck who was coming in. We were making 4-4.5 knots in the river with the main. Raised the jib after we cleared the river and accelerated to 6 knots. Sailed to the main entrance on a close reach and headed NW. Went out about 2.5 miles making 6-6.75 knots. Tacked and headed back to the main entrance on a reach making 5-6 knots. Came in behind F.M. Osborne and ahead of John J. Boland. Started the motor at the river entrance and dropped the jib 1/4 of the way up the river. Dropped the main in the turning basin. Depth sounder worked the entire time reading 53 feet 2.5 miles out.

5/22/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W, 10-15 knots, temp 55-60, waves 1-3', clear, visibility excellent-20+ mi.
Full main, WJ, 130, staysail.
Raised sails in basin and sailed down river. Started with the WJ and made 2.5-4 knots. Changed to the 130 and made 4-5.5 knots. This was the first sail change with the new Tuff Luff. The WJ was in the port groove, and we raised the 130 inside it on a starboard tack using the spinn halyard. We then took the stbd sheet from the WJ and put it on the 130. We tacked and brought the WJ down inside the 130 and switched the port sheet over. The free halyard needs to be secured at the mast, if it's forward it interferes with the headsail. The changeover went very well. Next time we will try it with 2 sets of sheets. After the sail change we headed out the main entrance and sailed N-NE. We tried out the little staysail flying it from the jib halyard and tying it to the bow cleat. It may have helped stabilize the boat in the waves but it was a very subtle difference. The tack point might be better farther aft. We sailed back to the main entrance and practiced tacking a bit before sailing back up the river. We sailed all the way to the turning basin then motored to the dock. Depth worked most of the tome while sailing. Knot meter was acting up. Did not seem to read lower then 3.5-4 knots even when we were going slower. Sometimes it would start jumping to 10+. 5/24/97

Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E-NE, 8-12 knots, temp 55-60, waves 1-2', mostly clear, visibility good.
Full main, 130, Spinnaker. Added 5 gallons of fuel.
Went out with Chuck Duer. Raised main and 130 after the end of the river. Sailed out the main entrance and headed N-NE close hauled for about 2 miles making 5-6 knots. Tacked and headed east close hauled passing race marks A and B. We fell off at B and headed towards the east entrance. We Dropped the jib to set the spinnaker for a run back to the river mouth. We set the spinnaker on port then jibed and headed west and in behind the breakwall. We were moving nicely at 5-6 knots at about 160 degrees off the wind. The boat was easy to steer and the spinnaker was easy to control. We took the spinnaker down and were making 4 knots with just the main. We jibed and sailed halfway up the river then motored to the basin and dropped the main. The knotmeter and depth sounder worked fine for the entire sail.

5/27/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E-NE, 13-18 knots diminishing to 11-14, temp 55-60, waves 2-4', clear, visibility +20mi.
Full main, WJ.
First sail with wind instrument. Put main up in basin and motor sailed down river. Shut motor off at CG station and sailed out river with just the main. Wind was 14-18 apparent, we made 3.5-4 knots. We tacked to the east and raised the working jib and powered up to 5-6 knots. Tacked back to the west and sailed out on a close reach at 5.5 knots through the sloppy 4-5 foot chop in the entrance. Beyond the entrance the waves were more organized and 3-5 feet. We headed north close hauled for about 1.5 miles making 5-5.5 knots with 13-16 knots apparent and waves from about 50 degrees off the bow. We tacked and headed back to the main entrance on a beam reach making 6-6.5 and occasionally hitting 7 on surfs with waves at about 130 degrees off the bow and 10-13 knots apparent wind 90 degrees off the bow. I was surprised to be making hull speed and catching the occasional surf to 7 knots with the working jib in 10-15 knots and 3-5 foot waves. I wonder if the previous wind speed estimates in this log might be a bit on the high side. I might have estimated the wind speed today at 15-20 rather then 10-15 as the anemometer said. I would have partly based that on what I would have expected in terms of performance from the working jib. On the way back in I think we could have carried the 130 and we would have caught more surfs and seen the high side of 7 knots more often. The 130 would have been too much however when we were hard on the wind. Dead down with a spinnaker the conditions would have been allot like the trip to Ashtabula on 7/26/96. Depth sounder seemed to be functioning every time I checked it. The knot meter acted up a bit jumping to 10 knots while we were in the river.

6/9/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind variable, <3 knots, temp 70-75, waves <2', clear, visibility apr. 12 miles.
Full main, 150.
First time out with new #1. Got out on the lake at about 1830. There was no wind. We raised the main and motored out about 1 mile then drifted. A bit of wind came in (1 knot) and we raised the headsail to try and catch it. It then backed down to 0 knots. At about 2000 Windshadow came out and the wind picked up to 2-3 apparent. We were able to fill the sail and made about 1.5 knots on a close reach. The wind lasted about 15 minutes then backed to about 1 knot again. It picked up again to 3-4 knots and we made 1.5 - 2 knots on a close reach. We tacked and headed back to the entrance. The wind died again and we motored the last mile putting the sails down before the entrance. I doubt we could have made any headway with the 130 in these conditions. The 170 would not have been much better. The knotmeter was not working very well. It kept jumping to full scale and would read 4 knots when we were hardly moving.

6/13/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W-SW 4-6 knots, temp 70-75, waves <2', clear, visibility 5 miles.
Full main, 150.
Went out to north close reaching making 3-4 knots. Tacked and headed back after about 2 miles.

6/14/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind N 10-12 knots, temp 65-70, waves 1-3', clear, visibility 20+ miles.
Full main, 150.
Raised main at end of river, motored out main entrance and raised the genoa. Headed east past race mark F following Windshadow. We tacked to the north east then back to the east on a parallel course to wind shadow. The apparent wind was 11-13 and we were making about 6 knots close hauled. We were making about the same speed as Windshadow and seemed to be pointing almost as high but we were pinching to do it (they later said they thought we were pointing a bit higher then they were). They were working their way over us slowly. They then started pointing higher then us and moved away to windward. They fell off and headed too us and took our wind abruptly luffing the boat. We tacked and they jibed and we raced back to the main entrance on a beam reach. The wind was 11-13 knots at 80-85R and the waves were 1-3 at about 110R. It was difficult to hold the course for the entrance without allot of rudder correction. We were catching allot of little surfs and boat speed was 6-6.5. We got to the entrance about 20 seconds behind Windshadow after about 4 miles.

6/17/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E 10-12 knots diminishing to 5-10, temp 65-70, waves <2', clear, visibility 10 miles.
Full main, 130, 150.
Sailed out of slip. The boat was backed in and the wind was dead astern so we raised the main and held the boat with a stern line until the other lines were free then let the stern line go and sailed out. We were making about 1 knot when we cleared the slip and had good steerage to turn to stbd onto a beam reach to sail out of the channel. We beat down the river raising the 130 about 1/4 of the way. Speed jumped from 1.5 to about 3.5-4 with the 130. The wind instrument was giving relative direction but no speed. After we passed the salt shaker half way down the river we were able to head straight out the river without tacking. As we approached the end of the river we headed a distress call on CH 16 from a boat that said they had struck a log and were taking on water 7.5 miles NNE of Fairport Harbor. They asked for help from anyone but were unresponsive to the Coast Guard when asked for info about the boat. They repeated their call - Louise thought it might have been a tape replay. We sailed out the main entrance and headed on a course of about 030 close hauled making 5-5.5 knots. The CG were out searching for the sinking boat and were bringing in a helicopter. We spotted the CG 41 footer at about 2030 about 3 miles N of us. The helo arrived on scene a few minutes later. We jibed and headed back towards the harbor entrance on a port reach (wind at -75) making 4-4.5 knots. We were 6.5 miles out. After about 10 minutes we decided to switch to the 150. I took the lazy sheet from the 130 and ran it through the stbd genoa car for the 150. I took the 130 sheet off the winch and tied it to the cleat the ran the 150 sheet around the winch and across the cockpit to the opposite cleat. I raised the 150 in the inboard groove and sheeted it in. I then let the 130 sheet go and brought the sail down on the outside pulling it under the 150. Then I took the stbd sheet from the 130 and set it for the port sheet on the 150 and moved the stbd sheet back to the stbd cleat. The entire process went very smoothly and took about 10 minutes. We were never without a headsail and were always making good speed. After the changeover our speed was up to 5.5 knots, an improvement of 1-1.5. I attached a 5" pennant to the bottom of the 150 to raise the foot. We went hard on the wind for a few minutes to see how the sail would look. It seemed to be happier on the pennant - the shape was better at the bottom. We need more evaluation of this in the light. I didn't have the halyard tension set quite right either. The spin halyard was twisted around the jib halyard so I left it a bit on the loose side. After this we were about 1/2 mile from the entrance and went wing-in-wing. The boat was faster there then on a very broad reach (+160) where the main blankets a lot of the jib. We turned into the entrance onto a reach and sailed about half way up the river, started the motor and brought down the sails.. The steaming light was not functioning so we turned on the foredeck light in it's place After about 90 minutes of running light use the #1 battery was down to 8 volts on the meter. It had a full charge when we went out. #2 was fine and we switched. We were back at the dock at 2045.

6/20/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind SW 14-18 knots, waves 1-3', visibility 15 mi, temp 70-75.
Main, 130, SJ as Staysail
1900-2300
Raised main in basin and motorsailed out river. Raised 130 at end of river and headed out entrance. After clearing the entrance we killed the motor and went close hauled to the west. The boat was almost over powered. We started west about 1/8 mile ahead of Windshadow. After the first tack they were ahead of us when we crossed by 5-6 boat lengths. On the next 2 crossings they had not gotten any farther ahead. They were a bit overpowered and I think we had better boat speed but they were pointing higher so the VMG was about the same. We beat our way to mentor where the club dingy racing was going on. We got there at about 2045. We turned back to Fairport on a beam to slightly broad reach. We were making about 4.5 -5 knots. We rigged the storm jib as a staysail by tying the tack to the bow cleat and sheeting it through the genoa car with the 130. We might have gained a 1/4 knot from it but it was hard to tell. Windshadow put up their tallboy and they told us later they gained almost 1 knot with it. We were about 3 minutes behind them at the harbor entrance. If we hadn't tried the staysail they said they wouldn't have used theirs and we might have beaten them back.

6/22/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind SW 4-6 knots, waves <2', visibility 20 mi, temp 70-75.
Main, 150
1800-2130
Motored down river and raised main just before the harbor. We motor sailed out the harbor entrance and raised the 150 and went close hauled to the west after Windshadow. We were keeping up with them then we started pinching to try and get above them and our speed dropped from 4.5 to 4 knots. After about 20 minutes we had worked our way from about 10 boat lengths below their course to 5 above and we fell off onto an intercept course and our speed was up to 5 knots. We were gaining on them but they tacked and headed inshore. We tacked behind them and were catching up as they set a spinnaker. We were keeping up with them on a beam reach making 4.5-5 knots. The wind backed down a lot and they pulled away from us. About 1/4 mile from the harbor entrance we started the motor and dropped the jib. We brought the main down in the harbor and motored up the river.

6/23/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E 3-4 knots, waves <2', visibility 15 mi, temp 75-80, surface water temp 73F.
1900-2150
Motored out to GRSC race mark F and cleaned bottom. The official NWS water temperature off Cleveland was 63, the surface temperature we measured was 73. I was comfortable in my wetsuit with short bottom. The bottom had a thin layer of slim that was easy to scrub off with a brush. There was a little more at the stearn and on the stbd side. The boat has been in the water for 48 days. I also inspected the speedo impeller but saw nothing wrong. I cleaned it thoroughly but it still misbehaved on the way back up the river.

6/26/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W 5-10 knots, waves 1-3', visibility 15 mi, temp 75-80.
1830-2130
Main, 130, Spin
Main up in basin, 130 up at end of river. We sailed out the main entrance and went close hauled to the NE and beat our way to windward for about 40 minutes. We then turned downwind and put up the spinnaker. The wind had died off a bit and we had some trouble with spinnaker trim - the pole is too short (10', should be 11.7') and the spinnaker is to tall and narrow by a foot each way. We jibed and came up onto a reach where the spinnaker was easier to fly. We were making 4.5 to 5 knots. As we approached the east entrance to the harbor we raised the 130 again and took down the spinnaker. We beat our way back to the river racing Windshadow who came around the east end just ahead of us. They had their mylar 155 up and we kept up with them on the beat pretty well, gaining on a couple of tacks and loosing some on others. We sailed all the way to the west side of the harbor and tacked towards the river then dropped the jib and motored in. We brought the main down about half way up the river.

6/27/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NE 10-15 knots diminishing to 8-12, waves 1-3', visibility 25 mi, temp 70-75.
1900-2145
Main, 130
We put the main up in the river and the jib in the harbor. We headed out the main entrance and went close hauled to the north. We were sailing the same course as a Hunter 27 (early 80's ?) that was about 1/8 mile ahead of us. We gained on them and were about 1/8 mile ahead of them after 3 miles. We were making 5-5.5 knots close hauled. They tacked and headed back towards the harbor and we followed a few minutes later on a reach (about 80 deg relative) making 5.5-6 knots. About 1 mile from the entrance we hardened up and headed to the east end of the breakwall on a close hauled course. We experimented a bit with backstay/headstay tension and got better speed (5.75 vs 5.3) with the backstay slacked about halfway with no noticeable effect on pointing ability The wind was pretty steady at about 10 knots and we were at 35-40 deg relative. We made the east end without tacking and headed down wind towards the river. We were making 4 knots on a very broad reach and then went wing-in-wing and made 3-3.5 in diminishing wind. We played a bit with going dead down vs a broad reach and compared VMG by GPS. The wing-in-wing dead down was a bit faster but the wind was diminishing so we couldn't really tell much. We turned onto a beam reach (80 deg relative) and headed back out the main entrance. Once clear of the entrance our speed picked up from 2-2.5 to 4.5-5. There was more air out from the harbor. We went out about 1.5 miles, jibed and headed in. We started the motor at the river mouth and took the jib down. we brought the main down at the turning basin.

6/28/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind N-NE 12-15 knots building to 13-17, waves 2-5, visibility 25 mi, temp 70-75.
1900-2045
Main, 130
Added 5.5 gallons of fuel.
Put sails up at end of river and headed N-NW close hauled making 6-6.5 knots following Windshadow who was about 1 mile ahead. They tacked and headed back towards us and we tacked behind them and followed on a reach (70-80 app) making 6-6.5. We were catching small surfs on the quartering waves but not enough to accelerate much. Windshadow fell off and dropped their headsail ( a #1) which was overpowering them. We continued to the south then tacked and headed north again. They had a smaller headsail up and were on a higher course then us and we caught up a bit. They tacked and we tacked along side and headed towards the harbor entrance close hauled. The wind had picked up a bit and we were over powered with the 130 and were healing to 35 degrees in the gusts. We depowered a bit by snugging the backstay and dropping the main but we were still overpowered. We worked our way above Windshadow and fell off a bit to a close reach (45-50 app). We gained on Windshadow a bit while they had someone new on the helm. We were making 6-6.5 most of the time as we worked our way back to the entrance. We would have done better with the working jib - less leeway and maybe a bit faster and higher pointing. We fell of to a beam reach (90-100 app) through the entrance and entered the river making 6.5 knots. We sailed all the way to the basin but the wind was on the nose in the channel and we could not sail into the dock.

6/29/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind S 10-15 knots building to 14-19, waves 2-3', visibility 10 mi, temp 70-75.
1900-2030
Main, 130
Put main up in river and jib up in harbor. Went out the main entrance on a broad reach (140 app) making 4.5 knots and came up to a close reach (65 app) on a course towards GRSC race mark S making 6+ knots. About 1/3 mi from S we tacked and headed back towards the main entrance chasing another Pearson 26. They were about 1/2 mile ahead of us when we came about. We gained on them as we approached the entrance on close reach. They furled their headsail and motored in the entrance, we came up to a beat and worked our war in with 3 tacks. Once inside we tacked 2 times to work our way further inside the harbor and dropped the jib. We motored into the river and dropped the main half way up.

7/1/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E 2-3 knots, waves <2', visibility 15 mi, temp 75-80.
1900-2130
130
Motored out and tried to calibrated compass with poloris and sun angle measurements. We then took bearings to make a new deviation card. We were about 1/2 mile north east of the main entrance. There was very little wind so we raised the 130 by itself and sailed back to the main entrance. The wind built enough for us to sail in at about 1.5 - 2 knots. We dropped the 130 in the harbor and motored up the river.

7/7/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind N-NE 10-15 knots diminshing to 5-10, waves <2', visibility 15 mi, temp 75-80.
1830-2130
Main, 130, 150
Sailed out of dock with the main and raised the 130 in the basin. We were tacking our way to the river when the freighter Richard Reiss (which was in the turning basin) began to maneuver. We came about and sailed up the river (down wind) and tacked back and forth a few times waiting as the freighter moved down the river. We beat back to the river but the wind was straight out of the north in the river and we would have had to beat all the way out through small boat traffic. We started the motor and dropped the 130 to go down the river. Once in the harbor we raised the 130 and motor sailed out the main entrance. We were heading NW towards the Richard Reiss who was turning about 1/2 mile north. We tacked and headed east towards the race course. We started beating our way towards S mark. The wind was backing down and we were slowing (4-5 knots). We switched to the 150 and powered up to 5.5 knots. At S mark we fell off to a dead run and went wing-in-wing with the 150 poled out to port. This worked pretty well and we made 3.5-5 knots. We headed back to the main entrance and jibed the jib as we headed in. We then came up close hauled and headed to the east behind the wall for about .5 miles. I played with halyard tension on the 150. The sail is very sensitive to the halyard tension and I think we would benefit from a lower stretch halyard. We tacked then fell off to a very broad reach back towards the river mouth. The wind shifted as we moved west making it a broad reach to the river. We jibed and started towards the river on a broad reach. As we closed on the river the wind went forward and when we entered we were close hauled. We sailed all the way up the river with the wind shifting from close hauled to a reach. We dropped the sails in the basin and motored to the dock.

7/9/97
Racing at Fairport, OH.
Wind NE 12-18 knots diminshing to 5-10, waves 2-5', visibility 20 mi, temp 65-70.
1820-2130
Main, 130, 150
First race of GRSC summer series. Our JAM rating is 220. Course was B (X-B-W-S1) with a behind the wall start, 5.21 miles, final time 1:49. We missed the start completely thinking it was still 5 minutes away and crossed the line last about 4 minutes late. We had to beat out the main entrance with 3 tacks. We should have started at the right side of the line. Once through the entrance we headed to the left side of the course thinking there would be more wind there. We crossed about 6 boat lengths ahead of Free Spirit (Newport 27 - 217)and tacked to port well above them and continued to gain on them. We were loosing boat speed in the diminishing wind and decided to change to the 150. The change took about 7 minutes. We crossed about 1 boat length ahead of Free Spirit the next time having lost some speed with the 130 and the changeover. We made 2 more tacks to B and just made the mark on the last about 2 minutes behind Double Vision (Lindenburg 26 - 169), 1 minutes ahead of Delirious (Aloha 28 - 227) and 2 minutes ahead of Free Spirit. We turned down wind to W and put the jib on a pole. We were gaining on Double Vision but the wind went forward as we closed on W and they took off. We rounded W about 2 minutes behind them. We were about 150 deg off the wind as we headed west behind the wall. The wind was clocking (CCW) and we tried to go wing-in-wing but there was too much chop and too little wind to keep the boat stable. We came up a bit to a broad run, inside 1 jib and went wing-in-wing right at the end in smoother water crossing the line about 3 minutes behind Double Vision, 1 minute behind Delirious and 1:40 ahead of Free Spirit. Not a bad firs race especially considering the start.

7/11/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NE 7-10 knots, waves <2', visibility 20 mi, temp 65-70.
1850-2130
Main, 150
Put up main at the end of the river and the 150 in the harbor then headed out the main entrance on a beam reach. We went north for about 1.5 miles then turned east towards the east entrance and experimented a bit with headsail adjustments (e.g. car position, halyard tension, headstay tension). We came around the east end of the breakwall and headed back towards the river going dead down wind wing-in-wing. we were making about 3 knots dead down without a pole on the jib. Waves waves were small and there was enough wind to keep the jib flying (5-7 knots??). We were able to sail on the lee with the main on a preventer up to about 160 apparent making 3-3.3 knots. We tried coming up to a broad reach with jib and main on the same side and were only able to make about 3.5 knots at about 140 apparent - a VMG of 2.6 compared to dead down. Seems like dead down wing-in-wing in flat water with 5-7 knots is faster then doing jibing angles. We came up to a reach and headed out the main entrance again for about .5 miles then turned back and went in taking the sails down in the river.

7/13/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind 0-1 knots, waves <2', visibility 12 mi, temp 80-85.
1820-2130
Motored out about 1 mile from the main entrance with Windshadow and cleaned the bottom. The official water temperature off Cleveland was 72 degrees and we measured a surface temperature of 75 deg. It was 20 days since the last cleaning (6/23) and there was considerable brown slime buildup and some green growth on the port side just below the waterline. The brown slime came off easily but the green growth required a lot more effort to remove. The paint is holding up very well and did not seem to come off even with the vigorous scrubbing of the green growth. Full speed motoring was 5.6-5.75 knots before cleaning and 6.25-6.4 after.

7/16/97
Racing at Fairport, OH.
Wind W-SW 5-7 knots, waves 1-2, visibility 20 mi, temp 80-85.
1810-2130
Main, 150
We raised the main in the river and motor sailed to S mark for the start. The wind was from about 250 at 5-7 knots and the course called was F5 (F-D-B-S, 4.1 mi), which was beat - broad reach - beam reach - beat. We were late for the start by about 3 minutes. We came in on port and ducked a few boats and headed off to the right side. Windshadow (WS) was just to the right of us and Free Spirit (FS) was ahead of them. We seemed to be pointing better then either of them and gaining distance (we may have been pinching a bit too much?). FS and WS tacked and we tacked after crossing well ahead of WS and before we would have had to duck FS. We tacked because we thought they had the layline but we were still short. We carried the stbd tack about 2/3 of the way to the mark and tacked after Delerious passed well ahead. Delerious tacked again and we carried the port further and overstood by about 5 boat lengths. This was probably good. We came in to the mark very fast on stbd ahead of Delerious and right behind Double Vision (DV). On rounding we cracked off to a broad run (130 app) with DV to leeward. We worked past them and made the mark about 30 seconds ahead of them. We jibed at the mark and came up to a beam reach (90-105 app) and managed to maintain our lead to the next mark. We rounded and came up to a beat and carried port tack to the lay line. We came in to the finish on port about 4 boat lengths short of the committee boat. We might have been closer if we had pinched a bit more from the last tack. we tacked to cross at the middle of the line. DV came in about 1:35 after and WS about 3:14. The other boats behind us were more then 5 minutes out - Free Spirit, Delerios, RnB&B, and a Newport 28?. Tachyon was about 4 minutes ahead of us at the first mark and at least 8 at the finish. The clean bottom helped our speed a lot. We made about 5 knots on the beats and 4-4.5 on the reaches.

7/23/97
Racing at Fairport, OH.
Wind E 10-15 knots, waves 3-4', visibility 15 mi, temp 70-75.
1830-2230
Main, 150
With Paul and Kathy Mathews
OUR FIRST WIN! Course was H (S1 start) which was W-D-H-X-S1, 5.29 miles. We had an excellent start. We crossed the line on stbd just behind and above Jagon and ahead and above Breakaway and ahead and below Orion and Tachyon. We were pulling away from Orion and Tachyon and almost keeping up with Breakaway. Tachyon and Orion tacked away towards shore. We continued for several minutes until Breakaway was ahead of us then tacked towards shore. We had gained on the boats that went right so we tacked back before going as far as they did and had the mark (D) layed thanks to some good lifts. We were gaining on Jagon towards the mark. They were lower and were pinching to make it. We were third around D mark. The course to H was about 160 off the wind. We stayed a bit higher for boat speed at about 145 app. Most of the bigger JAM boats and all of the spinnaker boats passed us on the way to H. We jibed about 10 boat lengths from H and came up to a close reach back to X (apr. 60 app). We were making 6.5 knots and catching small surfs to 7 occasionally. We were gaining a bit on some of the boats ahead of us. We came through the entrance and hardened up to a beat to the finish. We tacked when we could make the middle of the line (about 10 boat lengths from the committee boat) and nosed it across the line. We finished 6 minutes behind Jagon and 2 minutes ahead of Tachyon. The boat handled very well. We were about 80% of the way to being overpowered with the #1 on the first leg. With Paul and Kathy coaching my steering I played the puffs and shifts better and probably got better speed from the boat. Crew placement made a big difference on the beat. When Paul (230 lbs?) went down to trim the jib we heeled another 5 degrees. With three on the boat crew position becomes more important. The cockpit gets crowded in tacks. Maybe having the person releasing the jib aft of the traveler and have them do the main then tail. It could use some practice.

7/24/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E 12-18 knots, waves 3-5', visibility 15 mi, temp 70-75.
1820-2130
Main, WJ
Put main up in river and working jib up in harbor. We sailed out the main entrance and went north on a reach for about 1.5 miles making 6 knots. We came about and followed Windshadow back in on a reach. They had a #2 up and were pulling away from us. we were almost catching surfs on the quartering waves and were making 6-6.5 knots. We would probably have been hitting 7 with the 130 but been a bit overpowered on the wind. We came in the main entrance and went hard on the wind behind the wall in the flatter water. We sailed about 2/3 of the way across the harbor to where the waves were big and turned back right behind Windshadow. The course back was a broad reach and they pulled away from us. We were making 5 knots. We jibed and headed up the river, dropped the main as we approached the basin and sailed into the dock dropping the working jib 2 slips away.

7/26/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind S 4-5 knots, waves 2-3', visibility 10 mi, temp 75-80.
1820-2130
Motored out near F mark and cleaned bottom. The water temp at the surface was 72 deg. The bottom had considerable green growth on the quarters and slime forward. Last cleaning was 7/13, 13 days earlier. Motoring speed was 5.75 on the way out and 6.3 on the way in. We tried out the new bottom cleaner at the dock. It is a wool blanket cut and sewed into a 1x12' strip that we run over the bottom working it from the deck. It works well on the slime but is not aggressive enough for the green growth. If we use it every few days it might get the green before it gets thick. The bottom edge of the keel has some rust on it.

7/27/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W-SW 0-5 knots, waves 1-2', visibility 15 mi, temp 80-85.
1930-2130
Main, 150
Took Mike and Sue Gully out. Raised main in river, 150 in harbor and motor sailed out the main entrance heading north on a close reach. The wind was variable in velocity and we were making 2-3 knots. After about 30 minutes the wind died and we dropped the headsail. It was sunny and the water temperature at the surface was 76 deg. The wind filled in again in about 15 minutes and we raised the headsail and were back up to 2 knots. We tacked about 1.5 miles out and headed back close hauled towards the entrance. The wind filled in a bit and we made 4-5 knots. We came in the main entrance, dropped the headsail and motored up the river dropping the main before the turning basin. We motored up the river to Fairport Harbor Yacht Club and then back down to our dock.

7/24/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind N 15-20 knots, waves 3-4', visibility 20+ mi, temp 65-70.
2030-2240
Main, 130
Put main up in river and 130 in harbor. Turned east behind wall in flat water and were making 6.5-7 knots on a close reach. We were a bit over powered in the puffs with the 130. Speed dropped to 6-6.5 in the 2-3 foot waves at the east end of the harbor. We tacked at W mark and headed NE on a close reach then fell off to a beam reach towards the main entrance. Close to the entrance we fell off to a broad run then jibed to head in the entrance. Inside we came back up to a reach and headed east behind the wall. We heard the freighter Richard Reiss announcing that it would be turning in the basin and heading out the river in 25 minutes so we decided to wait for it to leave before heading up the river. We were sustaining almost 7 knots beam reaching behind the wall in the flat water and saw the high side of 7 now and then. We went back and forth about 4 times then dropped the jib and sailed under main alone. With the main we made 5-6 knots reaching and almost 6 160 deg off the wind in the flat water. We tacked about for a while as the Richard Reiss came out. They shined their spotlight on us while they were still 1200 yards up the river and we were crossing the channel. We lit our sail with the masthead flood light so they could see us better and tell we were moving away from the channel. As they were exiting the harbor the Coast Guard inflatable boat headed out and asked them for weather conditions on the lake. They said the wind was 15 gusting to 20 with 3-4 foot waves. The Coast Guard was on the way to check out a beached boat at Mentor Harbor. We headed west to the river entrance, jibed and sailed up the river going dead down under main alone. We made 4-5 knots all the way to the basin where we dropped the main and motored into the dock. We ran the lights the whole time off battery #2. It started the motor with no trouble.

7/30/97
Racing at Fairport, OH.
Wind E 5 knots diminishing to 0, waves <2', visibility 15 mi, temp 70-75.
1810-2230
Main, 150
Raised main in river and motor sailed out to S mark for the start. We were reaching along about 8 boat lengths from the middle of the line on port and tacked about 5 boatlengths ahead of most of the fleet that was coming in on starboard. We came up and headed for the pin end of the line pinching to leave room for Jagon at the pin. We were 1st or 2nd across the start crossing the line about 8 seconds after the horn. We continued on starboard to the left side of the course. Jagon drove under us and tacked when they were clear ahead. We continued left in the diminishing wind. We tacked and barely crossed ahead of Tachyon (should have ducked but misunderstood him to say we were clear ahead) and headed to the right side of the course. We tacked again on the layline But got knocked in the 1-2 knots of wind. Barely enough to make headway. We rounded just behind Insatiable and just ahead of Delirious and made it halfway to the 2nd mark when the race 2 hr time limit expired before any boats had finished and the race was abandoned.

8/2/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W 10-15 knots, waves 3-4', visibility 12 mi, temp 70-75.
1900-2140
Main, 130
Put the main up in the turning basin and the jib up near the end of the river. We sailed out the main entrance and headed north for about 2 miles making 6-6.5 knots on a beam reach. We tacked and headed back towards the lighthouse on a close reach. On the way back I experimented a bit with the helm to see how much weather helm there was. There was weather helm if you let the tiller go with the headsail flying properly. If you let the tiller go when the sail was stalling (outer ticks lifting) there was lee helm. With the jib lead further aft there was always weather helm. I want to do some more experimenting on this. We tacked back and forth a few times and on the last tack out we were following Minnie ('68 C&C 41) and Windshadow (Ericson 35) and keeping up pretty well with them. Windshadow tacked back and we turned about 200 yards ahead of them and managed to keep in front of them all the way back to the river (about a 2 mile length??). We dropped the jib as we passed the CG station and dropped the main as we approached the turning basin.

8/4/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind N 15-20 knots, waves 3-5', visibility 12 mi, temp 70-75.
1900-2130
Main, WJ
Motored out the river between 2 freighters that were tied up across from each other (Algowood and Sam Laud). We raised the main at the end of the river and reached back and forth behind the wall. there was a threatening looking cloud to the west and we waited to see if it was coming our way. After about 30 minutes it had moved to the south and we were clear. we reached back and forth a bit making 5-5.5 knots under full main in 2 foot waves and almost 6 at 160 deg app. We headed out from behind the wall to the east to see how the boat would handle 15-20 knots and 3-5 footers with just the main. Reaching we made 5 knots. Close hauled speed dropped to 3.5-4. Off the wind (160) we made 5-5.5 with a lot of rolling. We raised the working jib on a beam reach with waves just aft of beam and our speed jumped from just under 5 to 7 knots. The boat was much more stable with the jib up. We tacked and headed back on a close reach at 6-6.5 knots with waves just ahead of beam. We sailed back behind the wall and as we approached the river entrance we fell off to a run (160-170 app) and sailed in the river. we started the engine and dropped the headsail in the lee of the main then motor sailed to the turning basin where we dropped the main.

8/6/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W 0-5 knots, waves 1-2', visibility 15 mi, temp 70-75.
1815-2130
Main, 150
We raised the main just outside the main entrance and motored out to S mark for a race and drifted while the race was in postponement for lack of wind. At 1930 the race was abandoned and we motored back towards the main entrance dropping the main on the way. Just past F mark we shut the motor down and drifted while I went in the water (temp 73) to see how well the bottom cleaning at the dock had done and to clean the keel and rudder. We used 2 cleaning tools at the dock, a scrubbing pad made from a block of Styrofoam and carpet on a pole and a 1'x12' wool strap like flosser. Both worked pretty well, the flosser did a better job. I had to touch up where the flosser could not reach and where there was thicker algae growth that it was not aggressive enough to remove. I spent about 25 minutes at the dock and 20 minutes in the water. Usually it takes 75-90 minutes in the water. After the cleaning the wind had filled in to 3-5 knots and we raised the sails. We made from 1.5-3.5 knots in the patchy wind and headed in the main entrance starting the motor just inside the harbor and dropping the sails on the way towards the river.

8/8/97
Added 4.2 gallons of fuel and 3 extra gallons in backup can for trip.

8/9/97 to 8/15/97 Trip west to Sandusky, OH.

Map Of Trip

8/9/97
Fairport, OH to Cleveland, OH.
Wind E-NE 5-10 knots, waves 1-2', visibility 5 mi, temp 70-75.
1240-1830
Main, Spinnaker
We arrived at the boat at 1145, loaded it and left the dock at 1240. We raised the main in the river and cleared the entrance at 1300. We set the spinnaker at 1315 and shut the motor down. The apparent was at 160R.
1400 - Off Mentor Harbor (41:44.4, 81:21.5), heading 250C, speed 4 knots.
1430 - Retrimmed spinnaker by slacking sheet a bit. The spinnaker was a bit less stable and it was a bit harder to steer but speed went up to 4.5-5 knots.
1500 - (41:42.0, 81:25.7) just off Eastlake, Wind 160-170 apparent, 5-8 knots true?, waves 1-2', hd 240C, sp 4 (GPS).
1600 - (41:39.1, 81:31.4) off shore from Watergate apartments, hd 240, sp 4.5-5.2, wind 150-170 app., 6-9 knots true.
1620 - Off Lake Edge Dr.
1700 - hd 220C, 5.5 knots, wind 5-10 true, 160 deg app. jibed to head in shore towards Cleveland east entrance.
1800 - at east entrance.
1830 - arrived at Lakeside Yacht Club (LYC) dock 54.
It started raining at sbout 1930.

8/10/97
Daysailing from Cleveland, OH.
Wind SW 13-18 knots, waves 1-2', visibility 15 mi, temp 70-75.
Full Main, 130.
1030-1500
We raised the sails as we went out the channel leading from LYC and started beating west behind the breakwall. The wind direction varied by as much as 40 degrees from one side of the channel to the other and there was more wind on the right side (offshore). The channel is only 1/2 mile wide. We started the beat with an S2 8.5 and were about 10 minutes ahead of them after 2 miles. We sailed up to W 3rd st. and dropped the 130 and sailed around with just the main. We sailed into the inner basin by the Rock hall and science museum and then to the west end of the harbor by the hewletts. We then raised the 130 again and headed back east on a run for LYC. We went wing-in-wing as we passed the airport. We dropped the sails and motored back in the channel to LYC.
Photo from August 10

8/11/97
Cleveland, OH to Vermilion, OH.
Wind 7-12 W building to 15-20 NE, visibility 5-6 miles, temp 60-65.
Main, 150, 130
0600-1430
Departed LYC at 0600. We rounded the east end of the wall and headed NE (300) close hauled under main and 150 making 5.5 knots with 7-12 knots of wind and 2-4' waves. At 0815 we tacked back towards shore. We tacked back to north at 0915. At 0945 we switched to the 130 anticipating more wind from a cloud line moving in from the west. The wind shifted from W to NE in a matter of 10 minutes as we did the sail change. After about 30 minutes the weather looked steady and we switched back to the 150. we were sailing at about 140 apparent and rolling a lot. We started motor-sailing and that helped stabilize the boat with the motor at about 1/2 throttle. The wind filled to 15-20 knots and we were making hull speed. We shut the motor off at 1230 and were making 6-6.5 knots and steering about 285 - 20-25 degrees high of Vermilion. The Tartan-10 nationals were going on at Vermilion and we spotted the fleet at about 1315. We jibed and headed towards shore on a broad run course about 10 degrees high of Vermilion. We jibed again about 1/2 mile off shore, started the motor and dropped the jib in the lee of the main (which worked very well). We sailed past (heading west) the entrance breakwall and came about to enter through the west entrance so we could drop the main when we were head to wind. We turned into the channel and motored up to the municipal docks at 1430. The rain came in at 1500.

8/12/97
Vermilion, OH to Sandusky, OH.
Wind NE 10-15, visibility 7-10 miles, temp 65-70.
Main, Spinnaker
1500-1915
Left dock at 1500 and put the main up in the channel. We motored out and headed north for a bit while preparing the spinnaker. We set the spinnaker and headed on a course of 300-310 with the wind at 90-120 app. The course to Sandusky pierhead light was 290. We were making hull speed and surfing occasionally past 6.5 knots. The wind clocked from NE to E-NE and waves were 3-4 feet. We were further off the wind (140-160 app) and were catching surfs to high 7's and hit 8 knots at least once. We had one roundup (because I was not paying attention), otherwise the boat was stable and easy to control. We were at the Sandusky channel at 1730 and jibed to head into the bay. We were surfing our way into the bay hitting high 7's. We dropped the spinnaker in the lee of the main as we passed into the wind shadow of Cedar Point. We were making 5 knots with just the main and followed the channel to green buoy #12 then headed for the Sandusky Sailing Club. We were on the dock at 1838. Rain and lightning came in at 1915.

8/13/97
Daysailing from Sandusky, OH.
Wind W-SW 10-15, waves 1-2', visibility 10 mi, temp 70-75.
Full Main, 130, Asymmetric Spinnaker (borrowed from T.J. Wright)
1130-1500
We sailed around Sandusky bay with T.J. Wright. The bay was nice and flat and we were in 9-13 feet of water most of the time. We beat to windward with the main and 130 making 6-6.5 knots then set T.J. Wright's asym spin for the broad run back to the Sandusky Sailing Center. The asym is truly easy to set and fly. We flew it off a pennant from the tack that ran through a snatch block on the stem to the bow cleat. The tack of the sail was about 8 inches above the pulpit. The sail was not as stable as the regular spinnaker and tended to oscillate in front of the boat. It defiantly drove the boat better then the genoa could have on a broad reach. We managed to hit 7 knots about 140 degrees off the wind.

8/14/97
Sandusky, OH to Lorain, OH.
Wind E-NE 15-20, waves 3-6', visibility 10 mi, temp 70-75.
1215-1930
Departed Sandusky at 1215 and motor sailed out of the bay with the full main and working jib. Once we were clear of the pier head light we tacked and headed east making 6-7 knots close hauled with 3-5 foot waves. We tacked after we passed Huron and headed out about 3 miles. Or tacking angle was about 110 degrees. We were steering off the larger waves to keep from pounding. We tacked 5 more times making 4-5 mile legs. After the last tack we were about 4 miles out of Lorain and we started motor sailing. We got into Lorain at 1930. We sailed 37 miles total. The straight distance is about 25 miles. We gave up some VMG by steering off the larger waves but the ride was dryer and more comfortable. We would have lost boat speed slamming through the waves so it may have been about the same.

8/15/97 - 1st leg
Lorain, OH to Rocky River, OH.
Wind SW 15-20 increasing to 25-35, waves 1-3' building to 3-5', visibility 15 mi (1 mile in rain), temp 70-75.
1000-1300
Full main and 130, reefed main.
We left Lorain at 1000 and headed west on a broad reach with the 130 and full main with the intent of going all the way to Fairport if the weather permitted. We were making hull speed easily and surfed to 7 knots occasionally. The wind and waves were building and around 1130 we took down the 130 and proceeded east under full main. At about 1200 we put a reef in the main and at 1215 it started raining so we changed course for Rocky River to get off the lake in the worsening weather. We started motor sailing so that we could make it on course to Rocky River and arrived there at 1300. The motor helped a lot and we would have had to beat without it. It stabilized the boat and let us point much higher. We added 4.2 gallons of fuel. This was the first time on the trip that we added fuel. At about 1400 the storm cleared and the sun came out.

8/15/97 - 2nd leg
Rocky River, OH to Fairport, OH.
Wind W-SW 20-30 knots diminishing to 15-20, waves 2-4', visibility 15 mi, temp 70-75.
1710-2310
Full main, 130.
We left Rocky River at 1710 putting the main up in the river and the 130 up after rounding the end of the wall. The wind was blowing 20-25 from about 220 and the lake was flat. We were headed at about 150 apparent towards shore so we did a 270 degree tack and headed out about 1 mile. We considered turning back as the waves and wind were on the verge of being unmanageable. We got better control of the boat and the weather seemed more manageable. We went out about 1 mile and did another 270 tack and headed east. The ride was better on the stbd jibe where it was easier to handle the waves and the boat rolled less. We really started moving and were surfing to 8+. We were sailing at about 150 degrees apparent and the boat was easy to handle in the gusts. The wind was 20-25 knots with gusts to 30 for about 50 seconds every 4 to 5 minutes. The waves were 2-4 feet and we were making 6.5 - 7 knots steady and surfing to high 8's and occasionally surfing to mid 9's. We maxed out at 10.3. The boat was easy to control at these speeds especially since the waves were not very big and the back of the boat was never lifted out of the water. We had to jibe our way east since we could not make our intended course without going dead down. We did 270 tacks the first few times and were jibing through about 70 degrees. The wind started to back down at 2000 and we did standard jibs after that with no trouble. The wind was down to 15-20 with gusts to 25. As we approached Eastlake we observed a sail boat about 1 mile ahead of us heading towards shore just west of the power plant. About 15 minutes later we heard a call for navigation assistance and answered it. He was on his way to Erie and was wanting to stop at Mentor Harbor. We gave him directions and suggested he follow us into Fairport. We arrived at the Fairport entrance at about 2245 and were on the dock by 2310. We sailed a total of 34.5 miles with the jibes. The direct distance from RR to FP is 29 miles.
Photo from August 15

8/9/97 - 8/15/97 TRIP STATS

             Dist   Time   Ave      Max 5 min
Date   Dist Sailed  (hrs)  Sp   VMG  ave sp
  9   22.6   25.7   6.32   4.1  3.6   5.0
 11   32.8   41.2   8.08   5.1  4.1   6.1
 12   17.3   18.1   3.00   6.0  5.8   6.5
 14   24.8   37.1   7.32   5.1  3.4   6.2
15A   16.0   18.6   3.20   5.8  5.0   6.7
15B   30.0   34.8   5.67   6.1  5.3   7.2
     143.5  175.5  33.60   5.2  4.3

8/26/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NE 0-5 knots, waves 1-2', visibility 2 mi, temp 80-85.
1900-2030
Motored out to test knotmeter for calibration. We ran east at 6 knots (on knotmeter) for about 6 minutes taking GPS positions. Then we ran back west to compensate for any current. Based on GPS positions at start and finish of each 1/2 mile run the knotmeter is reading high by about 12 to 15 %. We showed 7.25 knots at full power but we were probably going closer to 6.2. We will adjust the knotmeter next time out. The log recorded 15 miles when we actually went about 4.5.

8/27/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W-SW 5-8 knots, waves 1-2', visibility 5 mi, temp 80-85.
1820-2040
Main, 130, spinnaker
We motored down the river and motored east behind the breakwall to adjust the knot meter. We motored up to 5.9 knots on the meter and adjusted it to read 5.3. We came about and headed for the main entrance raising the main along the way. Once outside we headed W-NW and rigged the spinnaker to fly off a pennant at the stem instead of the pole to see how it would do. We secured one clew to the pennant and both sheets to the other clew. The pennant was about 5 feet and went through a snatch block on the stem fitting and secured to the bow cleat. The sail flew well and we could go up to 80 deg app with it like this. On the pole we could carry it up to 60 deg app. Off the wind it was good to 140 app where it was blanketed by the main. We jibed the main to go wing-in-wing which worked well in the fairly flat water. Speeds were pretty good. 4-4.5 on a reach and 3-3.5 dead down. We probably could have gone as fast with the 150 on the reach at 80 app but I don't think we could have broad reached or run as fast. Without the pole the spinnaker has a narrower opperating range (apparant wind) and is not as stable, but it is simple to set and fly. To jibe we just let one sheet go and pulled in the other letting the sail go around in front of the boat. This worked pretty well. The spinn sheets are barely long enough for this set up. They are 45 ft and would work fine at 50ft on this sail. A bigger asymmetric would probably need 55-60 ft. We dropped the spinnaker in the lee of the main and put up the 130. With the 130 we made 4-5 knots close reaching. We dropped the 130 in the main entrance and motored to the river dropping the main on the way up.

8/28/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind N-NE 15-20 knots, waves 3-5', visibility 20 mi, temp 70-75.
1820-2040
Main, WJ
Put main up near end of river and jib up just passed the end of the river. We fell off to a close reach and headed east behind the wall. We made 6-6.2 knots (by knotmeter). We rounded W mark which was 4-500 feet SE of station and headed NE close hauled making 5-8-6.2 knots through the waves. We went out about 2 miles, tacked and headed west on a close reach. We fell off to a beam to broad reach and headed for the main entrance and sailed into the river. We dropped the jib about 1/4 of the way up the river and sailed to the turning basin and dropped the main, then motored into the dock.

8/29/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind N-NE 8-12 knots, waves 1-2', visibility 30 mi, temp 65-75.
1830-2040
Main, 130
Took out Cory and Renee Sterling and their 1 yr old Kensie. Motored down river raising main at salt dock and jib just after river mouth. We turned east and headed to the east end of the breakwall on a close reach making 3.5-5 knots in the variable wind. We went about 1/2 mile past the end of the wall and tacked back to the west. We sailed west making 4.5-5.5 knots and went about 1/2 mile west of the main entrance before turning back and heading in. We started the motor in the entrance and dropped the jib. We dropped the main on the way up the river.

8/30/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E-NE 5-10 knots, waves 1-2', visibility 30 mi, temp 65-75.
1900-2140
Main, 150
Took out Cory and Renee Sterling and their 1 yr old Kensie. Raised main at end of river and turned east behind wall. Raised 150 and beat to east end of harbor in 3 tacks. We turned north and headed out about 3/4 mile on a beam to broad reach (100 apparent) making 2-3 knots. We jibed and headed towards main entrance on a close reach making 4-5 knots. We came up to close hauled at the entrance and dropped the jib halfway to the river and motored in. We dropped the main as we went up the river.

8/31/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W-SW 0-5 knots, waves 1-2', visibility 10 mi, temp 75-80.
1900-2100
Main, 150, spinnaker
Raised main in river and motored out main entrance. We set the spinnaker on a pennant about 1/4 mile from the entrance. We had some trouble keeping it filled in the confused waked from all the power boats coming in. we sailed northeast for about 30 minutes making 1-2 knots. We put the spinnaker on the pole and were able to point to 60 deg apparent (only able to make 80 without the pole) and 2-2.5 knots. We jibed and headed south east. We were able to make 1.75 knots at 60 deg app. We put up the 150 and dropped the spinnaker and speed went up to 2.5-3 knots. The wind backed off and we tacked to head for the main entrance. The wind died and we motored back dropping both sails before entering the harbor.

9/03/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind N 23-28 knots, waves 3-5' (behind wall), visibility 15 mi, temp 60-65.
1815-1930
Main
Raised the main near the end of the river and turned east behind the wall. We were reaching at 5.5 knots. We passed the racing fleet that was waiting for the pre-start sequence for a behind the wall start. We tacked and reached back towards the river and decided to head back in because of all the racing traffic. We headed up the river making 5.5-6 knots dead down wind. We had the working jib on deck ready to hoist but never flew it. We dropped the main in the basin and motored into the dock.

9/04/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W-NW 10-15 knots, waves 2-3'', visibility 25 mi, temp 65-70.
1900-2100
Main, 150
Raised the main in the lee of a freighter in the river and set the 150 in the harbor on the way to the main entrance. We headed out about 3/4 mile on a close reach then turned downwind to follow another P26. We went wing-in-wing and made 3.5-4.75 knots. We gained on the other P26 and came up to a broad reach heading inshore. We rounded race mark C and jibed, heading out on a close reach. We were a bit over powered with the 150. We tacked and headed towards the east entrance. When we got close we were in the lee of Headlands and lost a lot of our wind. We tacked and headed back out beating towards the main entrance. We tacked again then got lifted to the entrance. We sailed in and sailed up the river dropping the 150 just past the coast guard station and motoring to the turning basin dropping the main on the way.

9/06/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W 18-23 knots, waves 3-5'', visibility 25 mi, temp 75-80.
1600-1900
Main, Reefed Main, WJ
Started with a reefed main and WJ. We raised the main in the river just up from the CG station. We headed out into the harbor and raised the WJ on the way to the main entrance in the lee of the trees and wall at the west end of the harbor. We motor sailed out the main entrance and shut the motor off. The waves were 3-5 feet with the occasional 6-8 footer. They were broader then usual and the ride was fairly dry. We headed up on a close reach to the NW at about 45 deg app. making 6 knots. We came up to a close hauled course (30-35 app) and made 5.2-5.6 knots. We were steering off the larger waves. The rudder was very neutral with the reef and WJ even close to the wind. We tacked to the SW about 1.5 miles out from the light. We went that way for about 15 minutes then fell off to a beam reach (100 app) and headed towards the main entrance making about 5.4 knots. We shook out the reef and speed went up to 5.8 knots. We caught one surf to 6.5 knots. About .5 miles from the entrance we jibed and headed N on a reach (65 app) making 6-6.25 knots. We tacked and headed back to the main entrance on a close reach (45 app) making 5.5 -6 knots. There was a lot more weather helm now with the full main. We headed in the main entrance and ran back and forth a bit in the flat water behind the wall. We dropped the WJ in the harbor off the wind in the lee of the main. We started the motor and headed up the river dropping the main on the way up.

9/07/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E 0-5 knots, waves 3-5'', visibility 15 mi, temp 70-80.
1730-1930
Motored down river to harbor and anchored off west beach to clean bottom. We headed towards the beach and dropped the anchor with the depth sounder reading 9 feet. We let out about 120 feet of line as we moved closer to the beach. We touched bottom about 40 feet from shore. I jumped in and ran a line to shore then we pulled the boat back out by putting the anchor line on a winch so the boat was held between the 2 lines about 50 feet off the beach. the depth sounder read about 3 feet and there was about 8 inches under the keel. The bottom had a lot of algae growth that was difficult to remove with a brush. It took about 1:20 to clean the whole bottom. It was easier to clean in the shallow water where I could stand beside the boat but the visibility in the water was only about 1 foot. We also ran the main gas tank dry and switched to the backup 3 gallon tank. The tank had been topped off at Rocky River on our way back to Fairport on Aug. 15. We were out 11 times since then with a couple of motoring trips to tinker with the knotmeter calibration.
Photo from September 7

9/08/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E-NE 18-23 knots, waves 3-6', visibility 25 mi, temp 65-70.
1800-2030
Main, WJ
Raised main in turning basin and WJ in river. We sailed out the entrance close hauled (40 app) then fell off to a close reach and crossed the channel to stay clear of the dredge Columbus which was about 1.4 mile out and heading in. The entrance was very lumpy with 4-6 foot waves confused from the wall reflections. We came back up to about 40 deg app and headed north for about 2 miles making 5.5-6 knots. The waves were much more manageable away from the entrance and it was easy to steer off the larger ones to stay dry. We tacked and headed E-SE on a close reach towards the east end of the breakwall making 6.3-6.6 knots. We got about 1/4 mile from the end of the wall and tacked back to the north then fell off to a broad reach. We made about 6 knots and rolled a bit. We came back up to a close reach to intercept Journey (Hunter 37.5) who was to our west and heading north on a closer course then us. We were making 6-6.2 knots and catching up with them for a while then they must have spotted us and trimmed for speed. We were staying with them about 1/2 mile back. They tacked and headed towards us. As we passed Sue took our picture. We tacked after we passed them and followed them towards the main entrance (2.5 miles away) making 6.4-6.7 knots on a close-to-beam reach (75 app). We were catching up but they unrolled their jib some more and started pulling away. They were about .3 miles ahead when we got to the entrance. We sailed into the river starting the motor as we came past the Coast Guard station. We dropped both sails in the river in the lee of the gravel piles on the east side.

9/13/97 - first sail
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W 4-8 knots, waves 1'', visibility 25 mi, temp 70-75.
1445-1740
Main, 150
Raised main and 150 in river and sailed out main entrance. We tacked about a bit in very light air making about 3 knots then decided to run the moonlight X course. This runs S1-X-H-B-W-S1. We picked up the course between X and H. We made 4-5 knots on the close reach to H. The course from H to B was dead down and we went wing-in-wing with the jib poled out to port. We made 2-2.3 knots before putting the pole up and 3.2-3.5 after. The speed seemed a lot better then the VMG would have been if we had done jibing angles on broad reaches in the light wind and flat water. We rounded B by jibing the main and then taking the pole off the jib. The course to W was a close reach and we made 4.5-5 knots. W was off station by about 600 feet to the SE. We fell off to make it and made 5.5-5.8 knots. We rounded and came up to close hauled for the beat behind the wall to the finish. There was more wind away from shore and we did better to the right side. We came back into the river and dropped the sails on the way up.

9/13/97 - second sail
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W 4-8 knots, waves 1'', visibility 25 mi, temp 70-75.
1900-2100
Main, 150
We raised the sails in the river ands sailed out the main entrance. We sailed north on a close reach making about 5 knots and gaining on Windshadow. We passed them and took a few photos then they tacked and headed towards the main entrance. We tacked and followed them back. We dropped the sails in the river.

9/14/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W 4-8 knots, waves 1'', visibility 25 mi, temp 70-75.
1830-2100
Main, 150
This was almost a carbon copy of 9/13/97. We ran the moonlight course. We sailed to the estimated start point behind the breakwall and started on the course out the harbor and up to H. We made 4-5 knots on the close reach to H. The course from H to B was dead down and we went wing-in-wing with the jib poled out to port making 3-3.5 knots. We rounded B by jibing the main and then taking the pole off the jib. The course to W was a close reach and we made 4.5-5 knots. We rounded and came up to close hauled for the beat behind the wall to the finish. There was more wind away from shore and we did better to the right side. We came back into the river and dropped the sails on the way up.

9/16/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E-SE 2-5 knots building to 4-8, waves 1'', visibility 25 mi, temp 70-75.
1700-2140
Main, 150
We raised the sails in the river and ran the moonlight W course - S1-W-C-A-X-S1. We beat to W doing better on the left side of the course away from shore. We fall off a bit to head for C. We could not see C in the dark until we were about .3 miles from it. We rounded C and went wing-in-wing (jib to stbd) to A mark making 1-1.3 knots in very light wind (about 3 knots). As we approached A the wind filled a bit and we made 1.6 knots. We were also headed and jibe the head sail and came up to a reach to round the mark. We jibed and were on a close reach towards X making 4.5 knots. The wind filled in some more and we were making 5.4-5.6. As we closed on X we had to point higher and the wind backed a bit and we were making 3.5-4. We passed through the entrance close hauled and tacked when we had the assumed committee boat position laid. We made a run east and back behind the wall then dropped the jib and beat part way up the river with just the main. There was about 4 knots of wind and we made 1-1.3 knots. We started the motor just down river from the salt dock and dropped the main on the way up the river.

9/18/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E-SE 5-8 knots, waves 1'', visibility 25 mi, temp 65-70.
1930-2200
Main, 150
We raised the main in the river and motor sailed out the main entrance. We raised the 150 and headed east then tacked back to the west just past the main entrance. We then jibed and came up to a close hauled course headed for W mark at the east end of the breakwall to run the moonlight course. We made 4.2-4.6 knots n the way to W. We had to make a pair of tacks to round W then we fell off to a close reach heading 050C towards C mark making 5-5.3 knots. We rounded C and fell of to a broad run (145 app) headed for A making 2.8-3.3 knots with the jib poled out to stbd. After about .4 miles we turned dead down and went wing-in-wing making 3.3-3.8 knots. We carried this until the bearing of the mark was 45 deg. to port and jibed the main and took down the pole for a beam reach (110 app) t the mark at 4.5 knots. I later calculated that the extra boat speed we got from this saved us about 3 minutes on the way to A. We rounded A and headed up to a close reach (40 app) heading for X at 5-5.5 knots. We came in the main entrance and tacked east for the assumed committee boat position. We tacked too early and had to do an extra pair of tacks to cross the assumed line. We then tacked for the river entrance and started the motor. We dropped the jib as we tacked into the river and dropped the main on the way up the river.

9/21/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E 0-5 knots, waves 1'', visibility 25 mi, temp 65-70.
1540-1920
Main, 150
Motored down river and raised sails in harbor. We sailed back and forth once then headed ot the main entrance. The wind was light and very patchy. We were becalmed quite a bit. We dropped the sails and motored back in after about 30 minutes with little to no usable wind.

9/23/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind N 25-35 knots, waves 2-4'' (behind wall) , visibility 25 mi, temp 55-60.
1820-2020
Reefed Main
With Chuck Stephenson. We motored down the river and raised the main with the reef set at the end of the river and fell off to a reach in the harbor. The snap shackle on the outhaul works very well and it was easy to set up the reef. I did have some trouble raising the sail all the way and the luff was a bit loose. The reef line was a bit too slack too but we were able to tighten that up. We were making 5-6 knots with about 10-15 degrees of heel. We reached back and forth a 5 times then headed almost dead down wind towards the river making 6-6.4 knots. We sailed up the river going dead down making 5+ knots. We started the motor as we approached the turning basin and turned to drop the main. We missed getting into our slip when the wind blew us too far sideways. We went down the channel and approached it from the other side with the wind right on the bow and had no trouble getting in. The boat handled very well in the heavy air and was easy to steer with just a little weather helm. Next time we're out in those conditions I will try the storm jib.

9/24/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind N-NE 5-10 knots, waves 1' (behind wall) , visibility 25 mi, temp 65-70.
1630-1730
Main, 150
Went out with sailmaker Jim Sminchack so he could see the "new" 150 fly. We raised the main in the river and raised the 150 as we entered the harbor. We tacked back and forth in the harbor. Jim said the sail looked great. We didn't have a lot of time to tweek it. We headed back up the river dropping the jib as we turned in and dropping the main on the way up the river.

9/27/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NE 18-25 knots, waves 2-4' behind wall 3-6 outside , visibility 25 mi, temp 65-70.
Main, WJ
1545-1800
Raised main in river and sailed around behind wall for a bit before raising jib. We were making 5-5.3 knots with the main and 6.3-6.6 after raising the jib. We tacked back and forth a while waiting for the dredge Columbus to move away from the main entrance then we headed out. The waves were confused in the entrance but we had plenty of power on a close reach as we headed through them. We headed north on a close reach making 5.7-6 knots for about 2 miles then tacked and headed east a bit then fell off to a beam reach back to the main entrance. The wind was at 90-100 app. and the waves were at 120-130. We made better then 6.6 knots all the way back to the entrance. We caught occasional surfs to about 7.3. In the entrance we surfed a wave to 7.5. We sailed up the river and dropped the jib at the first lull opportunity. We took the main down in the basin and motored into the dock. We were a bit over powered when hard on the wind and would have done better with a reef in the main. Of the wind we were fine.

9/27/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind SE 16-22 knots, waves 1-2', visibility 25 mi, temp 65-70.
Main, WJ
1600-1830
We raised the main in the basin and raised the jib in the river just past the basin. We shut the motor off and sailed down the river making 3.5-4.5 knots at 150-180 deg app. As we cleared the river we picked right up to hull speed. We went out the main entrance and headed east on a close reach making 6.2-6.5 knots in the flat seas. We went past the east end of the wall and tacked back towards the entrance. The dredge Columbus was coming in and we tacked back to the east going hard on the wind towards the east end of the wall. We went about 1/2 mile past the end of the wall, tacked and headed in behind the wall on a close reach making 6.5+ knots. When the wind gusted we were making 7-7.2 knots. We went to the west end of the harbor and tacked back. We went to the east end again then back to the west. We started the motor as we approached the river and turned in dropping the jib as we came head-to-wind. We dropped the main after we passed the CG station and motored into the dock. The sail combination was perfect for the wind and wave conditions. Had we been making a passage further off the wind (130+ app) we could easily have carried the 130 or the spinnaker with a bit more effort.

10/01/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind N 10-15 knots, waves 3-5', visibility 20 mi, temp 60-65.
Main, 150
1800-2020
GRSC fall follies race #1. Behind wall start, course W (S1-W-S-X-S1), 3.84 mi. The start was a reach across the line. We were early to the line and did a circle maneuver to eat up some tome and fall in behind Tachyon and along side of Changes at the start. We pulled ahead of Changes (below us) and were catching Tachyon (above us) and had W mark laid on a close reach. We were well powered with the 150. Changes passed under us and once clear of our air they pulled away. We rounded the mark wide to leave room for Tachyon and came up on the wind for the lopsided beat to S. We were not pointing as well as any of the other boats and were moving farther to the right side of the course. We re-trimmed and tightened the jib halyard and gained about 10 degrees pointing making 5-5.5 knots. We tacked for S about 1/10 mile away and fell off to a beam reach for X (about 70-90 app). We made 5.5-6 knots on the reach. We rounded X and headed off on a broad run to avoid the shoal then jibed for the pin. We went wing-in-wing for a bit to give us some more roam for the shoal and make it a higher reach into the pin. We spotted the pin about 3 boat lengths away and had to jib twice to round it. We were right behind Tachyon and about 30 seconds ahead of North Star (Catalina 27). We rounded the committee boat and sailed back to the river and dropped the headsail on the way up in the lee of the main, then dropped the main and motored into the dock.

10/4/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind WSW 8-18 knots, waves 2', visibility 10 mi, temp 65-70.
Main, 130, WJ
1430-1830
Raised main in basin and motor sailed down river and out main entrance. Started to raise the 130 once outside the entrance but it got caught in the pre-feeder and tore (about a 4 inch tear) so we switched to the WJ. We moved quite well with the WJ and made 5.5-6 knots close reaching. The apparent wind was showing 10-13 on the floating ball wind gauge. We headed west for about 2 miles then tacked towards shore. We tacked back to the west about 1/2 mile offshore. About 1/4 mile from MHYC race mark we turned around and headed back to Fairport on a beam reach making 5.3-5.8 knots. We tacked into the main entrance tacked again and sailed to the east end on a close reach chasing a Catalina 30. We caught up with them at the east end. They were flying a full main and partially rolled headsail. We jibed and headed to the west end on a close reach to close hauled course making 6-6.5 knots and 7+ in the biggest puffs. We tacked at the river and made one more lap behind the wall. We started the motor and dropped the WJ as we tacked into the river and dropped the main on the way up.

10/5/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind S 8-12 knots, waves 1', visibility 14 mi, temp 65-70.
Main, 130, Spinnaker
1500-1930
Main up in basin. We motor sailed out the main entrance, raised the 130 and headed west on a close reach making 5-6 knots. We went about 2 miles and tacked back to the west on a beam reach. As we passed the main entrance we set the spinnaker. Speed went from about 4.5 to 5.0. We headed east on a reach (75-85 app) for about 4 miles making 5-5.5 knots. We raised the 130 and dropped the spinnaker then tacked and headed for the main entrance on a close reach to close hauled course. On the way I tied off the tiller with some bungies and line and adjusted the main trim so the boat steered itself. Once steady on course we could head up by bringing the main in or fall off by letting it out. The boat held a very steady course and required no correction for up to 15 minutes at a time. Moving about on the boat affected course. If I moved to the low side at the shrouds the boat headed up 10-15 degrees and held steady. Moving to the high side we fell off 10 degrees. We sailed to the main entrance and tacked to go in. W dropped the 130 and motored up the river dropping the main on the way.

10/6/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E 3-8 knots shifting to SSE, waves 1', visibility 14 mi, temp 65-70.
Main, 150
1900-2130
Went out with Cory Sterling and his brother. We motored down the river and raised the main in the harbor on the way to the main entrance and raised the 150 as we passed outside the harbor. We headed NNE on a close reach making 3.5-5 knots. Wind speed was oscillating. I set up the self steering and was able to get the boat to hold a course but not as well as 10/6. There was not as much wind and it was harder to adjust the course with the main sail and 150. There is not as much weather helm. We headed out about 2 miles, jibed and headed back to the main entrance on a close reach. We dropped the sails in the harbor and motored up the river.

10/7/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind ENE 0-6 knots, waves 1', visibility 6 mi, temp 65-70.
Main, 130
1700-1930
Main up at end of river. We motored out the main entrance with Journey (Hunter 37.5) and raised the 130. We shut the motor down and sailed N making 3-4 knots. The wind held up for about 15 minutes and we managed to keep up with Journey. The wind died to 0 for about 15 minutes then came back to about 5 knots. The wind came and went like this every 10-15 minutes. When there was wind we made 3-4 knots. Journey came around us and we took photos of each other and headed towards the entrance. We headed in and dropped the sails on the way up the river.

10/8/97
Racing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E 0-5 knots shifting to SSE, waves 1', visibility 14 mi, temp 65-70.
Main, 150
1800-2200
GRSC fall follies race #2. Behind wall start, course X (S1-X-S-W-S1), 3.84 mi. There was 0-1 knot of wind at the start. We got across the line at the pin about 20 minutes after the start horn. The rest of the fleet was about 200-300 yards ahead. We slowly headed wing-in-wing towards the main entrance. The spinnaker fleet started behind us and pass to our right. We were barely making way and turned up on a beam reach towards the breakwall and picked up to 2 knots. We fell back to dead down beside Turbulence (express 27) and slowed to almost 0 again. There was not enough wind to fill the headsail. Wind filled to about 2 knots and we were going almost 1 knot about 30 yards behind Turbulence. We finally got the to main entrance and came up to a reach (70 app) and accelerated to 3 knots on course to S. We were catching up with the fleet and passed North Star (Catalina 27) and were about 300 yards behind Tachyon as they rounded S. The wind was patchy and came and went for the entire race. It was down to almost 0 as we approached S. We made it around with barely any speed and headed up and tacked for W. We were barely making headway for about 20 minutes. The wind started filling in and we were up to 3 knots. This held as we got lifted to W. We had to do 1 short tack to make it around the wall then fell off to a close reach (60 app) and were going 5 knots. Wind backed a bit and we made it the rest of the way at about 4 knots. We crossed about 1 minute ahead of North Star and probably 10 minutes behind Tachyon.

10/10/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W-NW 10 knots, waves 1', visibility 14 mi, temp 65-70.
Main, 130
1800-2000
Sailed out the main entrance and headed north about 2 miles on a close reach with the self steering rig set up. The boat steered very well and it was easy to control the course with the main sail trim on the close reach. When we were about 3 miles out we came about and headed back to the main entrance on a beam reach. The self steering did not work as well on this point of sail. We could not generate enough weather helm to balance the tiller. We sailed back in and sailed all the way up the river, dropped the jib in the basin and almost sailed to the dock with the main but I turned too late and had to pass it and come back around with the motor.

10/12/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind N-NE 7-12 knots, waves 1', visibility 15 mi, temp 65-70.
Main, 130
1500-1830
We took Louise's parents out. We motored down the river and raised the main just before the coast guard station. We raised the 130 in the harbor and motor sailed out the main entrance. We shut the motor off once clear of the entrance and fell off to the west on a reach. We went west about 1/2 mile then tacked and headed east on a close reach. I rigged the self steering and it worked very well. The wind was a bit shifty in direction and the boat followed the shifts just fine. We sailed east about 1.5 miles past the end of the breakwall then tacked and headed NW. When we were about 2 miles north of the main entrance we jibed and headed south on a broad reach. We turned down wind and went SW wing-in-wing with the jib on a pole for about a mile then came up to a beam reach for the entrance. We sailed all the way up the river and into the marina channel then motored the last 200 yards to the dock.

10/13/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind S 12-20 knots , waves 1-3', visibility 20 mi, temp 65-70.
Main, WJ
1700-2000
Raised the main in the basin and the jib about half way down the river. We shut the motor off before the end of the river and sailed out the main entrance almost dead down wind then headed west on a reach. There was more wind and waves as we got farther from the main entrance. We were making 6.2-6.8 knots and saw 7.2 on one occasion. We headed west about 2 miles then tacked and headed east on a reach. We sailed about 1/2 mile past the east end of the breakwall tacked and headed west behind the wall. There was less wind in shore but we still made 4.5-5.5 knots. We sailed back out the main entrance and to the west. We turned back after about 1 mile and headed east. After we passed the main entrance we fell off to a broad reach and headed NE for about 1.5 miles. The jibed and headed SW on a close reach to the east of the entrance then tacked and headed to the east end of the breakwall again. We tacked to come in the east end and sailed to the river entrance on a reach. We started the motor as we approached the river and dropped the jib as we turned in. We dropped the main on the way up river and were on the dock at 2000.

10/17/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W 8-13 knots , waves 1-3', visibility 20 mi, temp 50-55.
Main, 130
1800-2000
Sailed out main entrance and reached north about 2 miles then tacked and headed back.

10/18/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind ENE 10-18 knots , waves 1-3', visibility 20 mi, temp 55-60.
Main, WJ, Spin
1700-2000
Headed out the main entrance and made 4 long tacks to windward until we were about 3 miles NE of the light house. The wind was ranging from about 10 knots to 18 knots and the direction was variable by about 40 degrees. We were able to make 5-6.3 knots beating. We set the spinnaker for the run back to the main entrance. The entrance was dead down wind and we jibed our way there making angles of 160-110 apparent making 5-6 knots. The wind was too shifty to run dead down and it was diminishing. We were heading west and jibed for the main entrance about 1/4 mile out. In the flat water behind the wall we made 5.5 knots. We carried the spinnaker up the river to the turning basin and dropped it in the lee of the main then sailed under main to the marina channel. We dropped the main and motored to the dock.

10/19/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W 0-2 knots , waves 1', visibility `5 mi, temp 65-70.
Main, 150
1100-1330
Sailed with Tim and Karen. Motored out the main entrance about 1/4 mile and raised the sails. The wind was very light and very patchy. We tacked a few times to try and get into some patches but basically drifted for about 90 minutes. We dropped the sails and motored back in. On the way in we heard the Coast Guard responding to a run-away power boat. It was a 19' bass boat with a 200HP engine and it was running at very high speed out of control about 3 miles east of the main entrance doing tight circles. The CG picked up 1 person in the water and was searching for another. They asked people to stay clear of the area. The run away boat ran out of gas and stopped about 10 minutes after we came in the main entrance. We later learned that the operator of the boat said they were thrown from the boat when the had to maneuver suddenly to avoid a jet ski. The CG was asking for info on a yellow Ski-Doo with an operator wearing a blue wet suit.

10/25/97
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NE 15-20 knots , waves 3-5', visibility 20 mi, temp 55-60.
Main w/reef, WJ
1330-1515
Raised main in basin with reef and motored down the river. We left the river, crossed to the north side of the harbor, turned east and raised the jib. We accelerated to 6-6.4 knots on a close reach. We headed to the east end of the wall on a lopsided beat and headed north then towards the main entrance outside the wall. We were on a broad reach making 5.5-6 knots. We came up to a close reach and headed west past the main entrance then tacked and fell off to a broad run (150-140 app) for the main entrance. We sailed in and up the river. We dropped the jib just short of the basin and made 3-3.5 knots with just the reefed main. We sailed into the basin, came about into the wind and dropped the main. We motored into the dock.

10/29/97 - Last sail of 1997
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind WNW 12-15 knots , waves 3-5', visibility 10 mi, temp 50-55.
Main, WJ
1430-1630
With Mike Gulley. We raised the main in the basin and raised the jib in the lee of the freighter Canadian Progress which was loading salt on the river. We motor sailed out the river and shut the motor off about half way to the main entrance. We sailed out the main entrance and headed NNE on a close reach. Once in clear air we accelerated to hull speed in the steady wind and manageable 2-4 foot waves. We made 6.2-6.6 knots. I rigged the self steering and once I had the boat trimmed it sailed itself with very little tweaking required. As we got further offshore the waves increased to 3-5 feet with the occasional 6 footer. The boat continued to steer itself just fine in the very steady wind with very little attention at 6.2-6.4 knots. I took over and managed to get us up to 6.4-6.7 knots. We headed out 4 miles then tacked and headed back on a beam reach for the main entrance. We made 6-6.5 on the reach. We were rolling a bit more with the waves at about 120 relative. We caught a surf now and then but not enough to really accelerate. We sailed in the main entrance, started the motor and motor sailed into the river. In a lull I dropped the headsail and I brought the main down in the lee of the freighter. When we got to the dock we started stripping the rig down to unstep the mast.

1997 - Days in water = 177; Sailing days = 73; Total hours = apr 220; Ave hours per sailing day = 3; Total fuel used = apr. 18 gal.

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