Finally got on the water single handed today, literally breaking ice to do so, but a clear crisp February day with a brisk North Westerly and no trade shows to attend or other diversions, saw me trundle down there and wrestle with the entry procedure.

Too cold for photographs, too cold to bother with the spinnaker halyard that got itself half way up the mast, just warm enough to two sail about to get the feel for dealing with stuff alone. It's not the easiest layout to operate, can't say I like the floating bridle mainsheet pulley. 10 yards off the jib bridle untied itself, but being a floating platform a simple enough job to hove to and re-arrange both the main and jib sheeting.

There was a race going on that I was too late to join, but she seemed on the pace with most of the boats there and it was only later on once I'd found my 'lake'legs , re routed the mainsheet so it didn't keep jamming, (the angle's all wrong) thereby managing to risk a couple of legs 'flying' the windward hull the crafts performance potential really became apparent.

She doesn't like riding flat in fresh water, I'm almost of the view she's a bit under canvassed, hardly managing to venture onto the tramps in anything but the bigger gusts and it must have been 15-20kts in the breezier bits with 8 -12 average, difficult to say, it's a small lake, no gust could last a couple of minutes without a bank looming close.

I managed to bury a rack once, easily borne off from once I'd unjammed the cleat that caused it, I'm going to get a bigger see through jib made there was just a hint of weather helm I'd not experienced on the last outing so a bit of room to manoeuvre there, I need a better solution to the main sheeting, I'm minded to take the kicker take off closer to give a bit more room up front, I also find myself considering rear sheeting again.


All in all an enjoyable morning and I didn't even get my feet wet such are the joys of a slip from the grass straight into the drink. I guess I ought to mention 'the lake' and Redoubt SC who permitted my 'invasion', I'm going to join this year, nothing like sailing here to quicken up your handling technique.