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Sailing Log: 6/4/04
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After most of a week of more rainy, lousy
weather, Friday dawned glorious. Looked like a sailing day to
me! The winds were forecast to be 10-15 from the northwest in the
morning, and changing to a southeast seabreeze in the afternoon:
5-15 knots, they said.
 I
was at the boat by 1100, and looked forward to installing a couple new
blocks that I had ordered for my cunningham setup. Over the past
couple years, I had defined a need to sort of pull the cunningham
control line forward, towards the mast, so that in addition to pulling
the luff of the sail down, it would also help hold it tightly to the
mast; as it was, it tended to pull a bit aft. I also decided to
install a small block at the cunningham ring, since I didn't love the
way the line just passed through the ring with no protection.
(More on the cunningham later.)
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 When
I went up to the mast to remove the sailcover and consider various
placement options for the mast block I had purchased, I noticed with
some alarm that the track on the mast, on which the boom slide rests,
was pulling free from the mast, in a near duplicate manner as an old
track had a couple years ago.
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Memory Aids:
Click
here to read about the initial gooseneck failure. (Opens in a new
window)
Click
here to read about my modification and installation of the new track.
(Opens in a new window) |
I was bummed, since the
"temporary" repair I had effected in July 2002 had seemed so
sturdy and sound that I had seen no reason to replace it. What was
happening was that the track, along with the 4-5 machine screws holding
it to the mast, was pulling relatively evenly away from the mast,
leaving a gap of nearly 1/8". This was no good, so I
abandoned my cunningham modifications (though I did install the turning
block on the cunningham ring) and set to work instead on trying to
repair the gooseneck track once more.
I found that I could tighten the screws
fairly securely, but I also drilled and tapped for one additional new
screw, located right behind the boom slide fitting. This all had
the effect of pulling the track back in tightly to the mast; it seemed
that the repair was satisfactory, and after a minor delay I continued
with sailing preparations. |
 The
wind, during this time, had died and then come up from the
south/southeast, as promised. I raised the main and cast off the
mooring, and sailed out of the anchorage. At first, the wind was
much stronger than I had anticipated, though not too bad; often, with
this sort of wind, it will be strong at the beginning, partly enhanced
by blowing over nearby Clapboard Island. Indeed, this seemed to be
the case, since as soon as I passed the southern side of Clapboard the
wind lightened, and eventually died completely a few minutes
later. For 10-15 minutes, I was completely becalmed, but I didn't
mind.
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 After
some minutes, the breeze began to blow again, gently...or so it
seemed. It was a bright, perfect day, and the breeze at first
seemed perfect for a jaunt outside of the islands; I headed for Hussey
Sound. By the time I reached the entrance, however, it was clear
that the winds were continually strengthening, up to 20 knots and more
in the gusts. I had full sail up, and could have reefed, but
nonetheless I decided against venturing outside, since the waves were
already kicking up and I didn't need the excitement. I
backtracked, and had a pleasant--if slightly blustery---sail up towards
Portland, then turned and reached back towards the inner bay, enjoying
the wind. Once back in the bay with the full exposure to Hussey
Sound and the ocean beyond, the wind remained a steady 20-21 knots
(true), and I decided against gybing (which might have strained my
gooseneck) to return to the mooring, choosing to tack around
instead. It was an exhilarating sail back to the lee of Clapboard
Island. Glancing ahead at the mooring field 1/2 mile or so ahead,
I could see that the wind was just as strong there, so I decided to drop
the sails in the relative comfort of the island, rather than sail into
the mooring as I usually do.
Back at the mooring later, I noted with
some consternation--and utter depression--that the gooseneck track had
pulled away again, just as before. My "repair" had not
worked. However, the day was over, and I returned home to think
about the problem and research gooseneck fittings online.
More on the gooseneck will be up on the
site soon.
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Just a buoy tender I passed early in the
sail
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