GENTLEMEN DON'T SAIL TO WINDWARD

BY JEN

Gentlemen don't sail to windward.

This is a "nautical wisdom" perpetuated by the retired gentlemen in the Yacht Club bars.....A fresh take on this is the practice view point of a female sailor. My reasons are very different.

 

DEAD CLOSE HAUL. SAILING TO WINDWARD

Heading to Newcastle from Pittwater:

I sat in the cockpit clutching at anything stable. The lean made sitting or standing difficult. I was happy not to be overwhelmed by nausea, and tried hard to enjoy the experience. The blue ET pills were working for both of us. We were making really good speed under sail. Glenn was ecstatic, finally being able to experiment with the unique sailing abilities of Sea Trek III. We had longed to do this, and the day had finally come.

WASHING THE DECKS

I watched the decks awashed with water and worried about the free swinging of the dinghy. Would it be damaged by the frantic swaying and how best could I secure it to the davits in the future. Happy sailing continued, until I decided to go below decks.....

 

I saw a pond of water on the floor, and noticed that the lounge cushions were wet. One horrible moment ensued while I tried to make sense of the growing water quantity. There was no water coming in from the submerged sides of Sea Trek III, and the bilge pumps weren't activated. The cabinet under the navigation table was awash. I grabbed all of the boat documents and threw them elsewhere. Then I lifted up the lounge/lee berth cushions to find them heavy with water. The beautiful upholstery that I made!..Swearing and a flood to tears briefly drew Glenn's attention to our drama. I couldn't find enough towels on board to soak up the mess. ( I did put two aside for our hot showers In Newcastle Marina). We were still angled over as I started throwing dripping towels out into the cockpit and in Glenn's general direction. He looked a little surprised and tried to trim the sails without loosing momentum.

 

JUST PART OF THE FLOOD

What I observed when ST3 levelled again was that the starboard water tank was still leaking out of the inspection ports. This shouldn't happen at all because when refilling we always leave a few cms gap. We have two tanks under the saloon seating each holding 500 ltrs. My guess is that a connecting tap between the two tanks is open and gravity created a pressure force or syphoning? I'm now wondering if I close the air vents to each tanks in future if this will stop the flow? Obviously we will be closing the adjoining tap between the tanks as well.

 

Newcastle Marina has good facilities, including electricity. Glenn says that it has six ensuites: toilets with bathrooms, unisex. We have had the fan heater going to dry things out. I have inserted 500 sheets of toilet paper into the Land Rover engine manual to keep the pages apart while it dries out. Such exotic things to do while in port. Glenn is out looking for some Sourdough bread, and has been gone for ages. Could it be that Newcastle closes down for the June long week end?

THE PAGES OF THE MANUAL ARE SUPER ABSORBENT

Footnote:

Ah Jen you make it sound all so dramatic, I never once swore or burst into tears. Here's a brief video I took before the wind picked up.

 

 

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