a 0730 start and a nice drive to Bala FORECAST WAS LOOKING GUSTY
when i arrived it was blowing north as predicted and steve and mike said i would be fine sailing the dart on my own , tbh i was reluctant but in the end afer doing some remedial work and a hearty breakfast from the cafe i set out a bit later than most but gingerly made my way to far side of lake and then head downwind. it was ok and by the time i got to the bottom end i had enjoyed the sail.
however the return story was not so good.
i looked at the the way i had come and thought OMG i tacked the boat around carefuly as it was really windy at the bottom end and made my way back up the lake, with only the main tacking was hard but managed it with reversing rudders here and there.
when i got near the shore of the old sailing club my hook came off so had to scramble to re hook it with out drifting too much. on the next tack my mainsheet exploded out of the main block and spread it self on the deck, i quickly did A BOWLINE around the top bearing and re hooked the mainsheet back on once again. now with the blocks in abit of a tangle it was hard to sheet in and hard to get a good beat. i struggled on in survival mode and eventually got back to the club in 1h20m and 8.94miles later
max speed 12.5knts and average 5.6knts
glad i did it but was now feeling cold, the boat was packed away and a few more convos with people i decided to head home and miss the barbecue after all.
glad i did it only the 2nd sail of the season too.
a frustrated drive home was had by really sad drivers thinking doing 35 mph was ok in a perfectly good road prob sightseeing and not watching who they were holding up behind. got home to a nice bacon egg chips and beans followed by a pint of PM myrica gale yum
