Sounds like my weekend (somewhat)...
Winds were cooking down the lake Saturday... helped fellow club mates launch a couple Catalina 22s (easy peasy).. Messed around on my boat a bit, then hollered over to a friend with a B25, if we should just SAIL!!! He was OK, you help me roll my main, I'll help you!
Done...
Off we went. Winds were 15-20 knots, with gusts over 28!
I started out with a reef, and my newly found number 3 (105%) jib. I went spilling and sheeting across the cove. My buddy came out, razzed me for running a reef, and he quickly got knocked down and water in the cockpit.. I yelled over, THAT's why I reefed!
After that things settled into oscillations 18-22 knots.. downwind and around Epply island was the "race." He smoked me by only a minute or two to the back of the island. We rounded the island in opposite directions... then we raced back up the lake (now entirely upwind). I took a BEATING upwind single handing the boat, spilling wind, and playing the traveler. I could hold 6+ knots the whole way though, and quickly left him in the dust. The B25 requires meat on the rail to sail well upwind.
Fun time sailing though.
Sunday I puttered around on the boat with winds 25 knots gusting to 35 knots (yep, I measured it). I installed a solar panel, and when things looked to be dying down some (20 knots) I went out, only to find my Tiller pilot stopped working. To add insult to injury I seemed to have lost my wind speed/direction (turns out it was a simnet cable)... Anyway, after about 30 minutes taking a beating, I came back in. It was SO COLD it was snowing. I kid you not!
Some warm weather would be welcomed right now.
I won't complain too much though, as I love the bigger winds!
