A Windy January Sail

Today was my chance to see what Kamala was like in a bit of a blow. It was 4-5, gusting more (35 knots according to the coastguard warning), but being from the North-East, there was no fetch in the bay to kick up a troubling sea. With 2 reefs and a similarly reduced jib, Kamala coped well for the most part.

Not long after setting off, a yacht race began from St Helier, and I spent much of the sail surrounded by, and trying to keep out of the way of, the entire racing fleet. The first boats through were impressive with their genoas raised and blowing out in the gusts. I hove-to for a moment to get these pics:

The wind increased in the middle of the bay but a close-ish haul towards The Gunsite was just about do-able. Then a rain squall came in. Kamala leant over further than ever she had before and my stomach lurched. Although she responded to the rudder and luffed up quickly, I decided that was enough adventure for one day and bore away back to the harbour.
The boat is nicely balanced when reefed (better than when not, to be honest, since the reduced jib shifts its pull further forward, lessening the weather helm) and coped with some quite strong gusts before 'the big one'. In any sort of sea she would no doubt be stopped dead and have zero windward capability, but hey, that's Seawych's. All part of the fun.

Low, Low Tide

This morning was a perfect morning for a sail, but I couldn't. Instead I took my two eldest to Belcroute to observe a 0.8m low tide and see what creatures of the deep might be lurking at the bottom of the inter-tidal zone. Also, I wanted to check out the possibility of sinking a mooring there for Kamala for the summer.

The pictures tell the story.

These rocks are normally hidden. Hope they are on the chart.

The Fort from Belcroute. Almost totally land-locked.

The marked rocks

Looking out towards Noirmont Point. Looks like its safe to cut inside the East cardinal from this angle.

A Morning Eclipsed

More of a cycling than a sailing post this, so be warned.

In preparation for the daily commute commencing the next day after a three week rest, I went for a cycle ride two consecutive mornings, to blow off the cobwebs and get the legs in gear. This was the second, and should've featured a substantial partial solar eclipse. Cloud was the only thing visible this morning, though where it broke over the sea to the south it gave spectacular crepuscular rays. The main reason for this going in the blog is the shot of the bay and the composition on the Noirmont point / condor ferry shot. Good enough for their brochure, no?

It was noticeably darker this morning, due to the eclipse. A bit later on the ride I was horrified to notice that Guernsey had a clear view of the sun!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/guernsey/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_9337000/9337603.stm