Chris J wrote:
I'm a complete Dart / Sprint 15 newbie, but I must say I'm hooked!
I'm based at Lee-on-the-Solent SC (LOSSC) and I've been out on the Solent a total of 5 times so far. Within ten seconds of my first sail on the 15 in about a F3 I had been faster than my monohull Wanderer had ever been! What a feeling!
On Sunday, the Bramblemet buoy (www.bramblemet.co.uk) reported winds of 0mph in the morning, so I treated myself to a lay in. I set off (with two crew) in minimal winds at 4:30. One member of crew was scared to tack, so we stayed on the same tack...until we bumped into Ryde on the IOW an hour later! I can't tell you how happy I was when I was touching dry land!
The weather was quite dull and looking behind us we realised we couldn't see the mainland for the thick mist! We set off in roughly the opposite direction we had arrived, aiming into the mist! After going through quiet patches of almost no wind and avoiding cruise ships, we could eventually make out some buildings on the land. Not having ever looked at the land from this perspective - its amazing how little I recognised!
Eventually we made it to Stokes Bay SC - where the wind stopped altogether. The one Praddel onboard wasn't going to get us home!
By good fortune, a speedboat towing wake boarders we'd come across earlier dropped someone into the water near us! After attaching a rope to the mast ball, we were towed at about 30mph back home!
I learnt a few things from this experience which I hope other newbie?s will take onboard!
- 15's were not made to be towed at 30mph! Can someone tell me, where are they meant to be towed from, the mast ball or under the forestay? We had to move our weight forward a lot, and the mass of spray meant we couldn?t see a thing to steer! (But it was hilarious!)
- Bring along a mobile phone if you're out without safety boat support.
- If you're going to go away from the land far enough to lose visual contact, you need either of the following:
a map and compass
a GPS unit (Can anyone recommend one?)
- If you want effective Praddeling power, don't go sailing with two girls! A Praddel is important to have though, as we needed it when the speed boat reached shallow waters near LOSSC.
- Pack Pringles or similar and a bottle of water if you?re out for any amount of time with little wind! Are you allowed to drink and sail?
- 15?s are deceptively swift through the water. With such little wind, we must have covered around 17km / 10miles (just measured it on the chart and Google Earth?s path tool) in about 2.5 hours.
Sorry I went on a bit, only I got a little excited and haven?t told enough people yet!
Hope to see you all in Netley,
Chris.
