Pensacola FL Sailing Blog - sailingnightwatch

Short of getting hammered by a storm, every sail is a good sail. This weekend was no exception. The weatherman even got it right. A front passed through about 5 a.m. with about 3/4s inch of needed rain. It was mostly clear by 9 a.m. and allowed time to wash off the boat and the enclosure windows. They had not been washed on the inside for over a month. They get difficult to see out of after that much time. We were to have 10-15 knot wind starting out of the north and backing to the SW. Sunday the wind was to continue to back to the south. For those of us who sail mostly east and west, this was to be a good weekend.

We started sailing west towards Redfish Point, and the wind was mostly north but the gusts were northwest to west at a good 15 knots. If the wind continued to back, we would have the wind on out nose most of the day with a lot of tacking. My wife reminded me that her racing days are over and she does not mind tacking, but a lot of tacking is not what cruising is about. This is easy, make one tack and head east.

We had not been to Navarre in about a year. The bridge at Navarre is one of those 47 footers in this part of the ICW. We cannot fit under it but on the southwest end of the bridge is a restaurant/beach bar called Juana’s. A fun place with volleyball on the beach, Jet ski and beach cat rentals. There is also a 3 wide boat ramp. I remember the trailer days, but never tried to squeeze between two other vehicles. It was interesting to watch.

The sail to Navarre was great. The gusts moved back to the north and got to be in the 20 knot range. My wife used to allow me to heal 28 degrees before coming unglued. The last few years she start protesting at 20 degrees. When you can hear the bots shift in the galley, stand by for comments from the mate. This was ok because it allowed me to do some reefing that I rarely get to practice. With a ketch you have many combinations to use. That is why we have one. This time I ran full jenny, staysail and mizzen with the main reefed down to the size of a storm jib. This gave me the same speed and cut the heal down to a level I would be allowed in my own bed for the night.

About the time we got the anchor set, the wind did back to the southwest. A good directions for cocktails.

Sunday the wind was due out of the west. We motored west through the Navarre buoy line to get where we would have room to sail. By the time I set sail the wind was blowing 15-18 knots. I set full staysail, main and mizzen. This keeps the heal down, but also looses about a knot in speed. It was a glorious sail.