One of the things we’ve been most surprised at on this trip is how little sailing we’ve been able to do. There are very few spots along the ICW that can be sailed, and when we’ve headed offshore, there were many times we either needed to make time upwind or the wind was too light. We did get some nice downwind sailing on open ocean, but by and large, we were motoring for most of the trip.
Today was a much-welcomed break from that. We had a perfect 10-15kt breeze, and while it was on the nose for a bit, it shifted just enough that we only had to throw in a couple tacks. With near flat calm seas, Silent Sky absolutely ate up that breeze. There were points where I was doing 7kts over ground, and she felt amazing.
This was the first time at the helm where I was really able to get a good feel for the effects of velocity-driven wind shifts. I’ve always been aware of them, but on Long Island Sound, I’ve never really been able to get a good feel for them – I think the waves and wake threw me off. It was also really interesting to feel how Silent Sky heels in those conditions. As the breeze came up, I could feel her initial motion going mostly into the heel, and then she’d reach a point where she’d balance and take off.
It used to be that I’d be counting the minutes to the end of my watch, but this time Chris almost had to kick me off the helm. Today’s sail was the perfect start to a new year.
