Saturday Sunrise
Late Afternoon Ride with the Chute in Full Bloom
Sailing into the Sunset
On June 18-19, Moonbeam completed a 100 mile solo sail as a qualifier to the Lake Erie Challenge, a 320 mile solo race sponsored by the Great Lakes Solo Sailing society in late August. In order to enter the Challenge, applicants must pass muster on a number of items, including the 100 miler to show they are capable of sailing larger distances alone and safely. I started out in light winds, sailing to Barcelona Harbor, NY at a crawl of only 1-2 knots. From Barcelona, I headed to Conneaut, Ohio. As evening approached, the wind started picking up a bit and after sunset it was blowing pretty seadily at 14-16 knots. At night I reefed the main and jib to settle her down. Still, it was a pretty bumpy night with little sleep! I finally reached Conneaut around 0900 and turned around for the final leg back to Erie. The sailing was ideal with winds blowing steady on my starboard quarter, enabling me to fly the asymetrical spinnaker all the way back to Erie. I pulled into the harbor at approximately 1600 - mission accomplished!
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