[Rhodes22-list] Pandion's First Sail!

[John Lock]

Hi folks,

Yesterday was the day!  Temps warmed up to 60 with bright sun and NW 
winds.  That's a good wind direction for me, because it crosses the 
lake (rather than coming straight up or down channel).  So, no tacking!

We raised the main around 2:30pm and started off nicely on a close 
reach at around 3 knots.  The wind speed was pretty variable, 
anything from 0 to 15 or so.  So we sort of "lurched" up the lake 
while I got a feel for how she handled.

After about 30 minutes I had enough confidence to pull out the jib 
and got some more speed up and felt like we had things pretty much 
under control.  The wind was still being gusty, so it was hard to 
figure out how much sail to put up.  But rather than constantly 
fiddling with it, I just rode out the dead spots let the sails luff 
for a minute or two until the wind came back.

We had one moment of excitement.  We were zipping along around 4 
knots when a much bigger gust than usual hit us, probably 20+ if I 
were to guess.  The furling line popped out of its jam cleat and the 
wind peeled off about 3/4 of that big genoa in a flash.  Needless to 
say, we had a "situation" on our hands :-)  The boat heeled over hard 
and then headed up into the wind.  I had to let go of the tiller (my 
passengers being paralyzed at this point) and pull the furling line 
back in to get the jib under control.  The gust was past and we got 
turned around and headed back on course without further complication.  Whew!

After about an hour or so, I reversed course and headed back 
home.  The wind was not as favorable going back, being lighter and 
more on the bow.  So it was a more leisurely cruise.  But I liked it 
just fine anyway because the sun felt warmer.  Just outside my cove I 
dropped the sails and motored back to the dock, first voyage complete 
and all hands accounted for!

Based on my initial experience, I've got three questions -

1) I was never able to get the main very flat.  It always had a 
pretty good belly in it.  The main halyard and main sheet were tight, 
the topping lift was released, the outhaul was tight, and the 
whatchamacallit line that runs up the leach of the main was tightened 
also.  What am I missing?

2) I developed an immediate dislike of jam cleats ;-)  Are cam cleats 
better at holding?

3) How do you keep battens in their pockets?  After a few good flaps, 
all but one of them flung out of the sail and over the side.

Cheers!

John Lock
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s/v Pandion - '79 Rhodes 22
Lake Sinclair, GA
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