I hadn’t really planned it. The weather wasn’t playing nice—heavy showers in the morning, a brisk westerly funnelling downriver. Not ideal. But the forecast for the week ahead looked grim. More rain, possible gales from the south. In a few days, it’ll be six months since I dragged myself up…
Rigging
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A Milestone
I’ll write a longer post over the weekend, but it’s been a roller coaster week. Up until today I’ve tatted around with various jobs without seeming to make any progress. At times it almost felt as if I was going backwards. But today has been different. The sun shone and…
Junk Rig
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An Unfavourable Wind
It’s been almost a month since Sólmara was towed down to the marina. Two weeks on the hard, nearly two weeks afloat… and I’m still not sailing. Not for lack of trying. I’ve been working whenever I can, and the weather’s mostly played along. March turned out to be the…
Sail
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Light Work
Yesterday was calm and dry, so I got the sail laid out on the driveway so I could get the boom, yard, and battens in place and add some more patches where needed. As you can see from the photo below, the sail has done some work. It’s been faded…
Journal
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Charting My Own Course
It might seem a bit premature to be thinking about navigation when I haven’t even got the sail on the boat yet. But it’s a subject that interests me, and I wanted to put some solutions in place early so I could get familiar with them before heading out on…
Cabin
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A Week in Pictures
I’ve been at the boat most days. If I haven’t, I’ve been doing something boat related at home. Time moves on. Progress is made:
Journal
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From Land to Water: One More Step Toward the Sea
Yesterday was a good day. One of those rare spring days that hint at the summer to come. The sun shone, and the temperature crept up to a respectable 14℃ (57℉). A brisk southeasterly ruffled the water up the Penryn River, but it didn’t matter. This was the perfect day—the…
Engine
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Raising the Mast, Raising Myself
Up until recently, everything I’ve done on Sólmara has been easy — routine work, well within my comfort zone. I’ve been in safe waters, sticking to what I know. But these last few days have been different. I’ve had to venture into the unknown, push myself harder than I have in years…
Mast
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A Big Weekend
I’m not going to write much today. I’m shattered. The pictures tell the story. For the first time in 5 years Sólmara looks like a sailboat. There’s still work to do, but it’s safe and secure.
Mast
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Closing the Gap: Solving Sólmara’s Mast Problem
It’s been a frustrating week. I’ve been at the boat or working on it every day except Wednesday, but it feels like I’ve got very little to show for it. Most of the frustration has been down to the mast. Let me explain. As I’ve mentioned before, Sólmara’s mast is…