Singlehanded adventure begins
Once back on dry land, recovery from sea sickness was a bit slower than I’d have liked. I remember eating dinner and having German chocolate cake because not much tasted good. But after a day of rest I was able to head on up the coast. The log book reads:
8/31/92 - Harrisville to Presque Isle - 44 NM, 9.8 hours (9:21 - 15:10), 4.49 knots avg, motoring, winds 21 knots apparent NNW, waves 4′ to 6′
I remember that the 6 footers seemed tame, and it was a pleasant run. Motoring was pretty easy, as I didn’t mess with the sails. As luck would have it, I have headwinds when headed north and would have headwinds often when headed south.
When singlehanding, you do become aware that there is a very bad failure mode should you fall overboard. Though I’ve never fallen overboard when sailing anything over 20 feet long, I have come close on a couple of occasions. Should I go in the water when motoring the boat will keep going. My life preserver would just delay the inevitable. So I used a harness any time I was out of the cockpit and trailed a long painter (line dragged aft) with a knot on the end to grab as a last chance option.
The Tartan 34 in port. - 1971 hull, LOA 34′ 5″, LWL 25′, Beam 10′ 2″, Displacement 11,200 lbs, Atomic 4 gas power, Draft 3′ 11″ (board up) 8′ 4″ (board down)
- the MuseTags: North Channel
