Downwind sailing
Sailing my old boat, Noah, I only felt brave enough to deploy the spinnaker once on a day with a really light breeze, and that was before I had my stroke. The thought of getting that huge, flying sail out of its bag by myself, with my left hand not working right, just seemed impossible and frankly, pretty daunting. I used to prepare myself mentaly: I’ must use my third and fourth hands to quickly pull up the kite. Panic when it will jams halfway up and use all four hands to frantically un-cleat it on the down side of the halyard. At this time he boat should be doing lazy circles so tuk for the incoming crash gybe…
Downwind smooth sailing
But now in Bele I had a fifferent sail configuration I had to learn to use. The genaker I found in the aft lockerwas tighly rolled around a tick black cable I later learned it is a anti-torsion line and it´s part of a furling system that make it’s depoyment much easier than the standart collar- sock system and safely made from the cockpit even single handed.
Unfortunatly I could no talk with Belle previous owner and even after carefully checked every inch, every nook and cranny in Belle I could no found the furler needed to use the genaker. It shoul be something like this one.
While poking around Belle's nooks and crannies, I ran into Daniel, a solo sailor cruising in a gorgeous RM 1080 that was docked right next to Belle. I always enjoy chatting with other sailors and hearing about their adventures; you always learn something useful from their experiences. Daniel, for example, was not only a really experienced solo sailor and happy to share his knowledge , He also worked as a naval architect and used to own a catamaran manufacturer company down in Brazil. . I showed him my gennaker and the stuff I'd stashed away in the lockers. He's the one who explained the anti-tortion cable to me and how to put in the bowsprit. It was a genuine rigging lesson from an expert. He showed me his own Gennaker furler system and was pretty clear to make me comprehend there's only one right way to do it, Facnor makes the best furler systems . They're dependable and simple to use, especially now that they have a new ratchet feature that lets you manage the furling line with just one hand from the cockpit. It's ideal for you, Carlos! Get the +4500 model; it's a bit pricier, but if you oversize the system it'll make things easier and more reliable! He he strongly emphasize this before showing me his furling system. At this time as a newbie with a new to me boat I felt like a jedi aprendice overwhelmed by the Grand Master Yoda.
The removable bowsprit I found in Belle aft locker
After this lesson in furlers and how to handle fying sails a Fanor FX+ 4500 ratchet furler is definetly on the top of my wish list. It will enable me to sail down the trade winds in comfort and safety.
