The weeks of preparation were worth the effort. Day 1 was a smooth start, starting in a t-shirt and shorts on a calm morning, and finished with 3 layers of specialized sailing cold weather gear, with a force 3 southerly breeze.
The 27ft sail boat is the right size for solo sailing, and responds well to tuning, but is lacking some comfort addons (auto-pilot, shower, water pump, wind speed and direction electronics, etc) so I have to adapt…
Some great sailing around the islands on day 2, at 9 knots with force 5 westerly breeze. I learnt the joys of performing some complex manouvers solo, even with careful planning it’s not often perfect.
There are very few boats in the area in Spring, it’s quiet and relaxing, but cold (I placed 1 sleeping bag inside the other, and it’s barely warm enough).
