1 Year! from Cuajota on Vimeo.
Wow time flies….its been a year since I have owned Cuajota…and what an amazing year its been! I have learned to be a competent sailor. I have learned to trust the boat and be SAFE in varying conditions. I have learned about wind and water conditions. I have sailed from the mainland to a small island and back safely. There are so many things that I have done in the last year that I had NO idea that I would ever do. Most of my sailing is singlehanded, and I like it that way. I truly enjoy embarking on a day sail with just me and the boat. Its not that I don’t enjoy the camaraderie of a few sailing buds, I do…it’s not like I don’t like it when the wife tags along for a leisurely sail…I Do…but there is nothing like the feeling of accomplishment you get when you take the boat out, sail it, see things like dolphins, whales, and sharks, and come back in safely with me and the boat in one piece. In the year I have had the boat it’s been relatively pain free. I replaced a smoking battery and got a used jib. Other than that it’s been just basic cleaning. We moved the boat from a mooring to a slip. I really like having the boat on the slip. It’s made upkeep a bit easier. To commemorate the 1 year anniversary as well as a birthday sail for KJ we took Cuajota out for a nice day sail. I hoped there would be wind at 11:30 when we took off. In Newport Beach the wind doesn’t usually pick up until the afternoon. We headed out of the harbor and headed northwest to see if we could find some good wind. It wasn’t long before the sails were full and the boat was moving. The clouds broke and the sky was perfect. I said to KJ, “if we only had a few more knots of wind, it would be perfect!”. At just that moment the sails got even fuller, the boat heeled and accelerated and we got all the wind we wanted to make the boat fly! This was also the longest sail with the new jib. The last one was a nice 135% North Sails. The new one is a 125% Sobstad. I had the North Sails lift look it over and they were impressed. I was a tad bit worried that the smaller sail area would have a negative effect on performance. It seems to take a tad bit more air to really make the boat fly. It’s better in heavy air by far. It points higher..nearly dead upwind and it’s a dream to handle as it doesn’t hit the spreaders. Misses it by inches. It seems to accelerate faster. I also think it doesn’t reach as well. But the better pointing ability as well as the faster acceleration it’s a good sail. The old one seemed to have a horrible shape and was ripping every time I went sailing. All in all it’s an upgrade. I think a 130 is probably just right for this boat and the winds we have here. I’m splitting hairs though. True boat is super fast and fun now. The anniversary sail proved it. We got back into the harbor and I was smiling for ear to ear.