2026 Sail #2 - A quick sail with just the main

We were already in the third heat wave of the season and it was only mid-June. The forecast called for high eighties (over 30C), high humidity and sustained winds of 10 knots. The winds were forecast from the north so we decided to sail with the mainsail and jib and see how Rosalind behaved with that sail combination in those conditions. It did not take us long to get Rosalind ready to sail. We left the dinghy at the morning and started motoring out the river.

The wind forecast from the north was funneling down the river from the Chesapeake Bay actually blowing from the NE in the river. Motoring down the river, we had the wind off the starboard bow for the first one and a half nautical miles and with the wind from the NE It became clear that would have to motor all the way out if we wanted to sail back. Not wanting to motor into the wind for almost another hour, we decided instead to unfurl the main, turn around and leisurely sail back to our mooring. 

Slowly sailing up river took less than an hour, confirming that “great things can come in small packages” and Rosalind, with her cleaned bottom easily glided through the water on a broad reach. With only the main up we were not breaking any speed records but the easy sail felt rejuvenating. The previous week we had been working on installing the v-berth side paneling and cabinets and it felt great to be on the water and taking it easy.  

With ten knots of wind, Rosalind was easy to maneuver so we leveraged the opportunity and decided to sail back and pick up our mooring under sail, without using our motor. As we got close, watching Rosalind’s speed, we planned our course through the mooring field. We wanted enough speed for maneuverability and to reach the mooring, but at the same time, we did not want too much speed so as to overshoot the mooring. Approaching KittiWake on her mooring, we decided to leave her to port (go behind her), giving us a little extra time and distance to slow Rosalind down. After passing KittiWake, I turned Rosalind into the wind and Cheryl went forward and grabbed our mooring. As Cheryl secured the mooring pendant on the bollard, I watched and waited for Rosalind to swing to port and then furled the mainsail. 

Rosalind’s track to her mooring

After buttoning up Rosalind, on our way to shore,  we stopped by to say high to our neighbor on Sureya. Simon, commented: “You went for a sail but I did not hear you come back,” I replied with a small smile “We sailed back to the mooring.” It felt good to sail back to the mooring, continuing to enhance our boat handing skills. Another great sail. 

 Rosalind and our First Near Gale on the West River

It was late May and the morning air, in the high 50s, was unseasonably cool and the weather forecast called for northerlies 14 gusting to 20 knots. By the time we got to Rosalind, deep in the West River we were seeing 18 and 20 knots registering on the anemometer. It took us a few minutes to get Rosalind ready for her first sail of the season. It only took about 15 minutes to remove the mizzen sail cover, start the engine, don our PFDs and sailing gloves and cast off our mooring pennant.

Motoring out the river, Rosalind moved easily through the water at four knots as the wind, dead on the nose, increased. One of the benefits of a ketch is that there several sail combinations available to choose from for different wind speed and direction conditions. Given the expected winds, we were planning to sail “jib and jigger”, without the mainsail. 

Rosalind at her mooring before the sail.

With Cheryl at the helm we passed red nun #4 and I went aft to raise the mizzen. The wind was steady at 20 gusting to 25 and Cheryl let Rosalind fall off the wind as I started partially rolling out the jib. Cheryl then pulled back on the engine throttle, I trimmed the sails and Rosalind started sailing and picking up speed. We were on a close reach, with the wind forward of the beam, and we started moving through the water first at 4.5, then 5 and settled in at 5.5 knots. Wind gusts increased to 27 then 29 knots. During the gusts, Rosalind increased her speed to 6.2 knots while heeling another 5 degrees, to about 20 degrees. The was some lee helm, as the power from the jib was more than what was provided by the full mizzen, but Rosalind was very steady. In the river, the seas were no more than two feet and Rosalind put her shoulder down and plowed on; she felt controlled and powerful. There was power in the wind!

After a while, we tacked. Cheryl handled the helm and I managed the jib, the mizzen being self tending. The tack went very smoothly and Rosalind was now on a broad reach gaining speed soon settling at 5.7 to 6 knots and climbing to 6.3 in the gusts. Now the gusts were over 32 knots, and Rosalind still felt very controlled. Rosalind is a heavy boat (9 tons), with only 25 feet at the water line. With partially unfurled jib and her full mizzen she was sailing at almost her hull speed of 6.5 knots and was very comfortable doing it. 

We kept sailing down the River still doing over 6 knots, Rosalind increasing her speed in the gusts, while generating a little extra helm in the process. After passing red nun #4 we knew we had to depower as the river gets narrow and crowded, so I rolled in the jib and before we motored to our mooring we dropped the mizzen. On the weather apps, the upper Chesapeake was now all lit up with Small Craft Warnings. Soon after we arrived our neighbors on Gorgeous Girl, a Pacific Seacraft 40 came in from their outing. They commented “Rosalind looked good out there”.

It had been a great shakedown sail in a near gale in the river. Rosalind handled her self beautifully in sustained winds exceeding 25 knots and felt very steady and comfortable. Everything worked, and nothing broke. A couple of small items were added to the to do list and we learned a lot. Overall one sail for the books!