Biol's F-22: 12/2010

28 dic 2010

winter sailing

Luigi's F-22 Rebel is still in maintenance status, so today we opted for a run with Mauro's Elan 37, Amelì;

Here are Mauro and Luigi, smiling in the wind. In the next photo you'll see your loved blogger Angelo. I had never "driven" a sailbot with the "wheel" before today; it took a little to get used to ! 1K thanks to Mauro for giving me an opportunity to learn something new :-)

What a nice boat, this Elan 37. She has a heating system inside, too. And standing headroom. And a lot a things to make the cruise a pleasure. But she heels a lot ! Ok, compared to a multihull ... ;-)

Look at this elegant blue hull; The interiors are high quality, too.

A couple of hours through the waves were enough for us, due to low temperature, so we packed everything and went home. See you soon !

Slideshow:

15 dic 2010

Houston, we've had a problem

Saturday we went to Marinara to sail on Rebel. Light winds, a smiling sun and a low temperature. As we reached the end of the dams, we switched off the engine and started to raise the main. The halyard was easy in the beginning, but suddently it became hard to pull and then locked completely. In the mean time a change in the wind direction had slapped the sail from side to side. So we tried to lower the mail. No way. It was locked, almost completely raised and locked. That was a problem, a serious one.

We decided to come back to the marina, hoping that the wind would stay constant, 5Kn from NW, so to serve as a brake, as we'd reach the pier. We were lucky. Using the engine in reverse we landed ... almost as an elicopter, hoovering near the piper. Rebel was undamaged, tied to the mooring.