Done! First Sail With My TandemI put on keep out lines, KB’s keeper lines, padeyes for leashing the Mirage drives, extra padding for the seats, changed the rigging for better (3:1) leverage from the rear seat, etc., etc. There were more things I could do (and will do), but Michael & Bonny were visiting from New Mexico, and Michael wanted to go sailing. This was one reason I bought my new, out-of-the box 2014 Tandem: guests.
We met on Sanibel on the west coast of Florida. For those of you who do not know, Sanibel Island is a large barrier island about 70 mi north along the coast from our usual haunt of Chokoloskee. Sanibel Island is a beautiful place, although it is beginning to suffer the pains of modern growth. Sanibel Island…
Our launch was immediately next to the causeway connecting the main land to Sanibel Island.
Our first day sailing was in light winds (10 mph and less). This is Michael, and we are near the Sanibel Causeway. I don’t have bridges anywhere I sail. This one made me a bit nervous, but it was not a problem as long as we crossed under at the highest span. Michael thought it was great.
Fortunately, the next day we had some winds, about 15 mph when we got to the launch. Now, I have a slightly embarrassing story about our launch on this second sail. This picture is of the launch during very light winds.
The launch ramp is only about 2 Tandems wide. This is Michael at the end of the 2nd sail. Winds are about 15 mph coming almost directly into the ramp.
To launch, I had the boat headed out on the left side of the ramp. Michael was in the front seat. I planned to hop in (no rudder at this point), implore Michael to pedal, drop the rudder, and clear the end of the docks. First try, things did not go as planned. I didn’t get the rudder down fast enough. The winds turned us clockwise and forced us back, and against the dock on the right. The incoming waves jammed us into the dock.
POP! It took me about 1 second to realize that we had broken an aka brace shear pin. The “pop” was quite loud. Michael asked, “Why did it break so easily?” I laughed and responded, “It didn’t break easily. We gave the right ama/aka a pretty good whack on the dock.” I laughed again. No damage done. The shear pin had done what it was supposed to do: break!
It took a few minutes to change the pin, and we launched again. While it was not without excitement, as we just barely cleared the end of the right dock (“Pedal, Michael. Pedal hard! Pedal harder!!”), we were finally in open water.
We had a nice sail. Michael did not have any foul weather gear. I knew the front passenger of a Tandem got pretty wet, so I had brought a small tarp for Michael to “wear.” He was happy.
We made it down to the Pt Ybel lighthouse on the Gulf of Mexico.
On one tack, we were doing 6.5 mph. It seemed effortless. I thought that was pretty good, because I had the sail furled a couple wraps.
I’m sure Nancy and I will enjoy our first camping trip. I’m looking forward to it. It is definitely less work than using 2 AIs when guests arrive. Yes, I would rate the Tandem a success.
Keith