SPARTINA seemed to rig herself this morning. Or maybe I helped and did not notice as I was too busy enjoying the clear blue skies, a gentle breeze and temperatures warming quickly from the 50s to the 70s. Before I knew it, the boat was on the river. The Pasquotank River in Elizabeth City, NC to be specific.
I had three people ask me at the ramp how old the boat was. All were surprised that she is only 18 years old. They all thought she was somewhere between 40 and 80 years old. Credit John Welsford’s traditional design.
The purpose was a test sail to check out the new shrouds and bow stay. The test was a success. And the test was a joy, it is always a joy to be on the Pasquotank on a pretty spring day.
My old AM/FM/WX radio had died on me, the casualty of too much salt air. Radios tend to last about two or three years on the boat. My favorite model is no longer available, so I tried out a new radio. I listened to some news. All of it was bad, but I suspect that was not the fault of the radio.
The wire shrouds worked fine. Just a hint of slack on the lee side of the boat, which I think is just about right. The only negative is that the mast is heavier when I go to raise it. But I seemed to be able to raise and lower it just fine. The wire will work fine for the spring sail. Afterwards I will decide if I want to give dyneema another go. We’ll see.
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