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Step 34Reality, Miscommunication, and other Threats to Dreamers
We put on all our gear and stowed everything unnecessary. Wetsuits on all the way this time, lifejacket and jacket on top of that. Booties too. Better traction on a wet deck than bare feet, and better on the sharp stones of an unfamiliar underwater landscape. We launched, turned, and sailed out into the real conditions of the ocean. Back in it again, sailing warm and well rested into big waves and wind.
The wind and waves increased as we approached the end of the island where the cave is.
We still made good progress into the wind and still carried through the tacks. "Carry through" means the boat has enough forward momentum and turning ability that you can do a tack in a single rapid turn. You don't need to "back and fill" or "wear about" or use a paddle to complete the tack.
The wind got louder. Sailing started taking more and more concentration. The waves broke more frequently, splashing up and over our deck. The effect of getting sucked up the face of the wave and pushed down the back had to be compensated for. The waves got big enough that they affected the wind. There was some dead air in front of each wave, just when we were getting pulled up the face. A couple of times I was distracted and the outrigger rose uncomfortably high before smacking down on the water again.
Less than a mile from the cave I asked K how she'd feel if we turned around. All the waves had whitecaps, and the wind was howling. At the rate the waves were growing, who knew how big they could get? I didn't want to risk a capsize. She said that would be fine, but didn't I really want to see the cave? We talked it over. It turns out we both thought the other had a heart set on seeing the cave. We were both relieved. We pulled up the daggerboard and turned the canoe to run downwind. We shifted ourselves aft to hold the nose up while surfing. Very fast sailing downwind, surfing down the waves. But much quieter. Our speed got subtracted from the wind speed instead of added to it. This video gives the general idea, but the camera shrinks the waves a lot.
The wind and waves increased as we approached the end of the island where the cave is.
We still made good progress into the wind and still carried through the tacks. "Carry through" means the boat has enough forward momentum and turning ability that you can do a tack in a single rapid turn. You don't need to "back and fill" or "wear about" or use a paddle to complete the tack.
The wind got louder. Sailing started taking more and more concentration. The waves broke more frequently, splashing up and over our deck. The effect of getting sucked up the face of the wave and pushed down the back had to be compensated for. The waves got big enough that they affected the wind. There was some dead air in front of each wave, just when we were getting pulled up the face. A couple of times I was distracted and the outrigger rose uncomfortably high before smacking down on the water again.
Less than a mile from the cave I asked K how she'd feel if we turned around. All the waves had whitecaps, and the wind was howling. At the rate the waves were growing, who knew how big they could get? I didn't want to risk a capsize. She said that would be fine, but didn't I really want to see the cave? We talked it over. It turns out we both thought the other had a heart set on seeing the cave. We were both relieved. We pulled up the daggerboard and turned the canoe to run downwind. We shifted ourselves aft to hold the nose up while surfing. Very fast sailing downwind, surfing down the waves. But much quieter. Our speed got subtracted from the wind speed instead of added to it. This video gives the general idea, but the camera shrinks the waves a lot.
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