Weekend Sail Tale

[edselby]

I was on Lake Lanier (in north Georgia) over the holiday weekend sailing a Catalina 27 all by my lonesome. The winds were blowing consistent and clean, and I was tacking along for a bit over 2 hours at 7+ knots.

I had decided it was time to head back to the dock and was working my way that way with the boat on a nice heel when suddenly my mainsail started to luff and flap wildly while the headsail was still full. I looked up at the main only to see the sail had ripped.

As I said, I was on the way back to dock anyway, so I dropped the main, furled the head, and headed in.

Fortunately for me the boat is owned by the sailing club, and I don't have to worry about repairs.

So that's my story.

The end

[JPA Cate]

Actually, there's something to be learned from the experience. Did you get a good look at the mainsail? Where did it tear? If along the stitching, and what broke is the thread, there's more of a chance of successfully repairing it. If it tore through the panel, forget it, the sail's history. Too much UV damage to be repaired. Any time you can tear the fabric by hand, it is no good for a sail.

Ann

PS, it sounds like you were having a really nice sail there, for a while. Good on ya.