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Writer's pictureCindy et Louis

14. Raising the mainsail, a sport?

Updated: Mar 19, 2023

For those who know a little about sailing, raising the mainsail can be a sport. People tended to already feel the burn in their muscles from mounting the mainsail on my Mirage 24 (which has since changed owners), but with the mainsail of Soleau 1, it's serious business. About 60 feet of halyard (rope to raise/lower the mainsail) to be reeled into the winch to raise the sail to the top. there is also wind which creates tension, as a general rule. It's a sport and people ( me ;) ) usually end up a little out of breath and your arms more tired. But sailing is a sport, we won't hide it. However, we can also make life a little easier, and that's what we did this year. We had already seen an electric or battery-powered joystick, I'm not sure anymore, which helped us to reel in effortlessly, but it cost several thousand dollars. We passed it by. On the other hand, Louis has found a piece, which is put on a drill and then is inserted directly into the winch to raise the mainsail effortlessly and at a lower cost. Did I tell you we have a new drill and a gigantic (and heavy) super battery to go with it. It seems that it's great for mounting the mainsail. Before that, we (me) took a little break during the climb so the battens of the sail got entangled in the lazy-jacks. Now it looks like that will be a thing of the past (I'll let you know after my Azores trial). Long live the inventor of this little magic piece!


It is therefore one of the first times, in a long time at least, that the mainsail has been hoisted. Louis says it's much more comfortable than the jib for sail. He even took the opportunity to doze a little in the afternoon. His morale is really good.


Louis: Great relaxed day for me. Sailing in the rain to keep me company. I'm getting ready for supper: sausage and a new concoction: creamy corn and niblets. Wow!

He reduced his sails at the start of the evening given the gusts announced: 23 kn (43km/h) of wind and 26 kn (48km/h) of gusts.


Forecast for today:

20-21 degrees Celsius (increasingly comfortable)

20-23 knots (kn) of wind (37-43km/h)

24-28 kn gust (44-52km/h)

Continuous rain until noon, short break until 4 p.m. and sporadic rain in the evening

Wave of 3 meters in AM, almost 4m in PM, and 3m in the evening

He should eventually see blue skies from afar, but not until Wednesday night



Here comes the beast! Don't think about taking it nonchalantly though, especially not over water. She is not a featherweight, but she is now dear to our hearts.


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