The day was a little windy with a treat of storms. The forecast was for 10 to 15 knots out of the Southwest. The wind settled soon after we launched to less than 10 knots.

The military facilities at Camp Lejeune are first rate with a real nice launching ramp. Business at the marina was slow on this early Sunday morning. The marina was rebuilt during the last 5 or so years and just about everything is new including the heads. Most of the slips are empty. Maybe the military has stopped sailing or it could be the price might be too high? The marina is being run by a contractor and I'm sure that cost more money.

The new Tohatsu motor did not start well. We could have sailed away from the docks, but the military has a rule about not doing so. The motor finely ran well enough to get away from the docks. Van put the main up and we were moving slowly in a protected part of Wallace Creek. I always look for a wind shadow to raise sails. It took a few minutes to get the boat organized and we never did get the topping lift adjusted correctly. As we sailed out the creek, the wind picked up and the boat made some noise caused by our speed though the water. Not a bad sound.

We worked on tacking without stopping the boat. The rudder can stop the boat if it's positioned incorrectly during a tack. The rudder needs to follow the boat when the sails are luffing. We did one 360-degree turn. You get some speed while close hauled, tack and keep on going around the clock. The boat tacks to close hauled on the other side, then a beam and broad reach, a run and a jibe and back to a broad, beam reach on the original side. You are trimming the sails and steering the boat all at the same time.

The spark plug should be changed to see if that helps the motor. If that's not the problem, the motor's idle circuit is contaminated and the motor will need a carburetor cleaning.

I didn't turn the GPS off until the boat was in the parking lot. That's why the boat is on dry land at the end of the sail.

Click the button below to see the sail.