A recent outing in fresh winds (20 - 30 kts) was the acid test to see if all of my repairs would hold up in a full sail "power on" setting. With 20 kts apparent wind on a broad reach, boat speed was estimated at 20 kts. This is just an estimate since I have not reinstalled my GPS. Whatever the actual speed was, I knew that this was the fastest I had ever sailed on this boat in particular, or any other boat for that matter. I must admit I was a little uneasy as she accelerated crisply, listening and half expecting some kind of a "snap crackle pop" event presaging a fold up like a house of cards. As she continued to sail on, my anxiety morphed in to a sense of exhilaration . As the pix above suggests she returned to dock none the worse for wear!!
