SOLOCOCOLOCO under siege again. Well guys I usually leave her on a lift
behind the house , which makes it really easy to launch , but with Dennis
bearing
down on us I hauled her back on the trailer and tied her down to my deck
pads. Do to our wonderfull weather here in the Fab Fla Keys, I have got a lot
of hours on my boat since the Ft Desoto meet. Sorry I dont participate much
in this list serve, but I personally think that this beast is not for
everyone , I met many wannabes builders and sailors in Ft Desoto, especially
the so
called Veggies that will have a very hard time getting a handle on this
Beast. We have been all mislead by Brams claims "the easiest sailing single
handed skiff " I say Bull , NOT EASY BY ANY MEANS>>> this Beast has taken
its
toll on me , I have scars and bruises everywhere on my body , I have ripped
the sails , broken the mast , tore off the spreaders, broken the tiller,
etc..
In the Miami to Key largo race,40 miles, while leading the mono fleet i
was suffed into a stern wave of a 60 ft sportfissherman and about drowned and
had to limp home 20 miles under jib at the mercy of the wind until a fellow
sailor sent his dinghy to rescue me . But after many months of trying I
finally have been able to bear off and set at above 15 knts . WOW! , WHAT A
RIDE. I took my GPS with me yesterday in about 16-18 true, after stuffing her
a
couple of times and cartwheeling , I was able to bear off and set and jibe ,
QUITE FAST! when I got back I took my GPS out of my ass where it had wedged
itself and top speed was 23 knts . I have lost 20 pounds trying and the
hardest thing for me is to recover when trapping out and you slam the waves
with
your body so i bear up a bit and try to regain balance . NOT EASY. most of the
time i will loose my footing and troll behind untill she heads to wind. I
have many times thought of hanging her up on the rafters, where I feel many
will lie in the future . But I come from an Island where my people have
sailed
over here in many different crafts and this one is no different , just a bit
faster. Next year I plan to sail her to Havana from KW. Good Luck to all
of you and keep trying and Wear a helmet. Pepe
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