So the previous posts describe the process by which we acquired our second sailboat and how we got the motor running. This is her. She's an Ensenada 20, same hull as the previous boat but different cabin top with a flush deck. This means there are no side decks, so when you go forward you're walking on the cabin top. She's quite the looker, and has good ground tackle (15 lb bruce, some chain, a custom made bow roller/anchor locker).
You could tell she'd been owned by a fairly serious sailor- there are jack lines (lines you clip a harness to so you can pull yourself back aboard if you fall off), plus all sorts of things we don't understand. Unfortunately the functioning motor coincided with lots of rain and wind. Got tired of waiting around and decided to putter around the harbor in the storm, to try the tabernacle (mast pivot that allows us to get under the bridge)and basically get away from our slip.
We headed out during a quick break in the rain, and made it under the bridge without a problem. As we neared the harbor mouth we saw that waves were breaking across the mouth, and the wind had piped up to 25+ knots. As we were making our turn to return to our slip, the kick-up rudder decided to kick up and, due to the sharp turning angle, clipped the propeller of the outboard.
This stopped our turn, and set us on a course for a number of more expensive boats downwind. Fortunately the launch ramp was ahead, and we were able to tie up there and catch our breath and secure the rudder. We made it back to the slip without further incidents.
Yesterday the weather finally cooperated and we decided to venture out of the harbor. We invited Camilo, since an extra hand would be appreciated, he always brings beer, and he's a good swimmer.
It was a beautiful warm spring day, perfect for the maiden voyage.
We made it out of the harbor with only minor mishaps, none of them costly. We made it all the way out of the harbor where we raised the main, and were promptly attacked by a large fleet of racing boats heading back into the harbor. We weaved our way through them, then got the jib up, cut the motor, and we're sailing!
We proceed to sail around for the next hour or two (you can see the Santa Cruz wharf and boardwalk in the distance of the picture below), and get things pretty dialed in to the point where we're not all that nervous anymore. We get the sails down without any problems, nobody falls into the water, and we don't run into anything. Success! Back to the dock, and a few celebratory beers.
