I think it was around 6 weeks after Sirocco was launched that we were finally finished getting her ready to sail. Seemed like there was lots to organise. Mainsail to hank on - measure it up for the lazy jack bag. Get the bag made and fit the lazy jacks. There was still some bits to fit at the top of the mast. Wind instrument sender and VHF antenna plus all the wiring that comes down the mast to cable up and connect. All the battens had to be fitted and cut to size. Some of the sheets needs additional work and indeed actually connecting and some Lewmar clutches needed to be repositioned or in fact fitted.

But on 16th October 2010 we ventured out for the first time, somewhat excited to see how she would sail. Lots of things went though my head, would the electric winch perform. How would she helm, would she be responsive. The wind was a nice Easterly about 20-25 knots quite a bit more than I would have liked for the first day out. Decided to be prudent and hoist the main with 2 reefs in, would be a good test for the reefing system anyway.

It really was a dream day, initial nervousness disappeared after an hour or so - second reef was shaken out pretty quickly and as the wind dropped the first - we went easy but still managed to see 8-9 knots. Typical of Perth Easterly winds it died during around noon which gave us the opportunity to calibrate the autopilot compass. Southerly came in as expected and we sailed back to the marina very pleased with the results. She sails better than I had hoped, the helm never feel heavy and seems perfectly balanced. She never seems pressed and in the gusts just accelerates.

Other Trails and Changes to Sail Plan

Over the 2 years since the boat was launched various sail combinations have been tried. We now have 3 spinnakers. A large Screecher and a new roller furler headsail. The original symmetrical spinnaker I decided was just too small, and it ended up getting caught on a cleat and the foot was ripped (its been repaired now). So I purchased a larger kite from e-bay and if I was honest its a bit too big. This sail really has not had a lot of use as I have had problems with the sock, mainly with the system that pulls down the sock, which means getting it down is a issue. Changes have been made and I hope life will be easier now. I plan to try the smaller heavy symmetrical kite without the mainsail, when heading more direct down wind - will try in about 10 knots soon.

We have an asymmetrical spinnaker, a nice Red White and Blue guy, it sets beatifully but the foot was too full so as the breeze picked up the foot would vibrate to a point I thought it was going to distroy itself and I would end up dropping it. That has been attended to by the sail maker bit is yet to be tried.
The screecher is a new addition, well new to the point the hardware to use it has never been in place - it is now and the sail has been up once with great results, hope to test it more on the way to Darwin. The old secondhand jib came loose on the furler one day tied up alongside and flogged for server hours - its been fixed but thought a new one would be a good idea before our 2000nm trip to Darwin - as yet not tried or hanked on.

I will get a new staysail made sometime during 2012, it will be a very custom made sail as it needs a large cut-out in the foot to clear the cabin top - it will be a useful sail to add additional area when heading up wind, all the required hardware to sheet it in and haul it up is in place. A storm jib is on the cards too to hank onto the inner forestay, not that I expect to be out in any storms but lots of folks never expect to and are.

Finally How Cool is this - Safe and Happy Sailing