Downwind Up the Coast
A rare southerly wind propelled Atalanta from Monterey to Sausalito in record time - under spinnaker
Our crew ready for departure
Last weekend, Atalanta made a remarkable voyage up the coast to the San Francisco Bay. A familiar route for us, what made the trip unique was a beautiful and well-forecast southerly wind, which enabled our crew to set a spinnaker and run all the way up the coast. We did not douse the spinnaker until we arrived in Sausalito.
Hoisting asymmetric spinnaker to the tack line
Pole squared back for increased projected area
Yee haw!
When the southerly filled, we hoisted the asymmetric cruising spinnaker, which is deployed from a sock for ease of handling. Normally, we fly this sail tacked down at the bow. However, that configuration prevents us from sailing a deep angle, so we decided to move the tack of the sail to the spinnaker pole, and then square the pole back using an afterguy and a reaching strut. A reaching strut prevents the highly loaded afterguy from bending the stanchions when the pole is forward during reaches and when transferring the tack from the pole to the tack line. It’s somewhat complicated, but our expert bowman Jack made short work of setting everything up.
Wing on wing under the Gate. Note the sock at the masthead
As we got closer to the Gate, in order to avoid a series of complicated jibes with the pole and strut, we simply took the pole off and flipped the main over to sail wing on wing with the spinnaker! This is a a bit of an unconventional tactic but is effective for short distances when you need to go dead downwind. It’s tricky steering to keep the sail full, but it’s a fun challenge.
Nestled into our slip in Sausalito
The next morning, we headed out and found just enough southerly breeze to sail upwind down the coast, but by Pillar Point the wind had died enough that our velocity made good was, well, not good. So we rolled up the jib and motor sailed with the main up at first, and then had enough breeze on Monterey Bay to deploy the jib for some motor-assisted sailing all the way to the barn.
Scott at the helm leaving foggy SF Bay
Jack with Mile Rock in the background
Both legs took between 12 and 13 hours each, and we experienced a variety of different conditions. Many thanks to Pradip, Max, Scott, Eddie and Jack for their participation - it was a great group and we had a lot of fun and ate well, thanks to Jack’s culinary talents.
We hope to make another coastal trip this fall, when the weather is at its best on the California coast. If you are interested in joining and would like to discuss some potential dates and itineraries, please click the button below to send us an email. We would love to welcome you on board. Thank you and fair winds!
Ready for her next adventure
