The Sails are Shaping Up!

          Just in time for the 2015 Frostbite Series, White Raven has a complete set of sails again. I spent the last week patching the sails with adhesive sail tape, and thanks to some friends, I patched in the large holes with sailcloth. Not all the patches are sewn on, but I have all the major jobs done and I can finish sometime in the future. The large patches were quite intimidating, but I decided to tape them on using sail tape, which really made the job manageable. I left about 2-3 inches of overhang and then taped the seams on both sides, which offset the sewing lines, so each is double stitched. I think it will hold nicely.

Before:

 

And After:

 

Here is the wonderful workstation that I have been using... with all the sail tape backing pieces cropped out of the photo.

The jib and genoa also had a bit of patchwork performed on them, but they are already packed away in the van ready to race, so we won't see them until we load up the boat. I still have a few things I'd like to do to the sails, specifically adding two reef points in the main. We won't need them for tomorrows race, but for our cruising plans this summer, they would be a nice addition.

         The first race starts off at noon tomorrow. I have invited a few friends to join us for a fun filled day. The competition for tomorrow are all better sailors than I and they all race in lighter San Juan 21s, so we'll have a solid fight on our hands.We'll have a pretty constant 4-5 knots East throughout the race period according to our Grib weather report. It will be an interesting race as the wind and 1-1.5 knots of current are going with each other, but such are the joys of river sailing. If the wind holds though, I think we'll have a solid chance of making a good showing... or at least with keeping up. I'll update you all with more photos and videos of our racing. Fair winds!