7/24/26:
A few weeks ago we were motoring up through Daytona Beach, Florida when all of a sudden, the wind came out of nowhere! We got really excited to put the sails up but when we looked for the wind speed…it read 0 knots. Confused, we tried to figure out what was going on as our B&G WS310 wind sensor was still telling us the wind direction. Nevertheless, we put the sails up, as we have become accustomed to knowing the wind speed just by feel, and also by the sound of the waves on the hull when the sails are up.
Not knowing the wind speed can be dangerous for sailors. If our boat in particular gets around 18-20 knots of wind…we need to reef our sails. Reefing is a practice where you bring in the sails a bit, making the surface area smaller so it reduces the amount of wind that can fill them. If we happened to be on the border of 18-20kn of wind and all of a sudden it jumps up to 23-25kn or higher…severe structural damage can occur or our rigging could also suffer…worse yet, a capsize. And unlike a monohull, catamarans are NOT made to self-right themselves and flip back up.
So, back to our story. The readings were all over the place. 15kn when there was actually zero wind, 0 knots then there was actually 10-12 knots. It was a mess. So once we got to St. Augustine, we had the opportunity to take a look at it. Luckily we had a brand new backup in our “ship’s stores” just waiting to be used!
It was extremely HOT while we were there (heat index was around 100 degrees) so we wanted to try to get this done in the early morning when it was cooler. Not to mention the afternoon thunderstorms that were rolling through each day…lightning and masts do not mix!
Since I’m afraid of heights…Captain Steve is usually the one that gets to climb the mast. I am the one who hauls him up with our halyards. The halyards are lines that help lift the main sail as well as the code zero sail up.
In order to take him up the mast, we create a series of redundant safety precautions. We are former rock climbers so all of this is fairly simple and familiar to us. After numerous safety checks, he attaches the two halyards to his Harken Deluxe Bosun’s Chair and I start the process of hauling him up. We do not have electric winches and we prefer to hand crank anyways, just in case something goes wrong. It’s a bit complicated with two lines…but safety first! Having an additional halyard attached can mean the difference in life or death should the other line fail.
It’s also tough to communicate when he is almost 60′ above me so we just call each other on our iphones and use headphones to talk. That way, we are not yelling at each other in the boat yard or marina! Once he was up there, he noticed some other things that needed to be addressed…but will have to be done on another trip up. He’s usually pretty good at taking all necessary tools and equipment up with him in a bag…but in case he forgets something…we have an additional rope and pulley system that can take him up whatever he needs.
After he had the brand new wind sensor attached, I went to the helm to see what the readings were. Sadly, the screen was blank. Even the wind direction which was actually working with the old one was nonexistent! This new unit was a bust. Probably something we should have tested BEFORE sending him up. So…down he came and we repeated the process by just putting the old one back up. While he was up the 2nd time, he also repaired the other items that needed tending to. Fast forward one month and we have finally purchased another, NEW B&G WS310 for a whopping $734…and just installed it today. Good news, it’s working! We can’t wait to get out there to sail…just to be sure.
Destination Adrift 