Total Distance: 26 Miles Under Sail: 26
Average Speed: 6.5 kts
Conditions: Clear, 75-80 F, Wind South at 15-20 kts, Seas 1-2 ft

Baby has a new dress: Finally got back to Miami for a quick fix on my sailing habit. When I got to the boat Rhapsody in Blue had a new mainsail from Mack Sails neatly rolled up in the mast.. How cool! On Saturday morning, I launched out in a breezy sunny day. I couldn't wait to try out this new sail. It took a lot of effort to get the sail out of the mast. I mean a lot of effort. I finally got it out by winching it out. Not good. I was and am very concern now about this. This sail is thicker and has vertical battens. Being so, I am concern there is enough room in the mast for this massive sail. Sheldon mast company and Mack Sails assured me I would have no problems.. ummm.. Well, since I had it out might as well go sailing and see how she performs. The wind was blowing at 15 knots gusting to 18 knots most of the morning. The sun was out, there was moderate chop in the bay...
Ladies and Gentleman this is your Captain speaking, Please fasten your seat-belts. We are about to take-off. Before heading on a beam reach, the mainsail out-haul was tighten all the way, Vang all the way down, one small reef was tucked into the jib. When I turned Rhapsody out the wind, she took off like a scolding dog. The acceleration was amazing.. 7.5 knots instantly.. Heeled at 19 degrees she shot down the bay like I have never seen her do. She even handled the gusty winds.. Totally different boat. I didn't think that was possible. My baby loves this new dress.
When the apparent wind started approaching over 22 knots I had to tuck a small reef in the mainsail. That too was way to hard. It took a lot of effort once again to get this small reef in the mainsail. Now I was scared I wouldn't be able to get the sail back in when I was finished. Once I got the reef in, I enjoyed another two hours on the bay playing with my new sail. I was exhausted and my shoulder was working itself to death. But still, the boat was a rocket for a production boat. With the reef in the mainsail, she performed better than I expected. Never saw less than 6.5 knots on any point of sail. Most of the time over 7 knots. The polars have all changed or maybe finally making the design polars For all the non-sailors out there, polars are a graph that shows how fast the boat should go with a given wind speed and angle off the bow. When it came to time to roll up the sail back into the mast I got tucked into the lee shore of Key Biscayne. It took some effort to get it started but got the sail in. Made it back to the dock in one piece and a large smile on my face. Docked her on a dime with a nasty 15 knots x-wind.
To celebrate, I went into the refrigerator for a cold one but alas none was there. Forgot the girls had drank me out of house and home including my secret stash. So I went up the marina store to get a six pack to celebrate. On the way back to the boat a few of the other sailors from the other side of the fairway and said that I do a great job with my boat. I said thanks, and wish them happy sailing. When I got back it was time to get to work on my monthly checklist. No more fun for this girl until the work is done. So my baby got a bath both inside and out. The soot from the cruise ships was thick, It took a lot of effort to get most of it off. After the bath it was time to do the engine 250 hour check. I change the oil, air filter, fuel filters, and looked at the water impeller. I have never changed the fuel filters before, They can be a real pain if not done properly. Well, this girl has skills. The engine started right away. Not good for the first few secs but cleared up and runs like a top. That night I went to Angela's boat for dinner. I was to be a guinea pig for dinner she was making. She has a wedding charter in two weeks and wanted me and Susan to try out the recipes Angie was going to make for the dinner party. For lobster, you don't have to call me twice nor late for dinner.