Richard
Sun Nov 15 5:27:35 EST 2009, Buceo, Uruguay

Matt and Ted (rowing) in the hard dinghy. The choice of dinghies in Santa Catarina (where I bought this one) was quite limited, and this one has more modifications (mostly raising the freeboard) required to make it suitable for our purposes. It does row well.

Issuma has three dinghies, which is a bit excessive, but nice if you can store them all. There is an inflatable (with an outboard engine), the above hard dinghy, and a Nautiraid folding dinghy (which has been the main dinghy used for the last 1.5 years). The folding dinghy stores easily belowdecks, the hard dinghy is stored on deck, and the inflatable is, with some work, stored inside the hard dinghy.

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Richard
Sun Nov 8 0:02:00 EST 2009

While we continue working on the boat, other people are sailing :). The picture is of a 49er--a class of boats--that has just set its spinnaker (the dark sail). South American 49er races were held in Uruguay last weekend, and we had a good view of the boats leaving and entering the harbor before and after their races.

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Richard
Sun Nov 8 0:01:00 EST 2009

49er tacking.

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Richard
Sun Nov 8 0:00:00 EST 2009

49er entering harbor, before tacking.

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Richard
Thu Oct 29 16:25:11 EDT 2009, Montevideo, Uruguay

We've been busy working on a bunch of projects on the boat. Nothing really exicting, just a bunch of stuff that needs doing.

Tied up next to us on the dock is one of the Montevideo Pilot boats (pilots go out to meet big ships at sea, board the ships and help them into the port). The platform on the top of the boat is to allow the pilot to step off the boat and onto the boarding ladder of the ship.

Today was a pleasant, sunny, 30 degree (86 degrees Fahrenheit) day, and there was a photo shoot on the pilot boat. It seemed to warrant a picture (perhaps this just means I've been on a boat too long :) ).

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Richard
Tue Oct 27 0:00:00 EDT 2009, Atlantic Ocean

This is the first boat I've done much sailing on that had roller reefing (sails that roll in and out by pulling on ropes from the cockpit instead of going forward and raising and lowering them).

Previously, I did not think much of roller-reefing--it is expensive, complicated, adds windage and weight up high, and a big problem if it breaks. I discussed this with Yann, the previous owner, who said he wouldn't want to sail the boat without roller furling, due mostly to how wet one would have to get to handle the sails. At sea, you try to avoid getting wet as much as possible, because you often don't have dry clothes available to change into afterwards.

Now that I've sailed this boat a fair bit, I'm really glad it does have roller-reefing, despite the disadvantages mentioned above. Issuma goes to windward quickly enough that the foredeck (front of the boat) can be a very wet place, as seen in the picture, so being able to completely control the headsails from the cockpit is a really nice feature.

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Richard
Sun Oct 25 6:38:56 EDT 2009, Montevideo, Uruguay

It seemed that almost every car in Montevideo was on the street last Sunday promoting the election to be held today.

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Richard
Fri Oct 23 0:00:00 EDT 2009, Piriapolis, Uruguay

Ted steering off Piriapolis.

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Richard
Thu Oct 22 0:00:00 EDT 2009, Piriapolis, Uruguay

Issuma at anchor off Piriapolis.

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Richard
Wed Oct 21 6:15:32 EDT 2009, Piriapolis, Uruguay

Piriapolis is a pretty resort town in Uruguay. It is popular among foreign yachts for its haulout facilities.

I stayed in Punta del Este for a day, where two of my new crew, Matt and Ted came aboard with the assistance of the ever-helpful Yacht Club Punta del Este. We then day-sailed in very pleasant weather to Piriapolis, then Montevideo (port of Buceo).

Sailing with experienced crew is a lot easier than singlehanding :).

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