I said I would only sail if the wind was below 18 knots. I sent my crew off to check on the wind and when he got back he said the wind speed indicator was saying 15 to 18.

I concluded from this that the seas were still rough from earlier on and that because the wind was from the North it just felt stronger being very cold.

The boat had been rigged so we took it down the slipway forwards and got underway as quickly as possible. The first thing to note is that the boat will slide sideways and be almost unsailable without the centreboards down. The second thing is that even in these strong winds only on the tightest of beats would it be necessary to have the crew on the wire.

On this boat there was no spinnaker so we would be tacking down wind not running. The seas were four to five feet swells but the Shearwater just ate it up.

Up wind the Shearwater just would not point like the newer boats but sailed into the seas with confidence so we sat forward and kept the nose in to keep the speed up.

On the reach, both onboard but hiking, we really flew with a great view of the centreboard.

On a downwind section we really turned the mast, lifted the boards and bounced off the wave tops. Using the sea to help us accelerate we lost no time on a Hurricane 5.9 on this section. They seemed over powered and nosing in and slowing.

We arrived back at the slipway to come in, boards up slid sideways and missed it, next time we got it but it was a reminder that the centreboards make such a difference to this boat.

On shore I discovered that my crew had deliberately told me the 28 knot wind was 18 ......

... tests index