Well, our first outing wasn't too successful, since we only got 100 yards or so before the rig came down. We eliminated the pesky grommets and rigged new lanyards from the upper deadeyes directly to the chainplates. As you will see from the photos, it worked great. In the future, we will run the lanyards from the deadeyes to bronze rings, which will, in turn, be shackled to the chainplates. This will make the rig easier to set up and take down.

The crack in the boom turned out to be no big deal. A little epoxy, a few clamps, a coat of varnish, and it was as good as new. By the time we had everything back together, the weather was perfect. Here's how the day went:

Here I am getting ready to go out for a picture run. Tara and I had already been sailing a couple of hours, so we knew the boat was in good form.

Away from the dock in a gentle breeze.

Broad reach.

Zipping along in a nice gust. My last boat threw up a rooster tail - Goldberry leaves NO wake.

All in all, a perfect day. To be sure, we have a list of tweaks and improvements as we learn how to sail our Scottish boat in Western Pennsylvania. I'll add more to this site as I work through those, but I won't spoil this moment of wind, water, and boat.

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