Maiden Voyage

Higher quality video is available for download here (wmv, 14.6MB)

Yesterday Bay and I met up with Jeremy at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock to sail my RC sailboat for the first time. We were the only ones there with a sailboat, although there was a guy using his RC speedboats on the other side of the pond. It was a really good day for sailing as the wind was not too strong, but not too light that we had to worry about the boat getting stuck out there. I was a little nervous when I put her in the water for the first time, but as soon as the wind filled the sails, it was so cool! It definitely takes some skill and practice (both of which I lack) to sail her with any grace, but it was tons of fun. Bay also had a good time sailing the boat. I was a little worried about the boat getting stuck in some weeds, since if that happened, I would have to probably go for a little swim. But the Victoria’s keel only goes down about 9 inches, so there isn’t too much to get caught on. After several minutes on the water, I brought it in to check to see if there was any water inside the hull, but surprisingly, it was completely dry inside. I can’t wait until my friend Jeremy has his Vic all ready to sail as well. It will be tons of fun to have someone to race against, or at least “trade some paint”.

Now I just need to tweak some of the sail settings (the jib was being let out a bit too far) and finish up the paint job. On the horizon will be new mast components and sails. The thing about upgrading the Vic is that most of the stuff can be done piecemeal from parts available at a craft or hardware store. The mast components can be made from arrow shafts, but the sail would best be ordered. I am actually having lots of fun tweaking the boat with little upgrades. Almost as much fun as sailing!