First job was to trim and fit the new battons in the main sail. Crusader told me to make them as snug a fit as possible to ensure that they don't pop out again.
I had brought a small selection of provisions with me... Tinned Spag Bol and some tins of IPA. Just what any long distance sailor would live on :-) so I had some of Heinz' finest and a mug of coffee for lunch.
Once fed and the chores were done I raised the sails and slipped the mooring for a blast around the harbour. It was top end of a F4 occassionally F5. I had the main fully up and was a bit over powered but it made it exciting. I flew up the north side of the island at 4.5 to 5 knots (That's flying in Jelly Bean) before heading into wind to get around pottery pier.
Once around the south of the island I put my reefing lines to the test... Absolutely spot on, I had a reef in and ready to go in less than a minute.
The windex that I fitted over the winter wwas also showing it's worth. I'm don't know how I got on without it. The other 'improvements' that I had made may need some mods to improve useability. The port winch will need rotating as the tailing feed is in the wrong place, they could probably do with having a fairlead close to them as the jib sheet on the lazy side tends to disappear round to the track. Also the dodgers will need eyelets fitting to allow lacing along the guard wire. They look tidy as they are but prohibit the fitting of fenders.
I was back on the mooring within 2.5 hours of leaving, probably the fastest that I've been round, an average speed of just under 4knots.
Once everything was tidy I settled down with a tin of IPA and radio 4... What a lovely afternoon.
