After a long winter asshore, Apsara is back in the water, ready for new adventures with a new mainsail and her new Dyfrom rigging.
As part of the winter refit, I also repainted the hull, and changed the colour from the pale blue to a light grey with a blue trim and a white deck. She looks stunning!
Sam, a young local sailor came by to help me with the launch (including stepping the mast and adjusting the rigging), and all the odd jobs involved in getting her ready to go to sea again.
After two days of work, She was ready to leave Westport quay for Clare Island, and, as luck would have it, the weather was perfect for the trip, with a bright sunshine and a moderate easterly breeze, which gave us an opportunity to try out the new spinnaker pole (thanks Gavin, it fits perfectly as you can see below).
The sailing conditions were so good that I offered to take Sam back home to Cleggan, rather than dropping off in Roonagh. An excuxse to slip in a few more hous of sailing in prefect weather (although the wind did die down on the way, forcing us to motor for some of the way).
But it did come back up again as I was sailing back to Clare Island and enjoying a sunset at sea.
Overall, a pretty enjoyable first sail. A few more jobs to do, and she’ll be ready for a trip to France.