Dover Sails on Kelly III - 9/18/2004

9/18/2004
Before September 10th, Kelly III made three attempts to sail to Port Dover, but until last weekend only Kevin and Nancy Wells succeeded in making Dover. The other two attempts were stiff northerly winds that meant short, steep 3+ foot waves on the nose. The only way we’d make the weekend schedule and get back home Sunday night and work Monday morning would be to motor into the waves. We decided both times to forego the less than fun bash into the wind and sailed locally off Erie, PA.

Last Weekend, however, Bill Paviol, Keith Otto, and Jim Clark sailed with me to Port Dover. The Saturday trip from Erie to Dover was very quiet with light winds and almost entirely a motored trip. However! . . .the return sail on Sunday was one of the best sailing days Kelly III has ever experienced! We all kept saying that the day was like a perfect Sail Magazine Photo Shoot! The waves were 2 feet or less with the wind out of the west, a perfect close reach! At first we raised full sail, Genny and main, but it wasn’t long before we changed the Genny for the jib. We had at least 12 knots of breeze and frequently15 or better! We sailed consistently over 4 knots with most of our speeds above 4.5 knots and many periods sailing above 5 knots. The sun shone brightly, but the air was comfortable, not the unbearable heat some summer trips entail. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, just check out the Photo "Dover Sail to Erie".