When we finally set off closer to ten, the skies were partly cloudy, the sea was a little bit choppy and we were looking at a headwind of 10 kn. It seemed like a perfect start for a longer stretch.

We had a couple of hours of lovely sailing, and then the wind died. When the speed dropped below 2 kn, the masterful Yanmar genoa was given an opportunity again. At the same time we were hectically looking through different wind forecasts. We deduced that the wind was 3-5 hours ahead of schedule, and that we would see better weather in a couple of hours. Time to fix lunch.

By the end of our lunch, the wind had picked up again, and we set sails again. The following 20 miles were fantastic. We tacked a little later than a Jeanneau 469, and gave them almost a mile head start. Two hours later we passed the group of gentlemen and left them standing. They obviously saw that we had a woman at the helm, since everyone came on deck and a feverish sailtrimming started. Bigger boat, more sail, good wind, and we just couldn’t keep them behind us. They had to really work for their position. Once they passes us, they were never more than two cable lengths ahead. So we concluded that both the Hanse 388 and it’s crew were better.

We won’t be speaking about the handicaps. Well, maybe just quickly. Both the mainsail and genoa halyards keep slipping in the clutches and if you take the rope off the winch, the sail comes down just a bit preventing proper trimming. It wouldn’t be a problem unless the lines weren’t drawn back so nicely. The main halyard and the genoa sheet come to the same winch. And even if the main sheet can be operated on both sides of the boat, it’s quite difficult when the halyards are on the winch. On top of this, the wind instruments stopped giving us exact information. They actually didn’t tell us anything. Steering by the seats of our pants, just like it should be.

The Jeanneau was still a little bit ahead of us at Vela Kneza in the strait leading to Korčula. They tacked and we tacked a little bit later, just enough to be able to push them. The had the right of way and could have tacked at any time. But I pushed them until their sails were flapping uselessly and then tacked out of the way. We were off like a rocket and left them in our wake. For the second time. Some sporting fun. A little bit later, they gave up and not long after that, I decided it was time to call it a day. Two miles to the marina and we lowered our sails.

Pictures and videos when the skipper has more time. It’s almost time to cast off. And we still haven’t decided, Vela Luka on Korčula or Skrivena Luka on Lastovo island.