I have some limited experience with open water sailing a Baba 30 in trade
> winds. Most of my trade winds TIME was beating into it and it certainly
> lived up to it's reputation. One friendly Brit (a doctor in his home
> built double-ended cold-molded gaff rigged cutter) that sailed to South
> Africa and then to where we met in Trinidad said it's easier to sail from
> Florida to Europe, then Africa and then the eastern Caribbean than it is
> to beat from Florida like we did. Most more experienced cruisers said we
> had an unusual year, too. In fact, the next year while we were on our way
> back and were looking for the "sleigh ride north" and we were amazed to
> watch those moving south and east having such an easy time and we were
> getting headed quite often.
>
> One particular passage from Puerto Rico to the Turks and Caicos we saw
> optimum conditions but alas, we were waiting for a boat part "lost in the
> mail" before we could leave. It finally arrived and I could see a couple
> days left in the window so we went for it while I had a number of places
> to ditch (Mona Island and three anchorages in the Dominican Republic) if
> it got too rough. We managed to actually SAIL and averaged 5.5 knots for
> 3 1/2 days in the best passage conditions we had seen in over a year. I
> warned my crew that the tail end of our trip was going to get rough and I
> was right. While we approached South Caicos, the wind picked up to about
> 30 knots and we were making over 6 with reefed main and I believe one
> headsail. It was quite rolly but by then we were getting "used" to that.
> Actually, I was trying to slow the boat.
>
> So my conclusion after 4000 miles in the trade wind belt is that the Baba
> 30 actually sails quite well and is just an adequate motor sailor. I
> think a new mainsail would help us, too. Maybe it is my two blade prop
> but at times when we were motor sailing at close to the wind as we could,
> we would hit a big wave and I would joke it was like hitting a curb on my
> bike. Sometimes we would slow to 2 knots. I would sail and tack my way
> (once day over 14 times in the Anegada Passage) into the wind but we
> needed to make it to our anchorage with good light and getting there under
> sail too late would mean having to heave-to and waiting until the middle
> of the next day.
>
> I hope that helps.
>
> Ken
> Moonshadow II
> Whitefish, Montana



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Received on Fri Feb 10 14:02:07 2006