A Turks Head and other stuff

Okay, so we had another cracker of a day that started with a cold and foggy morning, to clear to a beautiful winters day with not much breeze.

Today I wanted to look at the last two sails that had not been raised as yet. One sail was a kevelar/carbon laminate in a #2 sailbag. Turns out it was an old and very tired #1 that should have been mercifully sent to the sail-loft in the sky a long time ago.

The second was a Fraser Sails #3 (correctly marked on sailbag) that must have been one of the original sails of Bela Vida. Very similar in size to the current #3, the shape of it much more preferable than the newer one and better made, but stitching is a bit weathered. Still, think it'll make a decent sail once it's fixed up.

We enjoyed lunch and Danni followed it with a restfull lounge down below. What a treat to have her come down as she has been working very hard!

The day on board ended with the final job of tying a "Turks Head" knot onto the steering wheel. This knot is mostly ornamental, but also indicates the top of the wheel when the rudder is dead ahead. The old knot was worn through when the boomtent rubbed through it in the last storm we had here in St Kilda Harbour. Anyhow, YouTube is your friend and I managed to follow instructions (for once ;-). Very happy with the finished result!

A perfect potter day aboard Bela Vida, can't wait for tomorrow.

#photo #turkshead #sail