Redondo Run

Turns out I like the view looking down on my boat from the top of the mast. I wasn’t planning to try this out this week, but I also wasn’t planning to break my main halyard. (For the laymen in the crowd, the halyard is the rope that is used to raise the main sail, so it’s kind of important.) This particular adventure started when I got the notice from the marina that I needed to vacate my slip (or move into the newly renovated area and pay twice as much), which means that I have been working feverishly to complete all required projects and be ready to start my voyage south. 

My motor had been sitting on the dock for the past few weeks while I installed a new motor mount, but I finally got it all put back together, so I wanted to go for a test sail. In order to kill two birds with one stone, I thought it would be a good opportunity to go out at night and test out the new navigation lights that I installed. My friend Dima, who has a boat on the same dock as mine, agreed to come with me. So, the two of us headed out of the dock around 5 pm toward Redondo Beach, which is the closest other harbor to Marina del Rey. The plan was to stop by the fuel dock to fill up and then head to Redondo to have dinner. Once we got there, we would either spend the night at a mooring ball and come back in the morning or come back right after dinner, giving us more time to practice sailing at night. 

The problems began when we got to the fuel dock and learned that it closes at 4pm. Craziness. We opted to continue because we had enough fuel and we were hoping to sail most of the way there and back. As soon as we got out of the harbor, we turned into the wind, and raised the main sail, but as I was winching it the last little bit, the halyard snapped and the sail fell back down. (Ok, so maybe I need to learn a bit of finesse and to not force things if they aren’t working.) Reassessing, we decided we probably still had enough gas and there wasn’t another good time to go on a test sail, so we opted to continue on and motor the whole way there and then get a new halyard in Redondo Beach before coming back. 

So, after arriving in Redondo and using a guest mooring ball there for the night, we walked into town to West Marine and bought a new halyard line. I had an extra line going up to the top of the mast as a jib halyard, so the original plan was to use that to hoist me up. However, when we looked at it a little closer, it seemed like it was not in great condition and ready to also snap at any time. So, the scavenger hunt began to find another line on the boat that was both in good condition and long enough to use to hoist me up to the top of the mast. We almost gave up, but then realized there was a very nice, new looking line that was being used to tie the swim stairs up at the back of the boat. (Yes, I agree, that is probably a stupid use for the nicest line on the boat. I’ll fix it later.) So, after pulling this new line up through the pulley at the top of the mast, I put on my climbing harness, tied the new halyard to myself, and Dima got to work hoisting me up. 

Once the new halyard was in place, we were able to sail back to Marina del Rey. So, despite the trip not exactly going as planned, it was definitely a success. The motor worked, the lights worked, the new halyard worked, and I got a nice view of the boat from the top of the mast. Good times. Next up: sailing to San Diego.