2016 04 03 05 Sailing Self steering Lake Erie

I am getting ready for a 200 Mile solo sail on Lake Erie. But before going I need to test a few things. This video showed a sail from Geneva State Park OH to 21 miles north, 42 09.053N 81 06.078 W. 21 miles in about 5.5 hours without touching the tiller. You can see the self steering system is just a simple bungee cord. The conditions were 15-20 MPH and 3 foot waves. At the end of the video you can hear the coast guard issuing a Small Craft Advisory for all of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. It was strange because it was not that bad. Things I practiced during this trip.. 1. Self Steering - worked great the key is to balance the boat first. 2. Heaving too - worked great. 3. Cooking while under way - No problem I cooked 2 meals on this trip. meal 1 - Just some bean soup and tea. meal 2 - 2 eggs, span, tea and I even baked a muffin. 4. Sleeping 15 min at a time and checking for other vessels - hard to do but it worked. My boat is an old Alacrity 19 and she balances very well. I think I am ready for a 200 mile trip.