Mountain Breezy Sail

In this week's episode, I go back to the beginning of the season where I arrive at the marina to find an unexpectedly breezy day. While the forecast called for gusts below 15 mph, it was very windy when I arrived. Looking back at the weather data for the day, it was gusting well into the 20s all afternoon with a maximum gust of 28 mph. Since I had already made the long drive, I decided to make the best of it and head out onto the lake under a double-reefed mainsail only. I've solo sailed in these conditions many times and knew the boat would be able to handle it with a reefed mainsail. It was slow going, but as they say: "A bad day of sailing beats a good day of work!" Throughout the video I share tips, thoughts and observations about sailing in heavy winds under mainsail only. This day was a perfect example of the frustrations, challenges and excitement sailors face when sailing in the unpredictable winds of high-altitude mountain lakes. Subscribe and follow @ColoradoSailing on YouTube for more original sailing videos, gear, boat maintenance, sailing tips and travel content as I sail my Precision 18 trailer sailer and Precision 16 sailing dinghy in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota. #sailingchannel #coloradosailing #sailing #mountainsailing #extremesports