Hallberg Rassy 44: Western Mediterranean Passage: Gibraltar to Mallorca. Sailing Breezy Ep 11 4K

The tranquil sail with the majestic rock Gibraltar in the background on a warm day in late June was magical. I demonstrate the main and Genoa furling mechanisms and deploy full sail. Moods were high among all the crew and the winds calming so we deployed the Bluewater runner. Although the sail performed well, we made a decision that, at the time seemed reasonable but turned out to be a pivotal learning moment.

The shackle at the tip of the bowsprit is nearly impossible for me to reach secure the tack and furling mechanism of the bluewater runner. So we ran a dyneema line from the furling drum through the tack to a forward cleat. This proved to be a dangerous mistake as it first affected the unfurling mechanism leading to a tangled furling line and later the dyneema snapped sending the furling drum flying! All was recovered and the Bluewater runner was sent away for the rest of the summer.

We motored, motor sailed and sailed along the mountainous southern Spanish coast and made our final turn toward the Ballearic islands. We encountered some intense Mediterranean thunderstorms, but had an othewise uneventful passage. Mark and Harold were great crew mates. Anchoring off the beach Portantix, Ibiza among the sailboats, swimmers and paddleboarders was surreal after a month of sea travel. We took it all in and broke out the dinghy for the first time, rowing to shore for a couple cold beers, calamari and delicious fries.

The following day we made a quick overnight passage to Palma, Mallorca where I had a berth reserved in the Real Nautico Marina. My first med-moor was uneventful as it was calm and there was no neighbor to port. The 2600 NM passage from Sweden was complete and a new adventure with Nicole and eventually the kids begins.


In Mast furling instructions:

There is a latency system built into the Selden furling mast. If you were to just push the main out button, it would potentially over roll itself and jam. The Seldon system prevents that from happening, so it always expects some tension after it does its first little jog inside the mast(that short back-and-forth cycle that takes two or three seconds).

Here’s what I do:

1) I press (and hold) the main out button.

2) I wait for the little “jog” and then give it some gentle tension with the outhaul on the secondary winch to get it started. During this process, the outhaul winch button is the button that you are toggling on and off as needed to take up the belly of the main as it start spinning out and getting caught by the wind.

3) I do not release the “main out” button until I have unfurled the desired amount of sail. In other words do not toggle on and off the main out button. If you do, then go to step one.

Note: If you give it too much tension with the outhaul before the in mast furling motor does it’s little jog back-and-forth inside the mast it won’t unfurl. You’ll have to release the outhaul tension and start over