Wicked Saltyvideo
Sailing back to Safe Harbor with SAILS ONLY
27 July 2023 · 10 min · 5K views
Crew steers sailboat through choppy water under blue canopy
What this video covers
A coolant pump failure mid-sail forces Wes to motor back to Safe Harbor under sail alone.▶ 0:35 The diagnosis: a leaking freshwater/coolant pump with visible drip, low belt tension, and belt dust throughout the engine bay — the engine had begun squealing before shutdown.▶ 0:35 With wind building in the afternoon, Wes raises sail and uses the unplanned return passage as a hands-on teaching session for two crew members on only their second time aboard a sailboat.▶ 2:02 He coaches them through tacking, trimming the mainsheet and jib, winch wrapping errors, and clearing tangles in real time, deliberately leaving mistakes in to illustrate troubleshooting.▶ 3:01 Approaching the mooring ball through the channel proves the hardest part — the pickup attempt takes multiple passes and, by Wes's own account, "ages."▶ 9:08 GoPro audio cut out during the mooring sequence.▶ 6:39 The dinghy ride back to the dock with three people aboard was slow enough that Wes, after dropping the crew, beat them home by car.▶ 9:53 Sailing back without an engine is manageable; picking up a mooring ball shorthanded with inexperienced crew takes far longer than expected.
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