REDWING, my home-built Belhaven 19, was one of 80 or so boats that entered the 2022 Texas 200, a raid covering a 200-mile-long stretch of the Texas coast. The course meanders north roughly following the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) over a five-day period beginning June 14th. Much of the mainland and many of the barrier islands along the route are uninhabited and covered with scrub.I thought my boat and I were ready for the challenge. I had finished building REDWING the previous fall and sailed her on my local Kansas lake all spring, leaving her docked in the water for several weeks to make sure she was watertight. The boat sailed great as I prepped for the challenge.As I was making final preparations while docked at my lodging in Port Mansfield, I noticed the rope used to lift my offset centerboard was loose. I unscrewed the trunk top and quickly realized the rope-to-board attachment had broken off during transit. Only then did it dawn on me that I had not lowered the board onto the support I had built on its trailer to keep pressure off the board’s lift system so this would not happen.
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Thanks, Doug, for sharing the unvarnished detail of your 200-mile learning experience!
Minor correction to an otherwise good story: the owner/builder of the trimaran SQUIRT is Eric Dahlkamp. Enjoyed the story. Your descriptions of mud experiences are vivid and right on point!
Thanks for catching that, Steve. I’ve corrected the error in the caption.
A courageous effort! I hope that you were able to repair all the problems you found, once you got home. Oh, and you’ve confirmed me (again) as a daysailor.