[quote=robb5150]Thank you all for your advice.
SMFINLEY:
There are confined waters here as well as open ocean, no lakes. I used to sail them all the time, and there are always powerboats and sailboats around, as well as plenty of air traffic. Its one of the main routes to St. Thomas and the rest of the US Virgin Islands. I have been in boats since I was about 7 years old, and I know when the conditions will require any vessel less than 25 feet to stay in port. I respect the ocean and will never dare to challenge it. Nevertheless, sea conditions may turn nasty anywhere in a matter of minutes.
NACRA55:
Back in the 80's there was a dealer here, La Veleria (Spanish for The Sail Yard). I think it went out of business at the end of the 80's. After that a new shop was established in 1990 or 1991, believe it or not, it is called BEACH CATS( I can post a picture). It is still the primary dealer in Puerto Rico for parts and accessories for small cats, and the official dealer for the Hobie Cat Company. We also have three West Marine stores here. I believe Beach Cats is owned and run by Enrique Figueroa, who has been a Centroamerican/Panamerican Gold medalist in the Hobie 16, and who was the olympic hopeful in the Tornado for many olympic games. I think he is currently in Galveston, TX, for the North American Championships in the new Nacra 17, the multihull class for the olympics in Rio de Janeiro 2016. It was some kind of qualifying event or some like that, I'm not much into competition.
DAVEFARMER:
I thought the setup to reef the mainsail was not so complicated. I remember the additional slug on the main halyard, but I don't remember anything else on the mainsail, other than the grommets. The fore and aft grommets were reinforced I think, and they were about one or two inches higher than the three grommets in the center. Based on your explanation I guess they were reinforced because of the tension at the outhaul and downhaul lines. The other three were there to tie the excess sail to the boom. I thought of a roller-furling jib, but I think I would have to re-cut the regular, battened jib, right? I will get some more information about the righting pole, seems one of the best ways to go for safety.
I always carried a handheld VHF radio, though.
People, you don't know how thankful I am for your advice...[/quote]
