Went to Sea in a Sieve - WA360

05/17/2025

Ditching the sail and focusing on paddling.

05/13/2025

Playing frogger with the commercial traffic. And contrary to garmin’s theories I am kayaking not SUPing.

05/09/2025

Struggling some with shoulder pain, but starting to up the mileage on my training paddles.

04/24/2025

A bit more wind, although still under 10 knots. Upwind performance was the pits. On a normal sailboat you can typically sail up to within 45 degrees of the wind for a “no go zone” of ~90 degrees. By zig zagging back and forth across those 90 degrees you can work your way up wind. With no centerboard the kayak could only come within 90 degrees of the wind for a no go zone of 180 degrees. Hence, no sailing upwind. Downwind was fine, although slower than if I was just paddling without the outriggers, at least in the lighter air. I have a larger sail to try; maybe it will be faster. In any case, I better work on my paddling endurance over the next two months. The sail is only going to be backup and a chance to take breaks while still moving forward.

04/20/2025

Tried out the outriggers. Lots of stability but
also lots of drag. Wind was “light and variable” so still not a great test, but enough to feel confident that the sail in heavier weather isn’t going to dump me. In light wind though they will need to come off. It was super easy to launch directly from the storage rack at the marina.

04/16/2025

Its official, I am listed as a team on the web page. https://nwmaritime.org/wa360-2025-teams/team-went-to-sea-in-a-sieve/

Joana's broken finger will take about six weeks to heal so I've secured space at the same marina where I keep Seaweed to store the kayak since loading it onto the car myself is just shy of impossible. 73 days to race day.

← WA360 Home ← 2025 WA360 Teams Crew: Steven LevyHometown: Seattle, WAVessel: NW Kayak “Synergy”Class: The Wind Division Connect: Facebook, Instagram Get to know Team Went to Sea in a Sieve First thing first. Why race in WA360?I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s Farm no more. What’s your co...

04/13/2025

Second sea trial was delayed. Joana caught her finger in the motor mount for the dinghy. She was going to be a support vessel but instead is at urgent care getting an X-ray. 😟.

04/10/2025

Morning Kingfisher.

04/08/2025

Outriggers are installed. Will take out for a second sea trial in the next day or two.

03/30/2025

First sea trial. Wind was 10 to 15 knots with a few gusts up to 20. Sail worked great, but very hard to stay upright. In the end I ended up swimming although Joana Jansen did not capture the moment. I was not satisfied with the placement of the outriggers so took them back off, but they are a definite necessity. Will reevaluate where they should be attached.