I sailed a Sunfish in the UM 2012 but didn'tt finish due to the 25-35 kt winds after the frontal passage Sat morning I sailed the first part of the beat outside but decided to go in at Sarasota knowing I wouldn't make it to Venice until late. The beat down the inland waterway was tricky with shifty conditions and lots of tacking. I made it to Blackburn Pt by 7pm and camped for the night. The next morning frontal passage was quite violent and with the wind forecast decided to retire. That was the first time to have sailed the boat upwind for 30+ miles in 12 hrs....when I got to Blackburn bridge I was right behind Jollyrodger in his schooner rigged tri.
I have sailed the Sunfish for about 50 years and about 25 years of Frostbiting in RI so I know the boat well. More stabile than a Laser but not much slower. In prep for the UM I had put several inspection ports and dug out some of the styrofoam so there was some storage in the hull. The cockpit cubby was used with stuff in dry bags. In the big waves outside, and with the extra weight, the boat was dipping the bow in every third wave so the cockpit was awash the whole time.
The big issue with th Sunfish is a reef system that works well. I had installed reefs in the sail and set up jiffy reeding lines but I only tried it on land, not on the water in anger. Probably the best solution would be to modify the sail to a balanced lug. Or use a Super Sunfish rig which is a conventional mast and boom Marconi rig.
That trip was a great experience and prepared me for two successful passages on our Core Sound 17 La Perla which I consider an ideal boat for the race: safe, seaworthy and fast. Besides, I am getting older and wiser and remember the comment from one of the beach walkers at Fort Desoto: "look, someone's doing it on a SUNFISH!!!"
