Once the mast and running rigging was installed it was finally time to learn to sail! This was very exciting but also quite daunting, as we had never tried anything like this before. Lake Windermere was a brilliant place to learn, as we didnt need to worry too much about things like tides, navigation, and the rules of sailing. It was all about understading how the sail worked with the different wind directions, and we were able to focus on hoisting the sail, reefing and tacking.
We spent many weekends playing on the lake, gaining more confidance, and as the time went on we began to find the confines of the lake a little restrictive. We started feeling adventurous, and decided to look at moving the catalina down to west wales. This would mean we would be able to use the boat so much more often without the 10 hour round trip each weekend, and also it would allow us to take her into the open waters, and improve our sailing skills further.
While we began looking around for someone to transport the boat, and potential places to keep her, we were paused in our tracks. Covid was upon us and with the lock downs of 2020, we were suddenly unable to travel to the boat, and the boat was unable to come to us.