Posted by George McKay & Gwen DeBaere (mmadonna@…>)
Hello everyone,
I am just getting back into the Freedom 21. My family had bought a
new one in 1983 and we sailed it for 5 years before moving on to a
Freedom 36. The 36 was raced and cruised extensively on the
California coast and the Gulf of the Farrallones with numerous races
from SF to LA. This culminated in a Pacific Cup race to Hawaii. I
sold her in 1995 and bought a Moore 24 which I raced singlehanded
leading up to the Singlehanded Transpac in 2004. I raced to Hawaii
in 15 days and then I needed a break. Now, 2 years later, I have
sold Cookie Jar and bought a Freedom 21, returning to my roots. She
is a little rough at the moment, but I have put her on a trailer,
bought new bottom paint and will be buying new sails shortly. The
keel needs work as she seems to have met the bottom at least a couple
of times (although the inspector claims she is sound), which leads to
some weird vibrations and humming at 3-4 kts boat speed. I plan on
fairing the keel and redoing the rudder with a higher aspect foil to
improve performance. I am considering running two rudders, depending
on how easily the new foil ventilates. Also, I saved a couple of
spinnakers from my Moore, and will be trying a masthead spinnaker
(with running back stays to support the rig). I did the same thing
(Masthead Spinnaker) on the Freedom 36 for the trip to Hawaii in
1992 and I loved the extra performance. Anyway, I will send pictures
as soon as I get going on the various projects. Happy sailing, fair
winds and following seas to all. George McKay, Freedom 21 “Highland
Fling”, formerly “Unnamed”