Test phase on Lake Constance 2023

JoyFull
Jan 14, 2024
3 min read

As promised, after a successful season on Lake Constance, we report on our sailing experiences with JoyFull.

In order to be able to test our ship intensively, we have scheduled all of our holidays this year for the month of June. Just in time for the beginning of the month, contrary to expectations, the weather also started to cooperate. It rained almost all of May. So we sailed through the whole of June with rising temperatures and persistent breezes. It only rained on two days.

We wanted to get to know our ship as well as possible during this time in order to prepare ourselves for the coming time at sea. We know Lake Constance like the back of our hand, but we have never sailed there with our JoyFull. It was an indescribable feeling to set sail for the first time and feel the wind on the ship.

In addition to many little things we wanted to try out, we had set ourselves the goal of sailing across Lake Constance. Since one of the most famous sailing regattas on Lake Constance took place in June, we decided to take part just for fun. It was a very exciting experience. The route of the shortened regatta is as follows:

Lindau (DE) - Romanshorn (CH) - Eichhorn (DE) - Lindau (CH)

You can find exciting information and everything about the event here -> AROUND 2023 - AROUND long-distance regatta on Lake Constance (lsc.de )

In this month dedicated to sailing, we were able to get to know many places we knew in a very special way. We covered a distance of around 350 nm, which is approx. 630 km, and visited the following places in the harbor: Langenargen (DE), Lindau (DE), Arbon (CH), Romanshorn (CH), Bottighofen (CH ), Meersburg (DE), Unteruhldingen (DE) and Überlingen (DE).

Of course we didn't sail the whole time and also visited a few anchorages. Of course we really liked the lower Güll, directly behind the flower island of Mainau.

We had an exciting and intensive time with our ship, we were able to enjoy every minute to the fullest and are full of anticipation for the days to come at the sea.

To please the sailing fans among you, here are some impressions of the ship.

Sailing close to the wind with wind force 4 and more:

The ship heeled heavily even when there was little wind, but remained very stable the entire time
The sail area can be reduced significantly at an early stage without any loss of speed of the ship
With well-trimmed sails, the ship is not noticeably windward or leeward
Reefing on the mast is a sporty affair and requires some practice, but is very doable with a well-coordinated team
After replacing the blocks for the headsail sheets and new ropes with a diameter of 14 mm, handling the headsail was noticeably easier
Still pleasant to sail on Bft 8 with a reefed genoa and without a mainsail
Almost no rudder pressure

Sailing before the wind with wind force 4 and more:

Since the ship does not have a traveler for the main sheet, but rather two tackles, sailing the main sail on a downwind course is a bit laborious
With more than 4 Bft the ship runs well before the wind, otherwise it is more like bobbing

Finally, some exciting facts about sailing in June.