Another windy sail (seems to be this year's theme) (24nm 92nm total)

Went out for one night after two weeks of no sailing. Pleased to find that the solar panel has recharged the battery to "ready to use" status. It was still reading that after two days of sailing and recharging my phone, so maybe it is sufficient. Sailed to Shipstal Point for a sheltered night as there was a north wind F4-5 and more. I sailed at 6kts with just jib and mizzen. But it is poor at tacking like that, so I motored the last leg into the shelter. anchored over night with very few other boats around.
(The photos are directly uploaded from my phone to see how well it works. OK I think is the answer. Not as good quality as my normal camera, but better than nothing. The first is of Shipstal Point deep in Poole Harbour and the second is the cliffs at Stuland.)

Glorious dawn, but cold. I slipped anchor and sailed the whole way to Studland Cliffs with full rig under double reefed main. Kept in the double reef all day and was glad I did. I saw a lot of broaching in powerful gusts. I was hit by a few F6+ gusts on the beam and although Daisy G did lean, she just went as far as the lee rail just touching the water and then stuck at that angle before coming up. Very reassuring.
Sailed out around the Hook Sands outside Poole Harbour entrance just to try her in open water in strong winds. Life jacket and safety harness all the way. I have been trying out Navionics charts on my smart phone. It is impressive that they can get them on it, but to be honest I can't see the point. It isn't a chart plotter and doesn't tell you where to point. I found the ordinary Garmin GPS much more useful. The free GPS tracker on the phone also made a better job of tracking my course than the charts did.But it is fun to play with. I had to tie up to a floating pontoon for an hour before I could get back on my mooring as the tide was so low. There was enough water to float in, but not enough to get my engine down. The wind was so strong I really needed full control to pick up the mooring.
Lovely and sunny, but I wish it would warm up.