So . . . How Was Your Sail Today ?

[CaptainK]

Jim H once whispered in the wind

So, who else sailed this weekend?

Jim.

This must be your mantra?

Mantra
n 1: a commonly repeated word or phrase; "she repeated `So pleased with how its going' at intervals like a mantra" 2: (Sanskrit) literally a `sacred utterance' in Vedism; one of a collection of orally transmitted poetic hymns

[Jim H]

Originally Posted by CaptainK

This must be your mantra?

Mantra? No-- I'm just lekking.

So who hit the water today?

[CaptainK]

[Alan Wheeler]

Alan & I have just had a magical Easter weekend on Leisure Lady. Just one brief story I want to share. We docked at a jetty in waterfall bay in the Marlborough Sounds to fill up with water. I stayed on board while Alan went to get the hose, he had already undone one of the filler caps. I got the hose and started to walk forward to where the water filler cap was. Alan yelled Ooh what are you doing. My reply was that I was going to fill the water tank. His reply was that the cap is already undone. I then looked and told him that, that was the diesel tank he had undone. Could have had an extra few days out in the sounds.

Dawn

[BC Mike]

Went down to the boat about lunch time Friday, wearing shorts and pretending it is getting warmer. Pressure washer in the boot ( trunk ) to clean the winters grud from the mill offa the deck. Got to the club just in time to have a major storm blow through. A dock broke loose next to the rescue boat so I put on rain gear and went over to supervise. Our commodore was getting drowned so I filled in for him. After that blew over all I managed to do was hose off the deck, then help another couple move their boat, then I went to their place and ate all there food and drank as much as I could, and also scored two winches for the little boat. A successful day considering the weather, and I did manage to get the main on and run the engine. Saturday B & E ( bright and early ) got the boat ready for the first outing for the students of the adult sailing classes, took two ladies out at 1000, back at 1200, snack and beer and back out again with three more at 1300. Drinks and food at the club with a few other members and out to the boat again at 2200. Pissing rain but had an umbrella. 3C inside the boat this morning. Got cold during the night so I flaked the heavy spinnaker over the top of the bedding and went from chilly to hot in about 30 seconds. 1000 Sunday number 3 race for the year. One of my marks left town during the crappy weather so the start boat laid a course without using it. We got a good start in our fleet and it was a light air race all day, some sun, sailed the boat more to its potential than previously, and got another first. Got the new chute measured for the small boat and made it home in time for Easter dinner. Tomorrow I will fire up the pressure washer, weather permitting.
Michael

[Jim H]

Dawn, it gives me hope when I hear of experienced sailors occasionally making mistakes (or close to). So much to remember...

Michael, if anyone around here deserves some nice weather SOON, it's you. You must be dedicated as anything.

My wife and I both had Friday off with kids in school, so we sailed through a serious squall with our Cal 20. We nearly buried the rail for the first time, even with the storm jib on (we kept two washboards in). It rained so hard that the river turned white and visiblity dropped. We only got a little chilled as be beat back down river to get home. We discovered a small tear in our old main back at the dock, right at the end of the batten pocket, but we'll tape it before going out again.

Saturday was too trashed weatherwise to do anything with the kids on the river, so we bought boat supplies. For the C&C 27, we got an excellent stainless steel MSR cookset at REI, as well as four settings of polycarbonate plates, bowls, cups, flatware. This morning we had breakfast aboard her (to try out the sets), firing up the pressurized Alcohol stove without losing our eyebrows, warming up the cabin, listening to NPR. Then we hoped back into the Cal 20 so my wife could take it out and dock it three more times for practice-- like Michael, she'll be teaching an on-the-water class for other women sailors in a couple of weeks.

So, a basic, busy weekend, with some good time on the water. On the horizon is our Bareboat certificaiton in Puget Sound, my wife's racing series, and Wednesday Night Sails with beginners (probably with both our boats at the same time since my wife doesn't need me on the Cal 20 anymore, sniff, sniff).

Jim H

[Alan Wheeler]

Ohhhyay. I said why not go post about our awesome Weekend and what does she post????
OK, this was MY awesome weekend.
We had a huge high over the country, so the weather was going to be great. Of course, this meant the place was popular. I think every man and his dog was out on the water. This results in about 6 boats being seen a day. Real mayhem.
So Friday I ended up getting bits back together in the engine room before departing. Of course, that didn't go smoothly, so we departed some four hrs late. This meant that the water in the channel was getting very low. I had never gone out this low before and was a little nervouse. We bumped along the bottom in one place, but made it out. A few nervouse seconds.
But what was about to happen put all those cares behind us.
We had a pod of Dolphins join us. It was just magical. They joined in for hrs. About 6 at a time would ride our bow wave. A couple would trun on there sides and just look at us. Then one turned right upside down and placed his tail on the bow and let the boat push hime through the water. We had followed them for miles off our proper course and eventually we had to peel off and head toward our destination. That was priceless.
Saturday was flat calm. So we entered in a freindly fishing competition with another boat that rafted to us the previuose evening. We won the biggest fish, catching 8 carpet sharks. We managed to catch enough for tea, but that was only just. Had a lovely evening back on the mooring and had our very first fish meal on the boat, believe it or not.
Sunday was a little more breezy. Forcast was 15kts and going to 25-30 in the evening. Yippeeee, lets go sailing. Had a fantastic day out. Wind was much lighter than predicted at only 10-12kts, but we managed to get back in before a hard out frnt hit us. For a few hrs that night, it blew a gale. This morning sadly, we had to head home again. Rained all the way and a light enough breeze to make it worth motor saiing with the genoa up.
It's getting into winter now, so it is probably our last sail for awhile. Time to get some maintanace sorted.

[Weyalan]

Just back from a nice trip; Me, princess Lisa & cabin boy Tom:

Thursday afternoon sailed out of Hobart, around The Iron Pot, across Storm Bay to Nubeena. The second half was after sunset, but there was a bright moon most of the time. A pod of about 12 dolphins came and swam alongside us for half an hour or so, which was a real treat.

Friday morning, sailed out of Nubeena, past Wedge Island and along the coast to Port Arthur...incredible coastal scenery all the way - especially Shipstern Bluff and Cape Roul. Weather cut up a bit rough during the latter part of the trip, so by the time we rounded the headland at the Endtrance to the Port Arthur Channel, it was blowing 25 knots, lashing rain and a decent swellw as rolling in.

We found a nice quite sheltered bay (Stingaree Bay) to drop the pick, and caugt us a feed of flathead in the rain. Saturday blew the proverbial "hatfull of arseholes" and rained on and off all day, so we went ashore and went for a bit of a wander around.

Sunday we headed out into the teeth of a good 25 - 30 knot souwester...with gusts around 35 knots and about 4m swell rolling in too! - not real comfortable sailing until we were able to pull off and crack sheets a bit. Sailed right back acroos Storm Bay and down the D'entrecasteaux Channel. Spent the night in Oyster Bay. Next morning the breeze had all gone, so spent a happy day crusing gentl back to Hobart, stopping occasionally to wet a line (and wet the whistle).

A very pleasant four and a half day cruise - a mixed bag of weather, but good fun nonetheless.

Sometimes it isn't about how far you sail...
Had a great sail yesterday. Some guests from NZ dropped in for a visit (Thanks again Wheels, fun people). We headed out aboard Kittiwake with a crew of 4. A young lady with some sailing under her belt, her mother and younger brother with no sailng experience. With Jesika at the helm, we pushed off, and sailed out the channel. Keep in mind, I have no engine. The winds were a nice NWesterly at about 10kts and the original plan was to head out at slack tide. Unfortunately, we took a bit longer than planned. Also, unfortunately, the tide rolls in here at about 3-5kts. We got to the main channel, and began tacking out. Short tacking a cutter against a 3kt current through a narrow channel is something everyone should experience We spent 2 hours tacking into the channel, but only made about 300 yards. A few lively moments as the current would drive us back and toward the jetty, but generally an uneventful sail. Finally, we gave up, and headed back to the slip. We took a short detour to the north harbor. A group in an inflateable cut across our stern as we were turning around. The end of that marina has just enough room to make the turn, but also has the launch ramp and dock at the end of the turn. As we came around, the dinghy nosed against the end of the dock and stopped. Right in the middle of our turning path. His out board is now repainted white So... His excuse? He didn't know we were turning (I guess the rudder hard over, and me yelling "Don't back out in front of us" wasn't clear enough). Still, no real harm done. A gentle sail back to the slip. Sailed in like we knew what we were doing. All in all, a great day out. Lately too few and far between. And, some more Kiwis with stories about us crazy Americans

[Alan Wheeler]

As long as you didn't put them off Scott. I was hoping for crew this season.

[gonesail]

i moved my 33' sloop to palm cove marina a couple of miles away. left at high tide around 6:00 and the yanmar was pushing me along to my destination. no sails this evening but i had some music on the cd player. i entered the channel into the docks and spotted my slip . i decided to back her in and after the boat twisted and almost turned sideways ... i ended up resting against a piling about half way into the slip . giving up i shifted into forward and turned the boat around and put her in bow first . tied her up and headed home for a couple of steaks on the grill.

[Jim H]

Nice to see this thread pop back for awhile. We've been doing weekend trips on our C&C 27, and we chartered for a week in the San Juans.

Last weekend, we spent two nights at Government Island on the Columbia River, and it was pretty fantastic. It's amazing the range of people you can meet and talk to.

-- on Friday, we were able to sail all the way to the west dock, including a fun wing-n-wing under the I-205 bridge. On Sunday, we were able to sail nearly all the way back downriver.

-- my son caught three sturgeon during the trip using squid for bait, including a 32 incher the first night that really looked like it would snap his Ugly Stick in two. He was the "talk of the dock" for at least fifteen minutes after landing it.

-- our son also got to spend time with another exceptionally nice fisherman who does annual fishing trips with 4H kids.

-- we were able to help the 27 foot sailboat moored ahead of us on Saturday morning when they found their batteries were dead. I pulled our new AGM battery out and carried it to them, and their engine fired up on the first try. They "called off" the towing service they had contacted, who was going to charge them $250 an hour for help.

-- we were offered a "free dinghy" found at near the dock, a fiberglass 10 footer. We passed, but another boater took it home. It was completely abandoned with zero identification info on it.

-- it was fun to see the Sea Scouts show up on a 1940s steel motor launch for a night of camping.

-- we talked for two hours with a single hander who arrived with a 32 foot Fuji Ketch. He was amazing-- he takes the boat off-shore every year for a month up north to the west side of Vancouver Island. He fishes for tuna and other fish with a downrigger and other gear, and my son was blown away by the stainless fish cleaning sink he had mounted on his stern pulpit. I was blown away by the bristol condition of his Fuji, which he single-hands offshore with no radar or autopilot. The main mast was at least four feet shorter than ours, due to the ketch rig. He'd owned it for 15 years, and it was a near write-off when he bought it. The backward-facing wheel and worm gear was firm enough to hold course just fine once he balanced the boat with the mizzen. Very impressive-- we loved talking with him, and if anyone should write an article for 48 North it's him.

-- we hiked to East Dock and visited the Pirate's Cruise festivities of Rose City Yacht Club. There was an amazing flotilla tied up at the docks and all sorts of beach activities going on. We visited the commordore's boat to report that we didn't plan to attack the pirate fleet, but he was out enjoying himself. It looked like an excellent event and very well attended. Pretty boats and lots of kids!

-- we hiked West all the way on the beach back to the I-205 bridge, and found a windsock sea anchor in excellent shape washed ashore. I carried it for a mile, but then gave it to some fishermen because I didn't think we'd use it. They were really pleased, and called it "the trophy of the day."

-- we saw deer, beaver, osprey, blue heron and tiny little tree frogs.

-- Our friends joined us for Saturday night, and others joined as well for talking and laughing late into the evening on the dock. We saw bright falling stars of the Perseid Meteor Shower, and we learned about each others experiences. I was able to point out Delphinius the dophin, one of my favorite constellations.

Overall, it was a great trip. I also leaned more about sail trim and and handling from a current captain of a 33 footer in the cruising class series, and a former Santana 525 racer. A liveaboard couple on their 38 showed up who we had met before and it was fun to touch base with them as well.

Anyway, the Internet is great, but I'd take a summer weekend at the West Dock of Government Island anyday for learning about sailing and having a great time. We hope to go again next weekend, so my son can fish some more and my daughter can see the wildlife again.

[sailor12]

Hi Jim. The guy you helped out last weekend on Govt. Island was our good friend that we sold our boat to. Thank you so much for lending a hand to him. He was soooo appreciative! I love the sailing community!

Shari

No worries Wheels, Jesika had fun, her mom enjoyed watching her enjoy sailing, and Nathan is a true sailing convert. At 11 he is talking about boat building, and unlike most 11 year olds, was not put off by going slow. Of course, I kept him busy as we were doing short tacks

[Alan Wheeler]

They are an amasign family. Just goes to show you what remoteness and no TV does for kids.
I took the teenagers I work with out on my boat last Wednesday. We were doing 8knts and I got "is this as fast as it goes?", "This sucks", "so are you telling me, this is sailing? so whats all the fuss about?" and the one that really got me was, "this is boring, there is nothing to do". I suggested they admire the amasing sceneray only to be told that that was boring as well. I was going to take them out on an overnighter fishing, but I have second thoughts now. I don't think I could handle them cooped up on the boat for so long if that was there reaction to a 3hr trip. I have two teens that still haven't seen the sounds. They arrive at the boat, go below and turn up the music and stay down there till we get back to the dock. It is very easy to get dispondant about todays kids, but when I see Jesika's family, I realise there is still hope yet.