New Boat 4 Sled

[sleddog]

When the innovative Mull 42 IMPROBABLE was built in 1971, the Barient Winch Company produced a couple of custom winch drums of titanium. This "magic" metal was significantly lighter than stainless steel, had higher crack resistance and strength than aluminum, and excellent resistance to seawater induced corrosion. Perfect for the highly loaded wire jib sheets being used on America's Cup 12 meters. And on IMPROBABLE.

Unlike in cycling, sports equipment, aero, and medical industries, you don't see many boat parts built of titanium these days. Although titanium is commercially available, it is likely too expensive for the general sailing market. In it's place, non-metal carbon-fiber is now the boat equipment material of choice after aluminum.

In the orthopedic medical field, titanium rules for implants. Titanium is, "bio-compatible", non-toxic, non-magnetic, and not rejected by the body. It is stronger than bone, with good fatigue strength and corrosion resistance.

My left foot now has a titanium plate and screws to redirect (fuse) the big toe joint. I am currently at 9 weeks post-op, fully weight bearing, walking about half-speed, with a slight limp. The foot remains noticeably swollen, which is normal to at least 13 weeks, and I have to wear a special shoe with stiff sole and Velcro adjustments to get around. At least there is no more fiberglas cast, which was good for sympathy, but no fun for itching or taking showers. Thank you, DURA MATER, for your query. I would guess I'm 75% into the process, with several months to go of healing, swelling reduction, and bone consolidation, as well as beginning physical therapy, before a final result.

1950

Meanwhile, what are the TSA inspectors going to say when I tell them I have metal in my foot? I suppose they see metal implants on a regular basis on their X-ray machines. Nevertheless, my entrance always seems to trigger an extra level of inquisition. Stay tuned.

[sleddog]

The most extreme sailing race ever, the Vendee Globe, is underway. 29 singlehanders in their 60 foot monomarans, set sail from France 11 days ago. All they have to do is sail down the Atlantic, circle Antarctica, and return safely to France. One boat has already broken off the top of his mast.

The below chart shows the ice exclusion zone, where icebergs lurk and the Vendee Fleet must stay north of its boundaries.

1952

The leader, Brit Alex Thompson on his foiling HUGO BOSS, is currently averaging over 20 knots and threatening to increase his 90 mile lead by catching "the train leaving the station:" an eastbound low pressure coming off South America.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x52fhwa_d12-12-skippers-in-the-global-south-vendee-globe_sport

Online coverage of the Vendee Globe is excellent with near live video. Be warned: Who would have thunk, but it's addictive to watch singlehanders bound for glory.

http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/

[Daydreamer]

The first I ever heard of single handed sailing was in October 2009 after our first summer with Daydreamer, our O'Day 22.
My wife and I were on honeymoon and stopped in Fort Bragg. At a little used book shop downtown I picked up a book called "Godforsaken Seas", about the 96/97 Vendee Globe by Derek Lundy.

What insanity I thought!

The next summer I spent my first weekend sailing solo on our local lake, enjoying the solitude, boat, and nature.
Eventually finding the SSS and learning of the Singlehanded TransPac, now steadily working toward doing one myself.
Occasionally a friend or family member will exclaim, you're crazy!

I'm not an avid follower of the Vendee Globe but I do check to see what's happening. Pressure Drop has been posting some good updates too.
No, I don't have the tracker app on my phone!

I'm guessing "monomaran" is a term for the beamy sleds used for surfing the Southern Ocean.
Whatever you call them, they are impressive:)

[H Spruit]

"I'm guessing "monomaran" is a term for the beamy sleds used for surfing the Southern Ocean."

Back in the 60s those of us that sailed CATamarans, & or TRImarans Started to refer to single hull boats as MONOmarans.

Some monomarans, such as Panache, were granted honorary multihull status but the general Term used to refer to High performance down wind boats was SLED!

And one particular individual who "doggedly" crewed on those boats calls himself "Sleddog".

[sleddog]

My 12 year old, $20 Timex digital watch died today. It had weathered offshore passages, tropical snorkeling, significant abuse, and required only a new battery every 5-7 years, and a couple of Velcro wrist bands. Until today it kept reliable time, gaining a second/week. The countdown timer helped start many a race.

Sometime this morning the stainless Mode button fell out and disappeared, leaving a small round hole where dishwater likely entered, shorting out things and creating a blank screen.

Timex, originally called the Waterbury Clock Company, began making watches in 1854 in Waterbury, Connecticut. In World War I, artillery gunners needed an easy-to-read way to tell time without hindering movement and the first wristwatch was borne, complete with luminescent dial.

In 1930, licensed by Walt Disney, Timex began production of the famous Mickey Mouse watches and clocks which quickly became hugely popular. During WW II, Timex received large government contracts to produce weapon fuse timers, a big switch from Mickey Mouse!

In the 1950's, with reduced government contracts, Timex sales declined. It was then the idea for an inexpensive watch that was both accurate and durable became a marketing success for Timex. Low cost was accomplished by a combination of automation, precision tooling, and a simpler design than that of higher-priced Swiss watches with their expensive jewel movements.

As a kid I used to watch television commercials where Timex watches were severely tortured.

In a dishwasher, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EK9KWHjvfM) and
in a paint mixer agitator (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUMo3NcFeAk

On an outboard motor propeller (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NHq3Yze6s0)

Even in the mouth of Nellie the porpoise at Marineland.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDFpAaQDVVc)

As the Timex advertising slogan said, "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking."

[Critter]

Thanks for the history, Skip. I currently have three Timex Ironman digital watches, and the only trouble I've had is with the wrist bands. A fourth fell off my wrist and into the drink (unnoticed until a few minutes later) while I was sorting out an upside-down spinnaker hoist during a Three Bridge Fiasco.

[sleddog]

Thanks for the history, Skip. I currently have three Timex Ironman digital watches, and the only trouble I've had is with the wrist bands. A fourth fell off my wrist and into the drink (unnoticed until a few minutes later) while I was sorting out an upside-down spinnaker hoist during a Three Bridge Fiasco.

The Timex wrist band pins, miniature and spring loaded, are beyond belief. I've accidentally shot several from the nav station into the forepeak, not to be found again for months, if ever....

Max, you are a brave man admitting an upside down spinnaker hoist, something we've all managed to accomplish at least once, including Commodore Tompkins and Tom Blackaller in front of a large crowd at the St.F.Y.C.

You might consider a drawer for the safety of your watches, hihi: I was crewing for Star Class World's Champion, Skip Etchells, in the 1962 Star Worlds in Cascais, Portugal. Skip was good, very good, evidenced by the Gold Star on his sail. But Skip Etchells' starting techniques were unique and drove me bull goose loony.

You see, all Etchells built Starboats, beautiful in their own right, came with a mahogany drawer aft, under the tiller.

I finally got to see what this drawer was intended for when crewing for Skip Etchells in Cascais. Skip carried his Heuer stopwatch in that drawer. As we approached the starting line, Skip would frequently turn around from his helm position on the rail, lift the tiller, quickly open and then shut his drawer to check the time left on the stopwatch. Good grief!

With 72 Stars on the line, I became the eyes in the back of Skip's head. Two Skip's on the same boat, who would have thunk.

Here's Skip and Mary Etchells, and Skip Etchells' punk crew, the sleddog.
1953

Happy Thanksgiving and Blessings to All.
~sleddog

[sleddog]

I've been a friend and customer of West Marine since the Palo Alto garage days, 48 years ago. Too bad, in intervening years, WM has never really gotten their act together regarding product reliability and seaworthiness. Now our local store, the only game in town, is even further off the sailing track, having becoming a "life-style" store with expensive clothing and accoutrements predominating.

WM store managers and sales people across the country have always tried hard to stand behind their equipment sold. I applaud that.

But WM stores appear to be up against the head office, where real life product testing is short changed in search of increasing profit, often in favor of cheaper made gear. I recently bought a $38 hand pump with the WM label, made in China. The hose nozzle was cheaply made and wouldn't hold the inflater plug until I asked the WM store manager to give me a hose clamp to remedy the poor product manufacture.

This is not an isolated incident. For many years I've been using all manner of boating equipment, both racing and cruising. Anchors, stoves, coffee makers. Shoes, foul weather gear, snap shackles. Flares, inverters, solar panels. Auto-pilots, PFD's, winch handles, and harness tethers. You name it. I've likely broken it, found a deficiency, or both.

I offered West Marine to become an independent product reviewer. I think the idea scared management. My estimate, continuing today, is fully 25% of West Marine equipment is faulty in some manner, possibly even dangerous. Practical Sailor took me aboard for a while, but that too passed.

My advice is: before going offshore, or competing in an important race, shake down your equipment in the most thorough manner: try to break it in real life conditions.

Hey, West Marine. Why did you discontinue that sailor's friend, rolls of 3/4" sticky back Velcro? Gotta run across town to Ace Hardware.

(If you have a story about a piece of sailing equipment under-performing, I'd love to hear it.)

[H Spruit]

A while back, I was in a social conversation with a top level Wast Marine person and asked why the inventory of sailboat HDW and items that interest sailing people was being de emphasized in favor products that appeal mostly to the motor boat world.
The answer was that sailing people were always angling for and shopping for a special price, and the motorboat people cared less about price so were a more profitable customer target!

[Philpott]

Tom Patterson told me that Randy Repass' father owned part of or a franchise for New England Ropes back east. Tom, remind us of the details? Then Randy began selling rope out of his garage down on the peninsula somewhere. From that start he built West Marine into the huge business it is today. And it remains privately held, with no stock sold.

Like Sean Svendsen, Randy Repass can do what he wants with his business, no matter how inconvenient it is for those of us who always need something else for our beloved and depreciating vessels.

West Marine is in business to make money and the purpose of business is to maximize profits. With the passing of the guard maybe new small local businesses will be created to supplement or take the place of both Svendsen's chandlery and WM in order to provide the unique everything needed for sailboats. At this point, sailors here in the SF Bay might consider what their options will be in the next year or so and whether it will be financially feasible for someone to create a new business that might fill the upcoming vacuum. Given the competition from the internet, that would be one brave individual.

In the meantime, I sure am glad I paid for that WM extended warranty on my handheld Garmin.

[H Spruit]

West Marine sold for $9.80 a share Friday
Several years ago it above $15.

When I met Randy he had a Cal 29 and was selling rope out of his garage in Santa Clara.


West Marine, Inc.
NASDAQ: WMAR - Nov 25, 1:11 PM EST
9.80USDPrice increase0.06 (0.62%)
Pre-market: 9.79Price decrease0.11%
1

[Philpott]

I stand corrected regarding WM's availability on the stock exchange. Its slide, however, might explain the change in focus. And there is a Cal 29 next to Dura Mater in Grand Marina for sale for $1500 or $2500, I forget which. With an atomic inboard.

[Intermission]

A year or two ago, WM closed the only south bay San Jose store between Santa Cruz and San Carlos; now they are closing the South SF store, which served Brisbane and the Oysters, and to a lessor extent, the city.
But still they have Alameda and Oakland stores maybe 2 miles apart, bracketing Sven's.

In the last few years, I've occasionally run up against sales associates who I don't think have ever been out/on/in the water by any means.
Drawing pictures with crayons wouldn't help trying to communicate to these people; if it wasn't in the catalog they couldn't help.

[skatzman]

Those keeping their boats in Point Richmond are fortunate to have Whale Point Marine nearby. It is a functional marine supply house. Lots of good boat stuff, reasonable prices. East of KKMI on Cutting Blvd Whale Point has a great supply of boat hardware, blocks, paints and resins, stuff for your boat trailer. And it is located with a full hardware store. They also have work clothing and a selection of real rubber boots.

KKMI has a very well stocked chandelry with a huge assortment of line. There is also a West Marine in Point Richmond. SDK

[BobJ]

The answer was that sailing people were always angling for and shopping for a special price...

This is certainly true in my case. In public accounting we have a professional standard known as "incompatible occupations." Long ago I concluded that from a financial standpoint, accounting and racing a keelboat are incompatible occupations.

We're back from Spain (and a brief stop in London). What a beautiful country, filled with wonderful people who become insane when behind the wheel. One reason might be that every street corner is a roundabout. Roundabouts work fine for sailors, who are accustomed to maneuvers requiring two tacks and two gybes. But all the drivers in Spain must be motor boaters.

[sleddog]

We're back from Spain. What a beautiful country, filled with wonderful people who become insane when behind the wheel. One reason might be that every street corner is a roundabout. Roundabouts work fine for sailors, who are accustomed to maneuvers requiring two tacks and two gybes. But all the drivers in Spain must be motor boaters.

Amen to that!

Here in Mexico, there's a new sheriff in town, Flippy the foot protector.

1961

On the 45 minute panga boat ride to the village of Yelapa, on southern Banderas Bay, Flippy spotted and saluted a nearby southbound humpback.

1958

Now the Flipster is back in residence at Annie's Casa Dragonfly. No roundabouts here. There's no cars.

1960

1959

[sleddog]

Even with the jungle and its fascinating creatures just out the back door, it never gets old just looking at the ocean out front. Yesterday we saw a beautiful brown and yellow vine snake pretending it was a stick.

1962

Today a whale swam by the mouth of Yelapa Bay. It clouded over about 1500 hrs., and tropical weather blew in from the south, complete with thunder and lightning. One particular cell, with 30 knots of SE wind preceding intense downpour, knocked out power for about two hours....we had the candles and flashlites ready.

About sunset the power resumed as billowy clouds and a rainbow lit up horizon. Now, after dark, its almost a continuous light show with distant thunder.

Never a dull moment, though one would might think differently, given our location. Helping run Casas Santa Cruz, a small resort (3 palapas, each holding up to 8 guests), resembles running a boat. Bottled water and propane to be brought in, plumbing to unplug, walls to paint. Knot tying skills came to the fore this afternoon as I hung a couple of hammocks.

Tomorrow should be interesting, as Casa Luna and Casa Sol will be occupied by 12 women celebrating a friend's 40th birthday. It's likely they will meet "Godzilla" and family, garrobos lizards that live in a cleft in the rocks just outside the front door of Casa Luna. Garrobos are similar to iguanas, and Godzilla is about 3 feet long. Harmless unless provoked, garrobos favor being hand fed pink hibiscus flowers and banana peels.

1963

~sleddog checking in at 20-29'-27.8" N x 105-27'-07" W

[skatzman]

Hard working reptiles. Keeping the rodents and bugs under control. SDK

[todd22123]

We're back from Spain (and a brief stop in London). What a beautiful country, filled with wonderful people who become insane when behind the wheel. One reason might be that every street corner is a roundabout. Roundabouts work fine for sailors, who are accustomed to maneuvers requiring two tacks and two gybes. But all the drivers in Spain must be motor boaters.

I was in Madrid 30 years ago. One of my clear memories is that at a normal intersection, not roundabout, it is totally normal, once the traffic light turns green, for a few of the left turners to dart across the intersection before the straight aheads get going. Reminds me of a well executed port tack start.

[sleddog]

For sheer virtuosi afloat, double-handed, windward/leeward, close-course racing, it's hard to beat watching the Best-Of-The-Best racing their Star Class 22 footers in the recently completed Star Sailor's League (SSL) in Nassau. Bahamas.

With $200,000 at stake in prize money, these 25 professional sailing teams are the creme de la creme. Heavy hitters as Paul Cayard, Augie Diaz, Tayor Canfield, Torben Grail, Jochen Schumann, and recent Finn Bronze Medalist Caleb Paine didn't even qualify for the Quarter Finals.

The Star has been around since 1911, for 105 years the home of some of the best sailors on the planet. To win a Gold Star in the Worlds Championships stands for something significant. Malin Burnham, Skip Etchells, Bill Ficker, Lowell North, Dennis Conner, Tom Blackaller, Buddy Melges, John Kostecki, and Vince Brun have all won Gold Stars.

https://www.starclass.org/history/index.htm

With the final 4 qualifiers bow to bow, the recently completed SSL Finals came down to the last downwind run. The French team of Rohart/Ponsot were leading at the final windward mark, then made a questionable decision: to jibe or not to jibe.....

Though the first 4 days of earlier qualifier racing were in lighter winds, it is worth watching at least one race of the last day (Day 5) of the SSL series, the "Dash for Cash". Winds were 15-18 knots, the course twice-around windward/leeward, with an offset mark at the windward mark, and a gate at the leeward mark. See it on replay here: http://finals.starsailors.com/portfolio/ssl-day-5-qf-sf-final/

[sleddog]

Thanks to SLEDDOG-SIS for turning me on to a terrific read: The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery.

Montgomery's firsthand exploration into the enigmatic lives of these invertebrate mollusk aliens is an adventure into the wondrous lives of these critters, their intelligence, strength, playfulness, Houdini-like escape capabilities, and even personalities.

1973

Imagine just one of a Pacific octopuses' 3 inch diameter suckers can lift 30 pounds, and there are 1,600 of them, enough to lift a Moore-24 with suckers to spare.

Octopus are one of the most ancient life forms on planet Earth, at 300 million years, older than dinosaurs.

Octopuses have 3 hearts, and their 8 tentacles are semi-autonomous and can be detached and proceed on their own way, while the octopus regenerates a complete new arm. Without a bone structure, an octopus with a melon sized head and 14 foot arm span can ooze through a 1" diameter pipe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=949eYdEz3Es

A most wonderful octopus escape mechanism, besides their ability to "ink", is the capability to instantly change texture and color patterns so as to confuse potential attackers.

1974

I've only once seen an octopus in the wild. While living aboard WILDFLOWER at Santa Cruz Harbor I noticed a great blue heron stealth fishing from the nearby rocks. The heron, a regular I called "George," ducked his head underwater and came up with a small sized octopus with a head about the size of a golf ball.

For 30 minutes an amusing, life or death struggle ensued. The octopus was determined not to be dinner, and wrapped itself around George's head. George on the other hand, with a foolish look, couldn't get the young octopus off its head and into his bill.

The nearby drama ended in a draw when the great blue heron ducked its head back underwater and the octopus made good its escape.

Octopus. The perfect foredeck crew for singlehanding.

I recommend The Soul of an Octopus to anyone interested in these amazing animals.

[sleddog]

It is elucidating to hear that the co-leader of the current Vendee Globe singlehanded race around the world, Brit Alex Thompson on HUGO BOSS, is falling off pace partially because the heavy weather being encountered is filling the foot of HB's reefed main with water.

Thompson reports having to head downwind and manually bucket many gallons of seawater from the foot of his main every 45 minutes while standing dangerously exposed on his coach roof. Gotta be slow and exhausting to boot.

To my way of thinking, a significant oversight for the HUGO BOSS Team if this is true. Reef tie eyelets, if in fact HUGO BOSS's main even has them, are too high and insufficient in size and number to drain potentially tons of water taken aboard from breaking seas. Dedicated drain holes in the mainsail foot, located in the right position, are mandatory when going offshore, especially deep into the Southern Ocean.

[H Spruit]

"Thompson reports having to head downwind and manually bucket many gallons of seawater from the foot of his main"

Is this another argument for a loose footed main?

[sleddog]

"Thompson reports having to head downwind and manually bucket many gallons of seawater from the foot of his main"

Is this another argument for a loose footed main?

HUGO BOSS's main is loose footed...however it's the foot reef folds that are catching water inside an external cloth cover ("boom bag"), port and starboard, on the boom top. It appears the boom bag cover, held up with lazy jacks, catches the main foot internally as the full battened sail is lowered to a reef. With a lot of folds, there's a lot of creases with a chance to catch water cascading down the sail.

[sleddog]

Pardon the memories, but back in the day of wood Stars with their wooden masts, there was a skipper with a novel method of dealing with his halyards: after a race he would simply pull his halyards up the mast.

The next morning, the skipper's pet monkey would ascend the mast lickety-split and retrieve the halyards in less time than it takes to tell. The monkey seemed to enjoy the exercise. And certainly bystanders to the show enjoyed it too.

20 years ago, living in Malaysia, I experienced a variation on the theme. Falling coconuts were both a hazard, and source of refreshment for locals. Tree trimmers would be called to deal with the coconuts, and several had trained monkeys that quickly twisted off the large nuts and dropped them to the ground. Like it or not, these guys were entrepreneurs, saving themselves time and effort. At least these monkeys weren't in a zoo or meat at the market.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gWEsNL-RJc

Locally here in Yelapa, Luis, built like a fire hydrant, is el hombre mas fuerte in the pueblo... Not only is Luis talented in fixing about anything, but can quickly ascend a coconut tree in his bare feet, with nothing but a machete hanging below. 1975

Luis, having lived all his life in Yelapa, has probably never sailed. But he'd make a good double-handed (DH) crew with his strength, multi-talents, and ready smile. Did I mention he's a virtuoso with a machete? Possibly handy for those congested mark roundings at Blossom Rock.

1976

[Philpott]

I love it all, Skip! the octopussies, the inadvertent watermakers, and Luis! Boy, does Yelapa look gorgeous!!!

[sleddog]

Being in Mexico has a certain perverse pleasure I describe as "You can't get from Pt. A to Pt. B without going to an unexpected Pt. C, or beyond..." This can be an adventure, a frustration, or something else entirely.

Fair weather continues in Yelapa, although smog over 15 mile distant Puerto Vallarta and Punta Mita Penisula reminds of LA: Early morning brown surface haze with black topping all the way to the horizon. PV is backed by mountains. Pollution from cars, trucks, and boats has difficulty escaping eastward with the mild afternoon southwesterly sea breezes. During the night, the smog blows offshore with the gentle downslope, offshore wind that replaces the seabreeze at sunset.

100 miles south, the Colima volcano east of Manzanillo is erupting. The Colima volcano is Central America's most active, and the ash cloud is blowing south in the atmospheric winds. Despite all this activity, the air in Yelapa is mostly clear, and except for the current full moon, mostly dark after sunset with a minimum of light pollution.

Yesterday was atypical for Yelapa. Two humpbacks swam into Yelapa Bay, and toured inshore for about 45 minutes, sometimes not 200 feet off the beach. I hiked 200 yards east on the coastal path for a close-up. While I watched, a paddle boarder and kayaker nearly ran onto the humpies, not recognizing their presence.

Returning to our casa, I collected some trash, passed some horses, mules, and a cute colt, and crossed over a stack of palm fronds that blocked the trail during construction of a local palapa. I went knee deep through the palm fronds, and landed gently on my back, covered in the trash I was carrying. No injury, but I couldn't get up and extricate myself for about minute. Fortunately no one but the horses observed what must have looked a sight: boracho gringo passed out on trail covered in trash?

1979

Back at Casas Santa Cruz, drama was continuing to play out. 6 guests occupying one of the palapas for rent had more than their share of misfortune. In five days, one had stepped on some glass, two had suffered jellyfish stings. A fourth, celebrating her birthday, had a beer bottle explode in her hand.

The worst injury by far was to a young couple (30's) in the group of 6 who, perhaps unwisely, attempted to ascend the slippery rocks of the local waterfall. One fell about 75 feet down the cliff, hitting her head, smashing her nose flat, deeply gashing, and likely breaking her leg. Knocked unconscious, but lucky to be alive.

This morning we were able to evac everybody to PV, with Luis and David carrying the severely injured lady on a plastic stretcher to the local beach where the guests were successfully loaded aboard a panga water taxi for PV and the airport. At PV, the severely injured was gently lifted from the panga in a plastic chair and loaded in a van. Beyond that we do not know, but prayers for the best of outcomes.

1980

1981

Adventures included at no extra charge.

[sleddog]

It could be successfully argued that Mexican coastal cartography and aids to navigation are often out dated, inaccurate, missing, or non-functional. Accurate charts do exist, but are difficult to find, and exist mainly of well transited and maintained harbors. Near coastal navigation at night, or in low visibility, should be attempted with due caution....

Yesterday, during a spring high tide, the local panga taxi crunched against a half tide rock at Isabel's Beach..the pangas are stoutly built, and I doubt any damage was done.

1982

Today, a different panga taxi used a more organic aid to navigation: a snowy egret stood atop the same rock, and the driver took heed.

1983

Using birds for navigation, both direction and distance, is an ancient method practiced by Polynesian voyagers. If you see a bird standing on the water, it's either on kelp, a log, a rock, or shoal.

Or it could be hitching a ride on a turtle.

1984

[Dazzler]

Sled, You appear to be "Feliz De La Vida."
I love the photo of the bird on the turtle. Is that your photo? Someone needs to ID the bird. Do let us know when you are home again.

Feliz Navidad, Tom & Sue

[Daydreamer]

The bird is a blue footed boobie.

[sleddog]

As my stay in Yelapa comes to an end, last evening we hosted a Fiesta de Navidad to thank Annie's workers and their children. Muy divertido, with BBQ pineapple chicken, tortillas, rice and beans, cole slaw, Tres Leche cake and limon meringue pie.

Flippy was maestro de ceremonias, at least until abducted by 3 year old Hugo and Batman.

1988

Flippy escaped Batman, and joined a bevy of 9 year old ninas for hammock time.

1989

1990

[sleddog]

The 1,354 miles (nm) and 3 hours from Puerto Vallarta to SFO was short and sweet. At 450 knots at 38,000 feet, we ascended the Sea of Cortez. My port side window seat had a good view of the east coast of Baja Peninsula.

1994

As the sun began to set on the shortest day of the year, Venus was bright in the western sky. Our flight crossed over northern Baja and began to follow the west coast. Below were many years of hard fought miles sailing north bound along this rugged coast. I could easily identify Bahia San Quintin, volcanic San Martin Island, steep-to Cabo Colnett, Punta Banda and the lights of Ensenada, and the U.S. border at Tijuana and its high intensity lighting.

We flew over Pt. Loma, and I could see San Clemente Island off in the gloaming. Next up below was Avalon and Catalina, with Santa Barbara Island and San Nicholas visible in the distance. It was almost dark as we passed over Anacapa and Santa Barbara, with Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel Islands to port.

Highway 101 appeared below headed inland from Gaviota Pass as headlights snaked past Santa Maria, Los Osos, Morro Bay, Cambria and Hearst Castle. Pretty soon we were over Monterey Harbor, and I began to fasten my sandals for landing.

We descended over Capitola, and I could identify Santa Cruz Wharf, the Harbor, Soquel Ave, and Highway 17.

Alaska Flight 223 landed at SFO 25 minutes early. A painless Baja Bash compared to some. Remember the Ericson 37 when the portside chainplates began to pull out approaching Cedros? The older Alden Cutter that couldn't make upwind progress in the vicinity of Ano Nuevo? The One Tonner on delivery from LA that had its fuel tank return venting diesel into the hanging locker? Maybe the SC-52 whose bow anchor locker filled off Pt. Conception and drained gallons of sea water into the forward cabin?

That's all been noted in past Logs, as well as numerous happier anchorages and voyages.

Wishing all Feliz Navidad. The below photo was taken at Yelapa. I've never looked down on a rainbow before.

1993

[sleddog]

Back in more idealistic days, my 27' Wylie design WILDFLOWER was without engine for the usual reasons: weight, smell, drag, cost, space, need for mechanical ability, environmental purity, blah, blah.

Reality took a starboard turn one windless night drifting in the fog off Pt. Conception with great ships' horns sounding in the vicinity. My upgrade was a war surplus 14 foot lifeboat oar. ....However, rowing a 6,000 pound sloop with one oar, while standing and facing forward, was nothing to write home about.

2000

WILDFLOWER's oar, from the first US flagged container ship (1960) MAYAGUEZ, was retired and currently hangs above the garage. MAYAGUEZ later achieved notoriety in 1975, at the end of the Vietnam War, by being captured by the Cambodians in disputed territorial waters. The resulting international incident cost over 40 lives as President Gerald Ford attempted to have the ship and its crew liberated by force. Evidence later apparently showed MAYAGUEZ was steaming only 2 miles off the Cambodian coast, and not flying a flag of registry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayaguez_incident

My next attempt at motor sailing WILDFLOWER was with a WWII vintage, 3 horsepower, Seagull engine hanging off the transom. These legendary engines had achieved cult status for their ruggedness and simplicity: one cylinder, two stroke, and three moving parts.

1998

WILDFLOWER's Seagull outboard achieved minor utilitarian status, but for a different reason. The noisy, smokey, oil hungry, little beast became, with 25 feet of chain, a second anchor.

1999

Though WILDFLOWER sailed the first SHTP "green" with no engine, I became a believer that to do well in the SHTP necessarily requires two independent means of electrical charging. The challenge being that with just one means of charging the battery, and no backup, things can break, or not function as planned. The number of Singlehanded Tranpackers who have underestimated their charging needs is legion. It's just a fact, that despite high hopes, autopilots, coms, electronics, and electrical inefficiencies drain batteries quicker than can be replenished using modern green methods.

When crossing the Pacific, solar has always been my favorite means of charging. But solar comes with a cost. Breaking waves the first night of the SHTP can wash a solar panel right off the back of the boat. In addition, solar panels, when racing to Hawaii, are not very efficient. This is primarily because the first 50% of the race is most often under overcast skies. Then the second half of the SHTP is under 50% cloud due to passing tradewind clouds and squalls.

When sailing SW to Hawaii, the sun rises astern, passes nearly overhead, and sets off the bow. This creates an additional problem for solar: panels can be shaded by sails easily half the day, from LAN on into the late afternoon.

Back to the marine engine. Fortunate are those SHTP racers with an inboard engine. Despite all the drawbacks of a heavy chunk of hot metal in the bilge producing carbon monoxide wafting into the cockpit, a marine engine provides a semi-reliable source of energy generation. In the SHTP, an Iron Genoa not only eliminates obsessive worry about power usage, but instills confidence in taking full advantage of the electrical powered equipment being carried aboard.

And that can be a Race winner.

[H Spruit]

" In the SHTP, an Iron Genoa not only eliminates obsessive worry about power usage, but instills confidence in taking full advantage of the electrical powered equipment being carried aboard. And that can be a Race winner."

That statement invites the question.
In order to be a race winner you must go Faster than the competition, so, is using a internal combustion engine to run the electronics that will allow a race win, violating the spirit of the rules?
Just asking.

[BobJ]

How about relying on an internal combustion engine to keep from capsizing? CQS rinsed her cockpit in Sydney Harbor because her engine stalled. Seems a starboard tacker forced her to tack unexpectedly. Canting her keel requires engine-driven hydraulics and the engine stalled. Oops.

2001

[H Spruit]

I guess I have become an old fart curmudgeon, because running the engine to be competitive is in fact what bugs me. It seems to me that if you must run the engine to race you have become a motor boat, and therefore you should not be in a sailboat race.

[BobJ]

Howard, I think many agree with you. Long live the SH TransPac - it may be the only ocean race left which doesn't require an engine.

Regarding CQS's little oopsie in Sydney Harbor, new evidence suggests it may have been human error:
.
2002

[sleddog]

I guess I have become an old fart curmudgeon, because running the engine to be competitive is in fact what bugs me. It seems to me that if you must run the engine to race you have become a motor boat, and therefore you should not be in a sailboat race.

Howard's point is a valid one by degree: Running an engine to charge stored electrical or hydraulic power to create forward progress while under sail is certainly debatable. There are many boats racing today that employ full time crew whose watch standing job is nothing more than pushing buttons to direct power to foil and rig canting, power winches,etc., while the engine runs 24/7 to provide power for the hydraulics. There is little debate that canting a keel to windward in each puff of wind increases forward speed as assuredly as turning a propeller.

Without the engine and their drive components, including a canting keel, sailing aboard these "motorboats" ceases, as witnessed by the recent withdrawal of the 100' WILDOATS XI from the Sydney-Hobart Race.

It would be interesting to get Stan Honey's thoughts on the subject, as Stan navigates the 100' COMANCHE which requires full time engine use. COMANCHE's engine can be shut down, the keel locked in position, and the hydraulic assist to the winches converted to human power for brief periods while attempting the 24 hour mileage record. Whether COMANCHE will run this human power configuration for the 2017 TransPac is unknown. If not, they are not eligible for the coveted Barn Door Trophy.

For those who have not met Howard Spruit, Howard walks the walk of reducing reliance on fossil fuel, drives an electric car, and uses a Torqeedo electric outboard on his MOKU.

Both Howard and I applaud the advances in human power aboard watercraft currently exhibited in the Race2Alaska. The Race2Alaska does not allow any fossil fuel engine to be carried aboard, even if sealed or disabled. Interesting times.

[Philpott]

2002

That configuration is very similar to Dura Mater's control unit. I'm not surprised it confused. My crew has difficulty, too.

[Dazzler]

Sled,
Bob J's post in another thread about a SSS friend's boat on Craig's list prompted me to go there for a look-see. To my surprise, I found another very special boat is also listed there: HARRIET, Shields #161 is for sale in Monterey. Can you resist?

Happy New Year from Tom & Sue

[AlanH]

In 2008 I got to Hawaii without an engine. A Navik windvane drove for about 4 days, during an awful lot of gray skies as Sleddog will remember. I actually engaged one of the ST2000's for some extremely light air hours. I still recall my dismay one early morning, at discovering the boat careening hither, thither and yon, even though the Navik was still engaged. I pulled up the oar only to discover that the bottom 2/3rds of the fiberglass foil had busted clean off, rendering the unit essentially useless. From then on it was ST2000's.

I had a small gasoline generator on board. It ran for about 20 minutes and died. I spent an entire day trying to entice it to start again.... no deal. So it was solar panels and nothing else for the last 12 days. Now, I have to admit that I wasn't very competitive!

BTW, my first outboard motor, on my Cal 20 was a Seagull. Man, that thing stank.

[AlanH]

OK, since there was earlier talk of Stars, I'd like to hear what messrs Sleddog and others in the SSS have to say about Mercuries.

About 1969 I took sailing lessons at the Monterey YC in El Toros. I think I drove my instructor nuts. Anyway, I took to the sailing much better than the tennis lessons I'd had in past summers. My mother really wanted me to play tennis, but it just didn't really *click*. Anyway, after those initial lessons I crewed for a family friend, Col. Ellie Wood, on his plywood mercury out of Stillwater Cove for a number of years. I've considered buying my own Mercury off and on during the years. There was a light blue 'glass one at the Alameda Marina for years and years, that never moved and I seriously thought about making some phone calls, but never got around to it.

Schock used to make glass Mercuries. Moore still has a mold, I think, and will make a new boat for ya if you want one. I wonder if anybody made a business out of making plywood Mercuries. Maybe the Nunes brothers?

[sleddog]

[QUOTE=AlanH asks:OK, since there was earlier talk of Stars, I'd like to hear what messrs Sleddog and others in the SSS have to say about Mercuries. About 1969 I took sailing lessons at the Monterey YC in El Toros. I think I drove my instructor nuts. Anyway, after those initial lessons I crewed for a family friend, Col. Ellie Wood, on his plywood mercury out of Stillwater Cove for a number of years.

Mercuries are cool! At 18' LOA, Mercuries were originally designed more than 70 years ago for the heavy breezes of SF Bay. Mercuries are excellent two person boats, you don't need a heavy crew to be competitive in a breeze, and they can be towed behind the family car. A competitive Mercury can be had for as little as $1,000.

2014

But Mercuries have something special going for them that lets them happily sail the waters off the Monterey Peninsula and Stillwater Cove, at Carmel. For the first trivia of 2017, what is it that is singular to the Mercury design, and why is this feature important? A hint is the number 57.

2015

[BobJ]

I don't know how it relates to the number 57, but I'd think the full keel with attached rudder would help when sailing around kelp.

[Dazzler]

The MERCURY was designed by Nunes Brothers, Sausalito specifically for windy SF Bay. Between the hull shape and a particularly high ballast/displacement ratio (57%), they are quite stiff. This also means that they are a great two person boat where the crew is a lighter weight person.

My high school friend Luke Conover and his father built a MERCURY in their garage. The boat was named REVONOC.

A closely related boat design is the CLIPPER designed by Myron Spaulding. There is a CLIPPER on display at Clipper Yacht Harbor, Sausalito.

[sleddog]

The MERCURY was designed by Nunes Brothers, Sausalito specifically for windy SF Bay. Between the hull shape and a particularly high ballast/displacement ratio (57%), they are quite stiff. This also means that they are a great two person boat where the crew is a lighter weight person.

Excellent info from BOBJ and DAZZLER regards the Mercury, and its bigger sister the Clipper. The Nunes Brothers, Manuel and Antonio, came from the island of Pico in the Azores and, after moving from Sacramento, were well established boat builders in Hurricane Gulch, at the south end of Sausalito, with a boatshop and marine railways where the Portofino Apartments now stand. Other than the Mercury, the Nunes' designs of the Bear Boat and the Hurricane, are active to this day. As is the magnificent schooner ZACA. ZACA, too big to fit inside the Nunes' shop. was built in a special building at the foot of Main St. in Sausalito.

Interestingly, in April, 1930, ZACA was launched bow first and sped down Main St on the still visible railways. In pursuit was silent film star Marie Dressler. Eyewitness accounts agree that Ms. Dressler had made use of a few bottles of champagne herself before attempting to christen ZACA. Dressler swung the champagne bottle, missed, lost her balance, and fell into the water. She was reportedly rescued by a speedboat which raced after the departing yacht.

2016

Unfortunately, we still don't have a "winner, winner, chicken dinner" for the Mercury Class trivia question "what is singular to the Mercury design, and why is this feature important for sailing out of Monterey and Stillwater? A hint is the number 57"

Both BOBJ and DAZZLER are not incorrect: The Mercury does have a full keel and attached rudder.....but so does the popular Shields Class in Monterey. Also, I was unaware the Mercury's high ballast/displacement ratio of 57% is what makes the Mercury so stiff. The number "57" I was thinking of is related to something different about the keel than the ballast/disp. ratio.

On your marks, set,.........

(Tom, was your high school friend Luke Conover related to Harvey Conover who was tragically lost at sea when his S&S REVONOC mysteriously disappeared in the Gulf Stream during a severe northerly?)

[BobJ]

In that case I'll go with my initial inclination (is that a sailing pun?) and suggest that although it's a one-design, each Mercury had a slightly different keel. There were, in fact, "57 Varieties."

In a post during the early days of Skip's thread, I mentioned that my older sister and my friend Rick got their braces stuck together. This happened one night aboard Rick's family's Columbia 50, which lived at the end of one of the piers at the Alameda Marina. At about that same time, there was a Mercury for sale at John Beery's (this was just after John moved his brokerage from Berkeley's Aquatic Park to the Alameda Marina). Against his better judgement and AFAIK without the owner's permission, John let Rick and I take the Mercury out one afternoon. Knowing Rick, he'd probably told John we had formed a syndicate to buy and race it. It was blowing pretty good in the Estuary and we decided to see how far we could make it heel. Fortunately Tom is right - Mercuries are pretty stiff - because they also have an open cockpit without coamings.
.

[sleddog]

In that case I'll go with my initial inclination (is that a sailing pun?) and suggest that although it's a one-design, each Mercury had a slightly different keel. There were, in fact, 57 varieties.

57 Varieties of Mercury keels?? :confused:
Nope, that's not the "57" I was thinking of either. Next thing is somebody is gonna remember towing a Mercury to Tahoe with their '57 Chevy and slept in the trunk.
If BobJ was unsuccessful at sinking a Mercury in the Estuary, what can we trust him with?

[BobJ]

How do you know we were unsuccessful? You might recall we successfully sank a submarine out there.

Oh and the Mercury was red - about the color of Heinz ketchup...
.

[Dazzler]

Ok Sled, I don't know the answer. I give up, and I bet when you tell us we all go, "but of course." I will add that putting the Clipper design in historical perspective, an unusual feature for that time is that the boat was designed with a lifting bridle. I suspect that feature has had a lot to do with the Clipper's popularity in the challenging waterfronts of Monterey and Stillwater Cove. But the number 57 is a hint? I don't know.

My friend's father was not the Conover who died in the S&S boat REVONOC (Conover spelled backwards). Some may remember when the old ferry boat BERKELEY was berthed in downtown Sausalito, next to the Sausalito YC. Onboard was a store called the Trade Fair. Luke's parents owned that store.

And for BOBJ, I worked for John Beery at the time you were messing with that Clipper (oops, I meant Mercury).

And on another distantly related note, my parent's first boat was a S&S designed Cape Cod Mercury (no relation to the Nunes Mercury). That was the first boat I ever sailed on.

[BobJ]

And for BOBJ, I worked for John Beery at the time you were messing with that Mercury.

Do you remember when John experimented with land sailers? He had to go to the hospital after running one into the back of a truck outside his office.

Pax Davis is still big into Mercuries. In 1969 my folks bought his father's 21' hard-chined sloop "SQUALI." Beery had the listing.
.

[sleddog]

How do you know we were unsuccessful? You might recall we successfully sank a submarine out there. Oh and the Mercury was red - about the color of Heintz ketchup...

2017

[AlanH]

Col Woods plywood boat was red....which has nothing to do with the number 57.

Is there still a fleet launching off the Stillwater Cove pier?

Look a Mercury "project" for sale. - http://humboldt.craigslist.org/boa/5936645328.html
Looks like a plywood boat. There was a Clipper for sale out in Fresno, on CL for months upon months, maybe back in 2014.

The Moore mercuries that I've seen have watertight bulkheads under the foredeck and behind the helm. They're supposed to float if you dunk 'em. The Schock boats didn't.

Maybe 57 is the number of times Pax Davis won the National Championship? LOL

[Dazzler]

The Moore mercuries that I've seen have watertight bulkheads under the foredeck and behind the helm.

Ok, maybe AlanH is on to something about the (mysterious) number 57.
So, the Moore Mercuries have watertight bulkheads, making them unsinkable, and this feature is "singular to the [Moore built] Mercury design, and... important for sailing out of Monterey and Stillwater." In contrast, the Shields class boats, also popular in Monterey, do not have flotation.

The Mercury bulkheads are at stations 5 and 7. How about that!

[BobJ]

Sled wrote that "57" refers to something about the keel itself.

(Edit) Speculating it might be the angle of the keel's leading edge at the waterline (optimized to push kelp aside) I attempted, without success, to find a protractor in an accounting office. Finding one online, I measured every angle on the line drawing of the Mercury and nothing is close to 57 degrees. That's the bad news.

The good news is, now that I've been sacked for wasting the firm's time on this, I'll have more time to sail.
.

[H Spruit]

The only 57 I can think of has already be rejected!

Bal./Disp.: 57.72%

[AlanH]

Come to find out that in the early 70's a company called Clark made fiberglass Mercuries . I wonder if this is the same outfit that made San Juan sailboats

[H Spruit]

I give up, I have just read everything I can find on line about the Mercuries and found no reference to 57 other than "ballast ratio."

Ironically back before there was a Harbor in Santa Cruz, I had sailed with O'neill on his P CAT a few times but never sailed a monohull.
The Santa Cruz YC had a small building on the wharf and kept 2 Mercs on moorings a third one was owned by MR. Kinzie, he also owned the cement plant at Davenport.
Well, Bob, his son, & I surfed together so he invited me to sail with him, so it is a fact that first keel boat I ever sailed on was a Mercury.

[Philpott]

All this verbiage for a "winner, winner, chicken dinner"? These months in between singlehanded races are killing me! My attention is wandering.

BTW (that means By The Way - I looked it up), Howard spelled backwards is DRAWOH, image provided.

[sleddog]

It's raining cats and dogs here in Santa Cruz, with some street flooding deep enough to float Howard's little blue box (electric car)....

The National Weather Service is positively chatty tonight with their forecast for things to come: "Multiple Hazards in Effect." "Flash Flood Watch for Santa Cruz County." "Potent atmospheric river event this weekend." 1"-1.5" lurking off the coast, possible rumble of thunder. Wind gusts to 45 mph with Half Moon Bay Buoy reporting gusts to 37 knots. A wind advisory issued for entire Bay Area."

In the Small Craft Advisory Department, I'm not sure we were advised DURA MATER sports a shiny new tiller:

2021

[Dazzler]

All this verbiage for a "winner, winner, chicken dinner"?

Jackie, Jackie, Jackie.... you must know by now that it's not about the prize, it's the journey.

BTW, have you looked up LOL. I'm laughing!

And, what a lovely new tiller. Please do tell us the story.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and DURA MATER.
Tom

[Philpott]

Jackie, Jackie, Jackie.... you must know by now that it's not about the prize, it's the journey. BTW, have you looked up LOL. I'm laughing! And, what a lovely new tiller. Please do tell us the story. HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and DURA MATER. Tom

Well, Okay. Since you're just sitting there drinking your coffee, Tom, and you can't come up with the answer anyway: Three years ago Skip told me I should replace my tiller. It had a crack up and down its length. I said I would but instead I wrapped it with fiberglass tape and it worked just fine. Then Bob started bragging about all the bling he was buying Ragtime! and I began to experience guilt. Did I not love DM as much as Bob loves Rags? Well, that did it. So I ordered the new tiller, which had to be sanded, shortened and re-varnished before I could install it. Sigh. Isn't that always the way? So there it is, and it required a slightly longer bolt to fit into my wonderful Pelagic. Now I am reading Christian Williams' book, given to me by Steve Hodges. He promised me something made of carbon fiber and I was expecting a new mast, but oh well, the book is very nice and I was able to drive home with it without opening up the sunroof, so that was good. Oh dear, I forgot this was the history channel. Sorry for the hijack. What is the answer, please?

[BobJ]

Very nice - an asset to the boat.

For the next step, don't forget Synthia can "cover your assets" (her own tag line). She made all of Rags' covers, except for the winch covers because she doesn't like to make those.

As for the answer, I suspect Sled is enjoying leaving us to dangle.

[sleddog]

Everybody likes red. Here's Jackie on the beach today in Monterey attempting to figure out how Monterey, despite being well charted by explorers Sir Francis Drake (1542) and Sebastian Vizcaino (1602), was "lost" for 168 years until being rediscovered on Gaspar Portola's second expedition of discovery up California.

2022

Vizcaino, visiting Monterey with his 3 ship expeditionary fleet, had rightly described Monterey in glowing terms as being near 37 degrees latitude, an all weather port, "sheltered from all winds" and the best port north of San Diego. Vizcaino even named Point of Pines, today's Point Pinos, at the entrance to Monterey Harbor.

Portola and his "Sacred Expedition", were sent northwards in 1769 to rediscover Vizcaino's "Monte Rey" and establish a settlement. But Portola and his men were not sailors, and twice marched right by Monterey, once heading north, once returning south. In fact, they stood on top of Mulligan's Hill, just south of today's Moss Landing, and surveyed horizon to horizon, without recognizing Monterey and it's Peninsula of pines.

It wasn't until a year later, on his second expedition in 1770, that Portola rediscovered Monterey once and for all. For your trivia enjoyment, why was Monterey lost to explorers for 168 years? The answer is easy and a three letter word.

[BobJ]

In accounting we have various methods for valuing inventory. One of these methods also applies to Sled's trivia questions.

It's called "FIFO," which of course stands for "First-In, First-Out."

[H Spruit]

Fog?

[sleddog]

In accounting we have various methods for valuing inventory. One of these methods also applies to Sled's trivia questions. It's called "FIFO," which of course stands for "First-In, First-Out."

I'm sorry, "FIFO" is not the correct answer to why Monterey was lost...FIFO has 4 letters. But 2 letters in "FIFO" are correct in the three letter answer. All you need is the third.....

For anyone driving to/from Monterey on Hwy 1, I recommend a short hike to the top of Mulligan Hill (elevation 60 feet) to view what Portola didn't see. Mulligan Hill is a famous landmark from seaward, and sits above the artichoke fields, just north of the mouth of the Salinas River.

[sleddog]

Frog?

Would that be a question, or answer?

[H Spruit]

FROG has 4 letters!
FOG has 3 letters.
One describes a weather condition.
The other an object of WORSHIP!
The weather condition, that has 3 letters is why Monterey can't be seen from Santa Cruz most of the year.
I would never put a question mark after the word FROG!

[sleddog]

The weather condition, that has 3 letters is why Monterey can't be seen from Santa Cruz most of the year. FOG.


Holy Guacamole, H.Spruit is correct that FOG was likely the main weather event in 1769 that prevented the Portola "Sacred Expediton" from identifying the Monterey Peninsula and its "all weather port of refuge". Portola and 5 soldiers had stood on top of Mulligan Hill, 11 miles north of Monterey, to try and identify the Monterey Peninsula, but failed to see the prominent landmass hidden in the late summer fog.

Ironically, it was the coastal fog that allowed the Portola Expedition to "discover" San Francisco Bay. After missing Monterey, Portola kept tramping north up the coast, passing through what is now my hometown of Santa Cruz, before capturing a view of San Francisco Bay from the hills above.

Fog, as well as the prevailing northwesterly winds, had prevented passing ships from discovering San Francisco Bay, as the narrow Golden Gate is often shrouded in fog. Even knowing San Francisco Bay existed, Lt. Juan Ayala had a difficult time locating the Golden Gate and entering the Bay, the first to do so under sail, on August 5, 1775.

Ayala, like many modern day mariners, had not enjoyed his "Baja Bash" on his little ship SAN CARLOS. It took the SAN CARLOS 101 days to sail up the California coast to Monterey, then an additional 9 days to sail the 90 miles from Monterey to the Golden Gate.

2023

Not only was the SAN CARLOS unweatherly, and an overloaded and near wreck of a ship, but the crew was scurvy ridden. It is to Ayala's great credit for allowing the SAN CARLOS to be flushed into uncharted San Francisco Bay on a flood tide by the light of a dim moon, before dropping anchor in today's Richardson Bay, off Sausalito. Ayala was a hurting puppy, having accidentally shot himself in the foot during the long voyage of the SAN CARLOS, and never did get to enjoy the discoveries his crew made of Angel and Yerba Buena Islands, the South Bay, and the Sacramento River at the mouth of the Delta

So yes, our prevailing coastal fog played a significant part in the discovery and charting of the California Coast.

Good thing Lt. Ayala only shot himself in the foot and not elsewhere, or we may not have had picturesque Ayala Cove on beautiful Angel Island to visit.

[BobJ]

You can see Monterey from Santa Cruz only 57 days/year on average. Portola and his soldiers tried 57 times to see it through the fog before giving up and trudging 57 miles, whereupon they saw the southern end of SF Bay.

And the poor crew of the SAN CARLOS - 57 of them had scurvy...

[H Spruit]

OK-OK-OK!
What does the discovery that Monterey has FOG, to do with the significance of the number 57 to the Mercury fleet:)?

[Dazzler]

For anyone driving to/from Monterey on Hwy 1, I recommend a short hike to the top of Mulligan Hill (elevation 60 feet) to view what Portola didn't see. Mulligan Hill is a famous landmark from seaward, and sits above the artichoke fields, just north of the mouth of the Salinas River.

Of course enquiring minds want to know why is there a hill named Mulligan in this otherwise Spanish explored and named area. And, I point out that Jackie did say that this is the History Channel. Although I may not have the slightest idea how the number 57 relates to the Mercury one design, I can provide an explanation for Mulligan Hill.

Mulligan Hill [Monterey Co.]. The elevation shown as Cabeza de Milligan, ‘Milligan’s Head’ on a diseno of the Bolsa del Potrero grant, was long known as Mulligan Head. It was named for John Mulligan, an Irish sailor and one of the earliest foreign residents of California. He arrived before 1819, taught the art of weaving to Indians at several missions, and became part owner of Rancho Bola de Potrero; he died in 1834 (Bancroft 4:747-48).

From: GUDDE, Erwin G., California Place Names, The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names (Univ. of California Press) 2004

[sleddog]

Like shoes, keels come in all shapes, sizes, styles, and practicality. The keel design list, in no particular order, includes full keels, fin keels, bulb keels, twin keels, bilge keels. Peterson keels, elliptical keels, winged keels, lifting keels, canting keels, and torpedo keels on struts. Lead keels, iron keels, cement keels, and expended uranium keels (Eric Tabarly on the ketch PEN DUICK VI)

Unfortunately, keels are not without accompanying drawbacks. The brief fad of winged keels often caused grounding difficulties when the wings would get stuck in sand or mud and acted as an anchor.

Keels do little when the boat is level and not heeled over or making forward progress. At anchor, the pendulum effect of keels can cause unpleasant rolling. Underway, keels can pendulum fore and aft, causing pitching. And of course they can detach, usually at inopportune times. I will never forget the sight of the maxi-sloop DRUM in the 1985 Fastnet Race when she capsized after the keel sheared off due to a design error.

Keels are "mostly out of sight, out of mind" until they come in contact with the bottom, or floating objects. The current Vendee Globe Race around the world is having an especially high rate of attrition due to keel difficulties and strikes with "UFOs"

On a practical basis, from Maine to California to Hawaii, keels collect kelp, plastic, wildflife (including a large turtle we hit in the 1985 Transpac), rope including nets, lobster and crab pots, even submarines (again, the yacht DRUM, this time in 1988, off the coast of Scotland, when a submerged Royal Navy sub collided with DRUM. The Navy denied the incident until DRUM's owner offered to return the lens from their periscope which had holed DRUM's hull.

That there was genius, accidental or intentional, or just a yacht design feature of the early 20th Century, I do not know. But the fact is the Mercury Class One Design Sloop is well suited to sailing in waters where kelp, anchored and floating, can slow, even stop in their wake other more modern designs.

The Mercury's keel is angled 57 degrees aft from vertical on its leading edge. There is no magic in this number except for the fact it is great enough to neatly shed kelp without having to resort to kelp cutters, kelp sticks, "flossing," windows, G-Pros on a stick, or backing down to clear keels with more vertical leading edges.

The extensive kelp at Stillwater Cove? No problem for a Mercury. Sweet.

2024

[sleddog]

Good Golly, Miss Molly, the National Weather Service (NWS) is calling for up to 12" of rain in the Santa Cruz mountains in the upcoming storms. What I would call a "firehose, they call an "atmospheric river (AR). "Possibly historic flooding in Yosemite, the Sierra, and elsewhere" they forecast. Except the NWS often uses the term "hydro" issues.

Most know "hydro issues" is short for "hydrologic" issues, or flooding. However, not all. Just across the border, in Canada, "hydro" means "electrical" or electrical grid. A hydro issue in British Columbia means electricity is down, not flooding.

Another example of different meanings for the same word is local slang for the 420 friendly crowd: "hydro" means "hydroponically grown marijuana." Does the NWS know this?

Further south, in the South Pacific, although most weather sites argue otherwise, a "cyclone" is not the same thing as a hurricane in the Northern Hemisphere. A hurricane in the Eastern and Central N. Pacific is defined as cyclonic storm with windspeeds equal to or greater than 64 knots. But in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, and elsewhere, a cyclone is defined as a tropical storm with windspeeds of 35-46 knots, a polite gale in the Gulf of the Farallones.

In fact, something that causes many nervous Milk Run cruisers to piss in their seaboots is that a Category 1 hurricane between the West Coast of North America and Hawaii, or in the Caribbean or N. Atlantic would be classified a Category 3 cyclone between New Zealand and Oz,Fiji/Tonga/Samoa/French Polynesia.

http://about.metservice.com/our-company/national-weather-services/tropical-cyclones/

[BobJ]

I was pretty close to chicken on that one and would have nailed it had I flipped my protractor upside-down.

On the subject of keels, how well do boats with (true) Scheel keels go to weather? The current object of my next-boat interest (at the cruising end of the spectrum) has such a keel:
Morris 32 on Yachtworld (http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1989/Morris-MY-32-2994863/Northeast-Harbor/ME/United-States#.WHFjLlMrLIU)

Some good posts/explanation about Scheel keels in this thread (http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f47/sheel-keel-2922.html).

[sleddog]

On the subject of keels, how well do boats with (true) Scheel keels go to weather? The current object of my next-boat interest (at the cruising end of the spectrum) has such a keel:
Morris 32 on Yachtworld (http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1989/Morris-MY-32-2994863/Northeast-Harbor/ME/United-States#.WHFjLlMrLIU)
Some good posts/explanation about Scheel keels in this thread (http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f47/sheel-keel-2922.html).

I first met MIT grad Henry Scheel at the One-Ton Worlds at Helgoland, 1968. I especially recall his friendliness, the sail number of his One-Tonner HAWK (#2020) and his interesting keel of which he was most proud.

HAWK, a Bill Tripp design, was fitted with the original Scheel Keel. My recall is, even with their amateur crew and untested boat, HAWK was not much off pace, upwind or down.

Personal reflection is, given all things else equal, I would love to have a cruising boat with a Scheel Keel. The tradeoff of shoal draft without much loss in keel efficiency or righting moment, and reduction in wetted surface is, theoretically, a good one. If you go aground, the Scheel keel is reportedly the best shape to get unstuck with. In addition, a Scheel keel lets you have the closest tie-up to the Corinthian YC bar.

Shoal draft keel = No thanks.
Shoal draft Scheel Keel = Yes, please

2025

2026

[BobJ]

The keel in that photo looks different in proportion and cross-section than DRUMMER's. I think Chuck Paine's boats (including this Morris) are supposed to have true Scheel keels but now I'm wondering. I'd have a hard time owning a boat that couldn't go upwind.

Otherwise there are many things I like about this boat. See any red flags Sled?

[sleddog]

Otherwise there are many things I like about this boat. See any red flags Sled?

No red flags, but a bunch of yellow ones, including the 6 digit price for a boat with a PHRF rating of 183, and plenty of varnish to maintain.
The underbody and displacement just doesn't give me a fuzzy feeling the Morris-32 is gonna go upwind or down very well, especially with just 4.25' of draft.
I'd prefer a mainsheet within reach of the tiller, rather than midships. Especially important for shorthanding.
For $100,000 less you could get a well maintained Express-34 with just as much room and coziness, a knot more speed, a local designer, and a couple of gallons of dark blue paint thrown in for good measure.
The good news is the Morris 32 has a 47 degree swept keel and skeg: good for shedding lobster pots when cruising Maine says Chuck Paine.

[AlanH]

Having read about Scheel keels for years, and not knowing diddly about them, I found this picture to be helpful.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=88173&d=1410724491

----------------

My own current "I'd sail that" cruising boat wishlist is an Aloha 32. On thing I really like about the boat is that most were built with storage up forward instead of a useless V-berth. This shows the layout, which makes incredible sense to me. I'd move the traveler down into the cockpit. There's a nice bridgedeck just waiting to have a good traveler mounted on it.

http://sacsmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/3252499_0_090220111717_16.jpg

I'm somewhat less wild about the rudder, seems kind of exposed, though no worse than any keelboat I've sailed in the past.

http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/57619
.

[BobJ]

The wheel version of the Morris 32 has the traveler/mainsheet aft but I don't want a wheel. This is a problem with many boats I've seen - unless the boom is long enough for the traveler to be behind the rudder post, the tiller is in the way. On the Express 34 (and 37) the traveler crosses the companionway, but then no dodger, among other issues.

I'm surrounded by Express 34's at RYC and they just don't ring my chimes. We visited the Morris factory a few years ago - these boats are gorgeous and incredibly well-made.

Alan, that Aloha 32 has nice lines and is a relative bargain! Wheel though (which is my problem with the J/32, which would otherwise be pretty close).

Thanks for the input.

[AlanH]

The wheel version of the Morris 32 has the traveler/mainsheet aft but I don't want a wheel. This is a problem with many boats I've seen - unless the boom is long enough for the traveler to be behind the rudder post, the tiller is in the way. On the Express 34 (and 37) the traveler crosses the companionway, but then no dodger, among other issues.

I'm surrounded by Express 34's at RYC and they just don't ring my chimes. We visited the Morris factory a few years ago - these boats are gorgeous and incredibly well-made.

Alan, that Aloha 32 has nice lines and is a relative bargain! Wheel though (which is my problem with the J/32, which would otherwise be pretty close).

Thanks for the input.

We think alike.... I'd rather have a tiller than a wheel, any day. On a 32 foot boat, it seems obvious that there should be tiller-steered versions, but no. Problem is, unless you go back to the late 60's-early 70's or you buy something like a Westsail 32 or an Aries 32 with a really long keel and attached rudder, it's nigh upon impossible to find a tiller-steered cruising boat, 30-34 feet.

[sleddog]

Though memories grow dim, many still recognize the name of yacht designer Carl Alberg (1901-1986.)

Alberg grew up sailing with his family in Gothenburg, Sweden and moved to the East Coast of the U.S. when he was 24. He became a rigger, then sparmaker, before apprenticing with famous yacht designer John Alden.

That Alberg had design genius is not in doubt. In addition, his best designs were adapted to fiberglas during the early years of fiberglas construction. Over his prolific lifetime, Carl Alberg drew more than 56 designs that eventually became more than 10,000 boats.

Although it could be a stretch, Alberg's home waters of the islands of the West Coast of Sweden outside of Gothenburg have many kelp choked passages. In addition, Alberg's mentor, John Alden, knew a thing or two about full keel shapes.

Is it coincidence, or just chance, that most of Alberg's early designs had keel leading edges swept aft to 57 degrees? These succesful designs include the Sea Sprite 23, Alberg 30 and 35, Triton, Ensign, Ariel, Commander, and Electra.

We were watching storminess and drinking coffee the other morning at the Santa Cruz Harbor when Howard S. remembered something.

"Back in the early days of Wednesday Night Racing, Cal 20's were the hot small boat in Santa Cruz. They always seemed to get to the leeward mark well ahead of the Pearson Ensigns and Electras."

Howard continued with a gleam in his eye, "Then a funny thing would happen. The 5 Ariels, and Electra would pass the Cal-20's on the race back to the breakwater finish. This was because the Cal-20s, with the leading edges of their rudders and bulb keels only swept aft to 19 degrees, would hang up in the kelp off Soquel and Black's Points. To get around the obstacles, the Cal-20's had to sail 1/4 mile out to sea, into the current and chop. Invariably, the Pearson designs would sail the short cut through the kelp and get home first."

"Yup," chimed in Rich Gurling, who was there 50 years ago. "And we got a free bottom scrub to boot."

2030
Ensign, (above), the largest class of full keel boats in North America, first launched 1962.

Below is the highly successful Bill Lapworth Cal 20 from 1961.

2029

[ChrisK]

The wheel version of the Morris 32 has the traveler/mainsheet aft but I don't want a wheel. This is a problem with many boats I've seen - unless the boom is long enough for the traveler to be behind the rudder post, the tiller is in the way. On the Express 34 (and 37) the traveler crosses the companionway, but then no dodger, among other issues.

I'm surrounded by Express 34's at RYC and they just don't ring my chimes. We visited the Morris factory a few years ago - these boats are gorgeous and incredibly well-made.

Alan, that Aloha 32 has nice lines and is a relative bargain! Wheel though (which is my problem with the J/32, which would otherwise be pretty close).

Thanks for the input.

There is a Morris on E Dock in Brickyard Cove. I think Anna is the name. I can't imagine a prettier boat. Lots of impeccably maintained varnish. How this boat is kept up so well without covers is a mystery to me.

Chris

[BobJ]

Years ago we had a boat that was bright-finished oak from the bootstripe up (with teak decks). Comparatively, there's not that much brightwork on the Morris 32. Which model is ANNA?

[hodgmo]

"Is it coincidence, or just chance, that most of Alberg's early designs had keel leading edges swept aft to 57 degrees?"

57 degrees happens to be almost exactly 1 radian (57.3 degrees is closer). Radians are a natural unit for measuring angles and make calculating arcs and other circular and cyclical stuff easier, for example, a circle of diameter one has a circumference of 2*pi. I wonder if this was a factor in early (pre-computer) boat designs. (I also like the number 57 because it is 3 times 19, which is odd :)

FWIW, the angle of the leading edge of the islander 36 keel is about 48 to 53 degrees (from vertical, depending on exactly how its measured) and in my experience it has never caught kelp (or crab pot lines, etc). http://islander36.org/images/zmodel1.jpg

It’s also interesting that the Alberg and islander 36’s have bow overhang angles that are pretty close to the same as their keel angles (the bow overhangs are pretty close to being parallel with the leading edge of the keels).

[Dazzler]

Which model is ANNA?

M36 "Daysailer" And the secret to how all that varnish is maintained without a cover is multiple $$.

[BobJ]

Mind you, I wouldn't turn it down if someone gave me one - but the M36 is a good example of what Bob Perry says about many "spirit of tradition" designs: The underwater profile is tortured to fit the graceful lines above the waterline.

For absolutely no prize whatsoever: The iconic and hugely-successful Islander 36 was one of the very few production boats designed by Alan Gurney. But what famous ocean racer did he design, what image is painted on her transom and in her current condition, what is unique about her coffee grinders?

[sleddog]

Roilsome here today in Capitola. Seagulls were loving life, soaring motionless into 30 knot headwind.

2036

Soquel Creek was a foot below flood stage. The ducks and coots preferred staying ashore as opposed to being flushed by 10 knots of muddy water.

2037

On the beach, the colorful Capitola Venetian was sandbagged and boarded up.

2038

The Capitola Boat Club had to haul their fleet

2034

Water in Soquel Creek rushing downhill to the ocean.

2035

[sleddog]

For absolutely no prize whatsoever: The iconic and hugely-successful Islander 36 was one of the very few production boats designed by Alan Gurney. But what famous ocean racer did he design, what image is painted on her transom and in her current condition, what is unique about her coffee grinders?

WINDWARD PASSAGE, designed by Alan Gurney, was the largest spruce sailboat ever built. Her legendary name, often abbreviated just "PASSAGE," is, to this day, spoken in reverence. The gold leaf whale on her transom gives recognition to her one time home port of Lahaina, Maui. Her coffee grinders are on the aft deck, and have rosewood handles.

2039

For extra credit, why was WINDWARD PASSAGE's original keel a Scheel keel?

[BobJ]

To better support that much lead. As they were pouring the lead (which was supposed to be about 17 tons) they realized they had a problem when they'd put 18 tons into the mold. When they dug it out they found it had split the mold. They wanted a fin keel but on a 73 footer the materials technology wasn't there yet.

For Philpott: There's boat bling and then there are rosewood winch handles. I don't spoil Rags as much as you think I do.

[sleddog]

To better support that much lead. As they were pouring the lead (which was supposed to be about 17 tons) they realized they had a problem when they'd put 18 tons into the mold. When they dug it out they found it had split the mold. They wanted a fin keel but on a 73 footer the materials technology wasn't there yet.

Yep. PASSAGE was built on the beach on Grand Bahama Island. The keel mold was in a giant hole dug in the beach sand. As BobJ recounts, the bottom of the mold broke, accidentally forming a near perfect Scheel keel.
PASSAGE has had 5 keels during her lifetime, the latest by Alan Andrews.

"Loaded 16 tons and what do you get?"

[BobJ]

"Another day older and deeper in debt!"

Here are half models of a couple of her keels, and a few other photos:

2040204120422043

[AlanH]

About Alberg boats.... Once upon a time I made some extra dollars teaching sailing out of Redwood City. Right next to our "school" Santana 22's was a Alberg Kittiwake 23. I always liked the looks of that boat. It's the same size as the Ensign and Electra, more or less but I think that the cabin and sheer "work" a little bit better. The Kittiwake is actually a stretched Alberg 22 design. The builder, Kenner Yachts in Texas, cut the mold for their Alberg designed 22-footer and cobbled in an extra 3-4 inches somehow, after a falling-out with the original builders, which was South Coast Boatworks. Whatever they did, it worked.

http://www.capitolsbc.com/Kenner.jpg

http://strictlysailinc.com/images/100_4569.JPG

here's a Kittiwake history lesson - http://www.kittiwake23registry.com/history.htm

If I wasn't interested in getting anywhere, even vaguely close to fast, I could see myself owning one of these for messin' around the Bay. I really like the Alberg Sea Sprite 23 but there is zilch room down below for a guy my size and I have limits. The Kittiwake, however, is more reasonable white still being pretty in an Alberg sort of way..

QUIZ QUESTION:

Of the famous Pearson cruisers of the late 1960's...the Triton and her sisters, one was NOT designed by Carl Alberg. Which one, who designed it and how is it different from the others?

[AlanH]

PS: I think we should take up a collection and buy Dura Mater a rosewood winch handle. Mmmmm-HM.

[sleddog]

About Alberg boats...
QUIZ QUESTION:
Of the famous Pearson cruisers of the late 1960's...the Triton and her sisters, one was NOT designed by Carl Alberg. Which one, who designed it and how is it different from the others?

I don't know Alan. Pearson used a bunch of different designers other than Carl Alberg in the 60's. Bill Tripp designed the Invicta centerboard ketch in 1960, Phil Rhodes did the Rhodes-41, and John Alden the Countess 44 ketch in 1965, all built by Pearson. Bill Shaw, promoted to head designer, did a bunch of designs for Pearson too.

The Shaw designed, Pearson built, Lark 24 had a flush deck, ala Lapworth's Cal 28, in 1968. The Pearson 22, by Shaw, was almost a copy of the Santana-22 by G.Mull, complete with fin keel and spade rudder. And the Pearson 33 and 35's in the late 60's, also by Bill Shaw, had centerboards.

With this smorgasboard, I'm gonna choose the Lark 24 as the answer to your quiz. It was late 60's, full keel like Alberg's Triton, but different with the flush deck.

2046

[AlanH]

I don't know Alan. Pearson used a bunch of different designers other than Carl Alberg in the 60's. Bill Tripp designed the Invicta centerboard ketch in 1960, Phil Rhodes did the Rhodes-41, and John Alden the Countess 44 ketch in 1965, all built by Pearson. Bill Shaw, promoted to head designer, did a bunch of designs for Pearson too.

The Shaw designed, Pearson built, Lark 24 had a flush deck, ala Lapworth's Cal 28, in 1968. The Pearson 22, by Shaw, was almost a copy of the Santana-22 by G.Mull, complete with fin keel and spade rudder. And the Pearson 33 and 35's in the late 60's, also by Bill Shaw, had centerboards.

With this smorgasboard, I'm gonna choose the Lark 24 as the answer to your quiz. It was late 60's, full keel like Alberg's Triton, but different with the flush deck.

2046

That's a good point about the Invicta and the Rhodes 41. I never see these boats so I never think of them. Sheesh. The Invicta is a lovely hull, but that bubble-shaped deckhouse? I've always thought that the deckhouse looked like it was glued on as an afterthought. There was one at Petes Harobr years and years ago that I used to walk by all the time. I don't know if I've ever seen a Rhodes 41. ZING!~

The Lark was one of the two possible answers that I had in mind that folks would come up with. It's so wildly different from the Triton, Ariel, Alberg 30, Vanguard and Alberg 35 in terms of its deck that I wasn't aiming that direction. But you are absolutely right!

So what's the other Pearson boat with a trunk-type cabin from that era, that I might be thinking of? Extra caveat: one or two of the boats that I'm thinking of have raced in the SSS in the past season or two. Why is it different?

[AlanH]

BTW, Windward Passage sure is pretty.

[sleddog]

I don't know if I've ever seen a Rhodes 41.

So what's the other Pearson boat with a trunk-type cabin from that era, that I might be thinking of? Extra caveat: one or two of the boats that I'm thinking of have raced in the SSS in the past season or two. Why is it different?

You have to be quick in these parts, with Bob the J, DAZZLER, and Howard likely lurking in the woodwork for their chicken dinner. You've likely seen a Rhodes 41, same design as the legendary Bounty II. a pretty hull if there ever was one. And nearly indestructible, being dramatically overbuilt as no one fully understood at that time the strength of fiberglass compared to wood. The early Bounty II's even had fiberglas masts, until aluminum came along.

2048

The Bounty II was the first production yacht 40 feet or longer to be built of fiberglas, built by AeroMarine Plastics in Sausalito and debuting in 1956. Over 100 were built before 1961 when Pearson acquired the molds, made some modifications, and called it the Rhodes 41.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The answer to your question would be the Pearson Renegade, designed by Bill Shaw. Looks like a Triton, until you realize it has a spade rudder and turns on a dime.

2047

[Dazzler]

Sled is right. I've been holding back (lurking) on this one. I know too much about Pearson boats of the 60's. The Triton was all the rage, and they were being built along with the Bounty II (later to become the Rhodes 41) at AeroMarine Plastics, at the Foot of Spring Street, Sausalito (present-day site of Schoonmaker Marina). If you want to talk about obscure sailboats, have you ever seen an AeroMarine 24? They had a sliding dog house.

We lusted after a Triton, but settled for the little sister: Pearson Ariel. In the Spring of 1965 my father ordered an Ariel. The dealer was Howard Ellis in Tiburon. Because the boat couldn't be delivered until the Fall, Howard sold us a used Ensign with the agreement to buy it back when the Ariel was delivered. It's worth noting that Sled's shipmate of a few years later, Steve Taft, worked for Howard at that time. I remember that on a bet Steve singlehanded a Rhodes 41 down Raccoon Strait under spinnaker. There were no autopilots back then.

That Summer I sailed the Ensign just about every day all over SF Bay. It was a great boat, but it was wet and did not have a self-bailing cockpit. I remember one time my brother George and I decided to see how many bridges we could sail under in one day. Sounds a bit like the 3BF right? After sailing under the GG and Oakland Bay bridges we headed for the Richmond-San Rafael. So now what? But of course, we went north to sail under the Carquinez Bridge. I remember sailing back through San Pablo Bay in the very late afternoon; we took turns bailing. Foul weather gear was from the army surplus store and did little to keep us dry. We got back well after dark. My poor mother...

The Ariel was also a great boat and there are many others stories to tell. As for AlanH's quiz, I've never considered the Bill Shaw designs to be in the same league as the Pearson Alberg/Rhodes/Tripp/Alden boats.

Tom

P.S. Speaking of Pearson boats and the SSS, least we not forget SPARKY, (Pearson Electra) same hull as the Ensign. Ruben Gabriel and SPARKY, after being dismasted, successfully completing the 2008 SSS SHTP without outside assistance!

[sleddog]

I've been holding back (lurking) on this one. If you want to talk about obscure sailboats, have you ever seen an AeroMarine 24? They had a sliding dog house.

That Summer I sailed the Ensign just about every day all over SF Bay. It was a great boat, but it was wet and did not have a self-bailing cockpit. I remember one time my brother George and I decided to see how many bridges we could sail under in one day. Sounds a bit like the 3BF right? After sailing under the GG and Oakland Bay bridges we headed for the Richmond-San Rafael. So now what? But of course, we went north to sail under the Carquinez Bridge. I remember sailing back through San Pablo Bay in the very late afternoon: we took turns bailing. Foul weather gear was from the army surplus store and did little to keep us dry. We got back well after dark. My poor mother...
Tom[/I]

Thanks, Tom, for that nugget. I doubt many boats of any size have done a 4, (or was it 5?) Bridge Fiasco on the same day.

Ah, the Aero 24 with the sliding dog house. A cockpit for 6, a cabin for 4, all on a 24 footer. Bill Tripp was known for his roomy boats, and that certainly was one.

2049

[AlanH]

See, you learn something new every day. Yeah, Bounty's...seen a couple of those. There was a bounty that sat at the Docktown Marina for 15 years, easy, back umpty-ump years ago. It seemed HUGE to me, back then. I remember when if finally got bought. I saw the same boat, later in Alameda. But that's the only bounty I think I've ever seen.

The Renegade was in fact the boat I was thinking of. I've always thought that it looked like Bill Shaw designed a keel for an aft-hung rudder and then moved it back to make the split underbody without changing the keel at all. However, when I was considering what boat to get for my current iteration of sailing, the Renegade was a strong contender. I just wanted something rather faster than PHRF 240-something.

Sliding doghouse? whoah.

You know, I still see Tritons all over the Bay but the Ariels seem to have vanished. I remember seeing lots of them, back in the late 80's when I started sailing again after a post-teen-years hiatus.

[Intermission]

[QUOTE=sleddog;16515]You have to be quick in these parts, with Bob the J, DAZZLER, and Howard likely lurking in the woodwork for their chicken dinner.



We need age divisions competing for the chicken dinner.

[sleddog]

[QUOTE=sleddog;16515]You have to be quick in these parts, with Bob the J, DAZZLER, and Howard likely lurking in the woodwork for their chicken dinner.

We need age divisions competing for the chicken dinner.

Roger the "Age Divisions." As an aside, with so many winners, we've run dangerously low on chicken dinners here at the Capitola Maritime Museum. TJ's Chicken Pot Pies will have to substitute for the moment. But will include homemade cranberry sauce.

Capitola Beach has disappeared into the surf. 5 vertical feet of sand, 100 yards long, has disappeared seaward, assisted by the 3rd highest tide of the year (6.7') and a southerly wind of 20 knots blowing the surface waters of Monterey Bay northward into our local cove.

What was left of the local beach was scooped up (10 loads) and loaded into a John Deere front end loader this morning and trucked to the City Hall lot for sandbags. "paying Peter to pipe Paul" or something to that effect.

Join in the local fun here: http://foxxr.com/beachcamlive/ No age discrimination.

I would recommend refraining from driving in our direction. All road arteries out of town are blocked by mudslides. The main water main pipe for Santa Cruz broke yesterday, and Santa Cruz is on rationing..

At the Santa Cruz Harbor, two patrons of the Crow's Nest had a bit too much to drink, and drove their black Mercedes down the launch ramp, possibly mistaking it for the freeway onramp They would have drowned had not a waitress on break spotted them. The driver was arrested for DUI (Driving Underwater Intoxicated.) You can't make this stuff up.

It would be a Grade B horror flick, except that is already being featured in the Nation's Capitol. Meryl Streep publicly called out as a "second rate actress" by a questionable judge of talent who should know better.
.

[BobJ]

Current Grade B horror flick > greater intensity in looking at cruising boats.

I sailed a Cape Dory Typhoon (the little Alberg) a bit. Being waterline-challenged (14' LWL) they aren't fast, but are sweet to sail and pretty to look at. For typical use and pride-of-ownership I'd compare them to the Alerion Express 28's: Often regarded as little yachts and lovingly fussed over by their owners.

Regarding Cape Dories, SQUALI's dinghy was the smallest made - a Cape Dory 10 with gunter rig. I circumnavigated Government Island by getting a run at the bridge, dropping the upper section of the mast, coasting under the bridge and re-hoisting. I thought that was pretty clever until years later when they started racing around the island of Alameda with Lasers.

Rambling on, I'm bummed that I missed the New Year's Day circumnavigation of Alameda and progressive meal. I'd intended to participate this year and was even out sailing, I just forgot. I was reminded when I heard all the bridge-opening requests on Channel 9.
.

[sleddog]

Bob J is correct as usual. The Cape Dory Typhoon, especially the Weekender model with its comfortable and cozy little cabin, is an enduring classic. It's handsome, nimble, affordable, trailerable, scullable, and downright pleasant to sail. If Carl Alberg were still alive, I'd like to shake his hand.

2050

[BobJ]

The roller-furling is a bit much, and even more the in-mast furling on the blue Kittiwake Alan posted :eek:

But isn't that just the fairest little yacht you could imagine? Thanks for the photo, Sled.
.

[AlanH]

Haha!~ I'm snickering at the in-mast furling on the Kittiwake. I never noticed that before. It's just that it's a good picture, otherwise.

I've grubbed around inside a Typhoon once, that was sitting on a trailer with the mast up. Man, that thing was *Built*. I'd love to sail one, sometime.

And in other commentary...

One of my favorite traditional small wood boats (besides mercuries) is Al Masons Ostkust, sometimes called the "American Folkboat"

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r241/bauerdad/Ostkust/img011.jpg

Here's a whole photobucket site about an extended-cabin Ostkust. - http://s146.photobucket.com/user/bauerdad/media/Ostkust/11-IMG_5675.jpg.html

[AlanH]

Two things... Question. How long does Nor Cal PHRF take to get new certs out after the New Year, nowadays?

Observation. The docks at the marina at Folsom Lake are floating again. I just looked at the webcam. However, Lake Cachuma down by Santa Barbara is not looking so good. It's at 8% capacity.

http://cosb.countyofsb.org/pwd/pwwater.aspx?id=41992

[BobJ]

I talked to Laura @YRA a few days ago. They started releasing the renewal certificates last week - I received mine on Friday. But as a new registrant, yours probably has to be blessed by the PHRF Committee, which doesn't meet until Thursday, 1/26. Laura is well aware that SSS needs the new certificates for the 3BF two days later. She's dug some kind of electronic secret tunnel between her office and Rick's and they apparently have a plan.

However, I don't see the Wildcat on this list yet. I'd check on that:
YRA PHRF list. (https://www.jibeset.net/entrylist.php?A00=YRA_T031596129&A01=ffd349d5b202f5eac89105abb3cefa18&T=1484093691&SORT=df)

[AlanH]

I talked to Laura @YRA a few days ago. They started releasing the renewal certificates last week - I received mine on Friday. But as a new registrant, yours probably has to be blessed by the PHRF Committee, which doesn't meet until Thursday, 1/26. Laura is well aware that SSS needs the new certificates for the 3BF two days later. She's dug some kind of electronic secret tunnel between her office and Rick's and they apparently have a plan.

Thanks, Bob! I figure January for YRA and PHRF is kind of like April for accountants.

[AlanH]

Oh Dog of Sleds, you didn't happen to attend Stanford, did you?

"Family teams and rivalries have spiced the intercollegiate racing scene. The Merrill boys of the '50s were followed by the Twist brothers of the '60s. Tom Frost '58, was known for his battles against brother Pete when the latter sailed for Occidental against Stanford. Skip Allan of the current Stanford team competes against his brother Scott who heads the USC fleet."

http://web.stanford.edu/group/sailing/history.html

if one looks here - http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/stan/sports/c-sail/auto_pdf/SalingMediaGuide.pdf

it appears that one Robert "Skip" Allan, along with crew Kim Desenberg made up an All-American team in 1967.

http://www.collegesailing.org/hall-of-fame/all-american/1967-all-american-sailing-team

I see that Alan Andrews was an All-American in 1976.

[sleddog]

At high tide this morning, Capitola's Main Beach was underwater, and waves were breaking over the Esplanade seawall onto the street.

2051

Further west, a giant log, looking to measure about 35 feet long and 5 feet in diameter, was aground and bashing into the steps at Hooper's Beach.

2052

I would not want to collide with this obstruction on a dark night. It probably weighed several tons or more. Where it came from I do not know, but was probably washed to sea in the recent flooding of the local San Lorenzo River, and then drifted 4 miles south to Capitola.

2053

It reminded me of a similar sized log I had seen at the Victoria Maritime Museum in British Columbia. This cedar log had been hollowed out by First Nations people in the 19th Century and turned into a voyaging canoe for the Nootka tribe.

In 1901, this dugout log canoe was bought by a Canadian sailor named Capt. John Voss. Voss rigged his canoe with a rudder, cabin, and three masts, and set out to follow in the footsteps of Joshua Slocum by circumnavigating. Amazingly, Voss and the canoe survived, although one crew member did not (washed overboard). Voss did not complete his circumnavigation, but eventually reached London where he and his canoe were feted for their extended voyage in such an improbable craft.

The name of the canoe exhibited in Victoria apparently means "Friend" in native dialect. Can anyone tell us the name of this famous log canoe that crossed oceans under sail over a hundred years ago, and the name of the book written by Captain Voss?

[Dazzler]

In 1901, this dugout log canoe was bought by a Canadian sailor named Capt. John Voss. Voss rigged his canoe with a rudder, cabin, and three masts, and set out to follow in the footsteps of Joshua Slocum by circumnavigating. Amazingly, Voss and the canoe survived, although one crew member did not (washed overboard). Voss did not complete his circumnavigation, but eventually reached London where he and his canoe were feted for their extended voyage in such an improbable craft.

The name of the canoe exhibited in Victoria apparently means "Friend" in native dialect. Can anyone tell us the name of this famous log canoe that crossed oceans under sail over a hundred years ago, and the name of the book written by Captain Voss?

Sled, Too easy!
THE VENTURESOME VOYAGES OF CAPTAIN VOSS, Around the World in the TILIKUM, 1901

And for extra points, what was his full name?

[sleddog]

Sled, Too easy!
THE VENTURESOME VOYAGES OF CAPTAIN VOSS, Around the World in the TILIKUM, 1901
And for extra points, what was his full name?

John Claus Voss reportedly died in San Francisco in 1922 while earning a living driving a bus. He left behind a legacy as an early promoter of a piece of equipment used to this day, mainly on small, ocean voyaging boats. That piece of equipment is A) the tiller extension B) a kick-up rudder C) braided line D) self bailing cockpit E) drag device F) vertical axis wind vane G) a live chicken for companionship

[Philpott]

So your name is Robert? How did Robert transmogrify into Skip? That just doesn't seem ... logical. In case you are wondering, this is where sailboats come to freeze their little sterns off: what is the name of this frozen lake? Cheese curds to the winner

[Dazzler]

John Claus Voss reportedly died in San Francisco in 1922 while earning a living driving a bus. He left behind a legacy as an early promoter of a piece of equipment used to this day, mainly on small, ocean voyaging boats. That piece of equipment is A) the tiller extension B) a kick-up rudder C) braided line D) self bailing cockpit E) drag device F) vertical axis wind vane G) a live chicken for companionship

Per the intro to my copy of THE VENTURESOME VOYAGES..., written by Commander Fredrick E. Grubb, Registrar & Librarian, Maritime Museum of British Columbia, Voss died February 27, 1922 in Tracy, California. He had arrived in Tracy in the spring of 1918.
"And here in Tracy, Voss took up, of all occupations, the driving of a 'Jitney.' This was a small passenger car that met the transportation needs of the town: Voss charged a fare of five cents."

There is a photo in my book of Voss beside the car at Tracy about 1920. The Jitney was a Ford touring car, an early "T" Model.

And, since I have Voss' book, I must recuse myself from your quiz.

[Dazzler]

In case you are wondering, this is where sailboats come to freeze their little sterns off: what is the name of this frozen lake? Cheese curds to the winner

Lake Mendota, Madison, Wisconsin.

And, about those patterns on the ice. It gives a whole new meaning to 'reading the water.'

[sleddog]

So your name is Robert? what is the name of this frozen lake? Cheese curds to the winner

Negatory, Breaker. Never knew a "Robert." It's been "sleddog" since early days of the internet, when someone named "Max Ebb" and I were the only denizens of a sailing newsgroup called altboats.rec. As for Jackie's mystery lake in Wisconsin, next week is scheduled the DN Iceboat World's Championships at Madison. Without further acknowledgement, we can only assume she will be racing on "hard water."

50 knots and no brakes. That's wind chilling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD9Taf5BU2A

[BobJ]

John Claus Voss reportedly died in San Francisco in 1922 while earning a living driving a bus. He left behind a legacy as an early promoter of a piece of equipment used to this day, mainly on small, ocean voyaging boats. That piece of equipment is A) the tiller extension B) a kick-up rudder C) braided line D) self bailing cockpit E) drag device F) vertical axis wind vane G) a live chicken for companionship

Since he devotes nearly the entire Appendix to sea anchors and related equipment, I'll go with E.

Ruben owns G. As an aside, I think that's why Sparky's skipper doesn't participate in these quizzes: the prize is always a chicken dinner.

The other aside: I would pay big bucks to watch Philpott race an ice boat. I'm not suggesting she couldn't do it - I'd just pay big bucks to watch.

[AlanH]

No love on amped-up stories of collegiate races, long ago? **sad face**

Regarding the name "Tilikum".... https://www.yahoo.com/news/seaworld-tilikum-orca-killed-trainer-152756972.html

[sleddog]

Oh Dog of Sleds, you didn't happen to attend Stanford, did you?

Stanford (LSJU) and its Cross-Bay Rival Cal Berkeley have had a long sailing relationship. Many outstanding sailors, world's champions, Americas Cup skippers, Olympic medalists, ocean voyagers, and others have attended these two schools.

For LSJU, until recently, a problem existed: there was no access to water on which to sail. Lake Lagunita, on campus, was small to begin with, didn't fill with water until January, and by May was weed choked with an exotic species found only in this large pond, and of which the Biology Department was fiercely protective.

Other sites were explored: Lake Vasona in Los Gatos, Palo Alto Harbor (shoaled); Redwood City (no facilities). Even Crystal Springs Reservoir was a possibility until the City of SF put their foot down, saying it was their drinking water we'd be sailing on.

It wasn't only lack of water that presented a challenge to LSJU students. The University administration and Athletic Department decided sailing was unworthy of recognition and might impinge on the more news and financial worthy sports of football and basketball.

With a lot of hard work, in the 1960's, things began to change. SSA (Stanford Sailing Assoc.) was donated a fleet of 6 Flying Juniors, and 3 Shields. Docks were built on Lake Lagunita, and afternoon sailing lessons and practices were scheduled. Much to the chagrin of the Administration, SSA grew to be the largest student club on campus, with more than 400 members.

Things really began to shift about 1967, when the Stanford Sailing Team flew East to the Naval Academy at Annapolis and won the National Inter-Collegiate Sailing Championship, the Kennedy Cup, over favorites Navy, Tufts, and USC. The victorious Stanford crew had borrowed red blazers from the Stanford Band and showed up at the prize giving, attended by admirals and Kennedy family members, looking like the class act they were. When two team members, Skip Allan and Kim Desenberg, were named to the All-American Intercollegiate Sailing Hall of Fame, the LSJU Administration finally woke up and realized they had an asset on their hands. Here is the victorious 1967 LSJU Kennedy Cup Team

2056

Flash ahead 50 years. A lot changed. LSJU abandoned their Indian mascot, and much to the Administration and Alumni's chagrin, the student body unanimously voted in their new mascot, the "Robber Barons." Bowing to Alumni protest, the Administration nixed the "Robber Barons" and chose the "Cardinal," a non-controversial color. That certainly did not go over well with students, and though Cardinal remains, the student body is represented at sports events by a dancing redwood tree.

Today, Stanford Sailing has a fine facility at Redwood City Harbor, a well maintained fleet of boats to sail, coaches, and a nationally ranked team and individual sailors of both men and women.

Here's a trivia for today: Back in the mid-late 1960's, Stanford sailors, using a single industrial sewing machine, made their own FJ sails. The skill with which these sails were made, and their racing record, became known through-out SF Bay. Soon after, a small sail loft was opened which exists to this day, having made great sails now for nigh on 50 years. What is the name of this sail loft, a SF Bay institution?

[Dazzler]

Here's a trivia for today: Back in the mid-late 1960's, Stanford sailors, using a single industrial sewing machine, made their own FJ sails. The skill with which these sails were made, and their racing record, became known through-out SF Bay. Soon after, a small sail loft was opened which exists to this day, having made great sails now for nigh on 50 years. What is the name of this sail loft, a SF Bay institution?

In light of the comment about "age divisions," I'm not going to answer this one. I know the answer and will add to the quiz: What other sailboat is closely related to the FJ, and why? And, who was the builder?

[Critter]

What other sailboat is closely related to the FJ, and why? And, who was the builder?
Flying Dutchman? Why: because the FJ was designed as a smaller version of the FD. At least, that's what my dad told me when he bought an FJ. As to the builder, no idea.

Digression: When I was 13, our family of 5 (including an older sister and younger brother) trailered the FJ to Anacortes and took a boat camping trip. We beached it one night on Orcas Island. The next day we had torrential rain and wind and pulled in to a farmhouse on the shore, where the owners took pity on us, let us sleep in their barn, and gave us an onion to cook. One onion. Not knowing any better, I assumed an FJ was suitable for such a trip. Soon my dad bought a Day Sailer, far more appropriate.

Edit: Maybe there was more than one onion. The memory is hazy.

[Critter]

Skip: Do you know if Tom McCarthy shifted to racing cars? In my SCCA days (1970s-80s) one of our regional officers was a Tom McCarthy, and he looked believably similar to your teammate. But I'm sure there are many Tom McCarthys.

[BobJ]

I'm pretty sure I know the sail loft because we had a similar quiz awhile back. For the FJ question I'll guess the Banshee. I recall the Banshee hull was taken from another boat and was "lowered" to have a lot less sheer and lighter weight. The builder was Banshee International (owned by Barry ? in Palo Alto ?). Later on, North Coast Yachts (Kim Desenberg's company on Clement in Alameda) started building them.

From the Banshee mold, a dozen-ish boats were built using carbon fiber. They were, needless to say, a lot lighter than the already-light Banshee (which only weighed 115#); so light that they were hard to tack in much breeze. For stale chicken gizzards, what were these boats called?

[AlanH]

Not being as knowledgeable as you guys, I'm going to guess that the sail loft started out as Richards and VanHeekeren (spelling??) and it's now Pineapple sails.

Do I get a chicken dinner?

[AlanH]

Great story, Max! I'm going with Banshee, too for the same reason as Bob

[sleddog]

In light of the comment about "age divisions," I'm not going to answer this one. I know the answer and will add to the quiz: What other sailboat is closely related to the FJ, and why? And, who was the builder?

A family of 5 cruising a 13 foot FJ in the San Juan Islands? WTF Max, that's about the best story I've heard. Subsisting on a donated onion in a rain storm takes the cake.

In answer to DAZZLER's question above, it was Dick Reid and his fledging company "Plastics International" that built Stanford's early FJ's. Reid then took the FJ mold and cut off a bunch of freeboard, rerigged as a catboat (one sail) and started building what he called the Banshee.

Barry Bruch took over the project and called his company Banshee International. Buzz Ballenger built a bunch of Banshees in Santa Cruz. In fact, there were more Banshees built in Santa Cruz than any other fiberglas sailboat.

Somebody then decided to build an even lighter Banshee out of carbon fiber. For BobJ's chicken gizzard, I'm gonna guess this class was called the "Griffon." Not many were built (15?) because the boats were so light they blew backwards when tacking.

I think we've run out of chicken parts. AlanH wins what's left by identifying Pineapple Sails as the fledgling sail loft begun in a barn behind Stanford University. My roommate, Jake Van Heeckeren, had the sailmaking skills and sewing machine. Kame Richards used to come around to use the machine.

Jake was a bit of a mad scientist. I came home one evening to hear Jake calling for help. He was standing in a waste basket filled with hardened plaster of paris. Both his feet were stuck. I asked what was going on. Jake sheeplishly admitted he was making a mold for building experimental fiberglas ski boots, and forgotten to shave his ankles. (This was back when ski boots were leather.)

I had to get a hammer to break Jake out of the waste basket. (and he eventually did make the fiberglas ski boots.)

[sleddog]

Skip: Do you know if Tom McCarthy shifted to racing cars? In my SCCA days (1970s-80s) one of our regional officers was a Tom McCarthy, and he looked believably similar to your teammate. But I'm sure there are many Tom McCarthys.

Sorry, Max, I don't think it was the same Tom McCarthy. Tom studied medicine and became Chief of Staff at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. There was another good sailor of the time, named Tom, that took up car racing. I believe his last name was Blackaller.

Blackaller died at the wheel while practicing at Sears Point in 1989 ...he didn't crash, but suffered a heart attack.

[Dazzler]

Max, Great story! It's amazing to look back on those kinds of adventures and wonder, what were our parents thinking?

Regarding the close relative to the FJ, BobJ and AllanH are correct, but it's Sled (even to my surprise) that had the rest of the Banshee story. I briefly worked for Dick Reid on a few Saturdays. My job was to demonstrate the Banshee at waterfront locations while he made a sales pitch.

I PM'd Sled about Tom McCarthy. I recognized him right away, as he was a friend from high school. I knew that he had been Chief of Staff at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, but did not know that he had died.

Tom

[sleddog]

As seen on recent post #1863, our local beach has been reconfigured by recent storms and runoff from Soquel Creek.

2057

This evening, during a minus low tide of grand proportions, all was revealed. The missing beach was there, now extending seawards several hundred yards.

2058

2059

2060

[sleddog]

Seeking information from any who have sailed/cruised Lake Havasu on Colorado River. Launch sites/vehicle security, Topock Gorge, nighttime lowering of water level. contact 831-four seven five-0278 or skipallanatsbcglobal.net

[sleddog]

On another thread it was queried ]Anyone have experience with wind generators?[/B]

I have, but likely not in the manner needed. My Ham Ferris water generator converted to a wind generator with the addition of a 4' diameter wood airplane prop and bridle. Once it got spinning in about 12 knots of wind, it really pumped out the amps. And became dangerous to lower from its position hoisted in front of the mast.

Dangerous was not an overstatement. The Freya next door at Partida had one. One night in a building northerly, their wind generator got going so fast the housing was glowing orange. It sounded like an airplane taking off until it self destructed.

In Moorea I accidently got my windsurfer mast hit by a wind generator blade. It lopped off the top 2 feet of fiberglas mast clean as you please, with no damage to the wind generator.

[AlanH]

Don't most modern wind generators have "overload protection"....or at least a clampthingy to stop the prop from turning?

BTW, my debit card has an automatic "overload protection" feature, too.

i remember Rob McF at a SHTP forum saying that his wind generator was pretty much useless while going to Hawaii because there was never enough wind velocity over the boat to make it worthwhile. In the anchorage, though, it's great. I recently read a compendium of wisdom-bytes from some puddle-jumpers who wrote the same thing.

[sleddog]

AlanH has given us a great new idea: "Antique Boatshow." Step right up for your appraisal. We know DAZZLER has an SSS T-shirt from last century. Can only imagine what MikeJ has outback. On second thought, maybe the show should be called "American Boat Pickers."

[Philpott]

AlanH has given us a great new idea: "Antique Boatshow." Step right up for your appraisal. We know DAZZLER has an SSS T-shirt from last century. Can only imagine what MikeJ has outback. On second thought, maybe the show should be called "American Boat Pickers."

I love games. What are the rules?

[mike cunningham]

2069

[sleddog]

A sobering story in our local newspaper this morning. This event happened in early November of 2016.

2070

By Dan Haifley, Our Ocean Backyard

Posted: 01/14/17, 8:00 PM PST | Updated: 3 days ago

Ed Grant, a photographer who’s chronicled surfing at the Maverick’s surf break near Half Moon Bay since 2003 and produced a photo book called Piers of the California Coast, is lucky to be alive today. Doing business in the ocean as he does, even (and sometimes especially) in near shore waters, can be dangerous.

Grant and his colleague, Joel Gringorten, headed out of the Pillar Point Harbor on the morning of Nov. 9. It wasn’t a Mavericks contest day, but the swell was big. Many professional surfers were at Jaws at Maui, but there were a number of local surfers at what Grant called “an epic surf day” at Maverick’s.

Maverick’s is well known for being rough and even the most skilled among them face deadly danger there. The same is true for those who venture out into the water to support them, or to photograph or video the action.

Heading out of the harbor mouth in Grant’s 17-foot Boston Whaler and traveling south for three quarters of a mile, he and Gringorten passed the inland side of Buoy No. 3. They subsequently took a right turn to head west toward the reef that produces the waves that Maverick’s is famous for. They were in about 60 feet of water, traveling a route Grant had done more than 30 times.

South of the reef, Grant suddenly saw a wall of water, coming from the deeper waters to his west and heading toward his boat. “Instead of a rolling wave, this one started to break in 60 feet of water,” he said. “It jacked up, peaked, and broke. It was a 30 foot wall of water.”

Grant was about 50 feet from the wave when he saw it coming, so he pointed his boat toward it. The wave broke right in front of his boat and up to 15 feet of rushing whitewater capsized the whaler. “We were turned broadside then the boat flipped, and we were capsized over the side,” Grant said.

The upside-down boat took two more waves and then a third. He was in the water, with a lifejacket on, but with the last wave he ran out of breath. It would be an hour before they were rescued. Although the water is usually cold, in the mid to high 40 degree range, on this day it was at least 55 degrees.

The two photographers, who had lost around $10,000 worth of gear, got separated a few times while waves rolled in from the open ocean to the west. While Gringorten was able to scramble atop the boat’s overturned hull, Grant clung to the side. Joel used an air horn to try and gain the attention of distant boaters. An hour after the small boat was capsized, the two were rescued by a fishing boat.

That day had a high surf advisory, which is not a good time to take a 17-foot vessel offshore. But Grant, who is in the business of surf photography, said that despite the dangers, he would go out again. But not in the same, intense conditions he experienced on Nov. 9.

The boat was carried by currents to Redondo Beach south of the harbor, where it washed ashore. The oil and gasoline was safely removed, and Monte Ashe of TowBoatUS Santa Cruz is waiting for the right conditions to tow it off the beach, and back into the sea in route to the harbor. That may take weeks given the rough winter conditions. “The power and mystery of the ocean and our fascination with it is why were explore it, despite the risks,” Grant told me. He’ll continue to do that, though a bit more cautiously, from now on.

Dan Haifley is executive director of O’Neill Sea Odyssey. He can be reached at dhaifley@oneillseaodyssey.org

[AlanH]

I still have a sweatshirt from my very first Farallones race, which was also in the last century. Somehow, it's kind of too tight, now. Must've shrunk.

[H Spruit]

For the record The trivia prize luncheon And interesting company at the Capatola Sailing Center was Excellent.
Thank you MR. Sled

[Philpott]

I still have a sweatshirt from my very first Farallones race, which was also in the last century. Somehow, it's kind of too tight, now. Must've shrunk.

Maybe you will wear it to the Fiasco skippers mtg?

[sleddog]

Maybe not a good afternoon to go sailing off Eureka (CA).?

01 18 1:50 pm S 35.0 knots gusting 46.6 knots
01 18 12:50 pm S 42.7 52.4
01 18 11:50 am S 42.7 54.4
01 18 10:50 am S 42.7 52.4
01 18 9:50 am SSE 38.9 52.4

That would be Force 9 on the Beaufort Scale. Small pets and chickens should be tethered.

2072

Here's WILDFLOWER in Force 8-low 9, happy to have a 1,063 foot ship, 10 stories high, as a windbreak.

2073

2074

[sleddog]

AlanH perusings are much appreciated: To the point, experience based, and colorfully descriptive. "Bumptillion gallons, snortzillion boats." Thanks, Alan, come by anytime.

Alan recently mentioned a SCAMPI-30 as a good possibility for the SHTP.

there are two great boats currently for sale on Craigslist... the Scampi 30 and the Albin Cumulus.
But honestly, that Scampi 30? The boat has a working diesel. It's a great design, they made about a bazillion of the mark iii's and they're still cruising all over the Baltic, not to mention probably 50+ on the East coast of the US. I've been beaten by Scampi 30's.

Peter Norlin nailed it on that boat's design. Look at YouTube, there are umpty-ump Scampi 30 videos on there. The Scampi 30 has a big cabin and a dinky little cockpit. That's great for singlehanding and doublehanding, everything is within reach. Offshore, if you take a wave in the cockpit, you're not filling up a bumptillion gallons of water. There's a nice bridgedeck to put the traveler on...the primary winches are right there...it's a tiller boat. Sure it's an IOR boat with big headsails and a little main, but you don't HAVE to fly that 155% every time.


I second the SCAMPI-30. I first met Peter Norlin, the SCAMPI designer, in the 1971 Florida SORC series. He and a crew of 4 big Swedes were sailing SCAMPI #1. And living aboard. Their SCAMPI was kicking butt, even though they were new to Florida waters. It was hard not to like these guys and their little boat.

The SCAMPI has two good things to my eye. The rudder is hung on a small skeg, protecting from damage as well as adding tracking capabilities. I added that idea when I built WILDFLOWER in 1975. In addition, Norlin was ahead of his time and designed the SCAMPI with an aft chine, making the boat stiff, and a good "break loose" surfer downwind.

For the 2018 SHTP and beyond, a SCAMPI would be a good little boat. Hans Vielhauer raced one, MACH SCHNELL, in 1978 SHTP. And had nothing but praise. Capable of a 12.5-13 day passage, with a PHRF 186 rating, finishing inside 15 days, competitive to win.

2075

[AlanH]

Here's WILDFLOWER in Force 8-low 9, happy to have a 1,063 foot ship, 10 stories high, as a windbreak.

2073

2074

I remember....I mean, obviously I wasn't there but I sure remember reading about it all, later. Maybe not your happiest day on the water, hmm?

[AlanH]

Peter Norlin is one of my favorite designers from the previous generation. Peter worked within that "Nordic" tradition that Hannes Groop (International H-Boat, my first "racing" boat), Hakan Sodergren, and even Paul Elvstron designed in. Yet, like all of those, he sometimes blew up that usual "long, skinny, and light" tradition. The Scampi 30 was apparently one of his first successful designs. Talk about hitting it out of the park on your first pitch!

Just for giggles....the post that Sleddog references points to two good boats that would be just great singlehanders...the Scampi and the Albin Cumulus. Heh...they're both designed by Peter Norlin. Other boats to his credit inclue..."maybe", 'cause Yamaha isn't talking... the Yamaha 30 and 33, a mess of boats for Sweden Yachts, a mess of boats for Albin, including the Cumulus, which I think is outrageously handsome.

Personally, with the exception of the Sparkman and Stevens boats of that era...Tartan 30 and Yankee 30, the Scampi 30 is probably THE boat I would choose from that time for a long offshore passage. If I recall correctly, "Red Dragon" raced in the SSS for quite a few years in the late 1990's and early 2000's and did very well. I certainly remember looking at that red transom from the cockpit of my H-Boat.

[AlanH]

Since we're on the subject of older half-tonners....

When I got started in this whole sailing-shorthanded thing, I did a lot of reading. A book that was extremely influential in my "mental development" (no comments, please!) was "Blue Water, Green Skipper" by Stuart Woods.

http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337194333l/181485.jpg

It's the story of Stuart, now an extremely successful pulp mystery-crime novel writer, and his preparation for the 1972 OSTAR. He starts out racing mirrors, then gets enamoured of the idea of crossing the Atlantic in the OSTAR. The book is not *that* well-written, but it's not bad and it certainly clicked with me at the time. It's worth the read, if you can find a used copy.

The boat he took across was a Ron Holland half-tonner, a Golden Shamrock. The Golden Shamrock was one of Rons first forays into custom racing boats...he was a young unknown back then. The Golden Shamrock was the production version of the custom boat. An evolution of the Golden Shamrock became the Silver Shamrock; the hull shape forward is similar but aft of the cockpit there are some huge differences between Silver and Gold. It's pretty typical of the IOR boats of it's time, and it looks *Very* different from a Scampi.

http://www.histoiredeshalfs.com/1976%2011%20Reg,%20Half%20TC%20Silver.jpg

https://photos.inautia.com/barcosOcasion/7/3/6/3/golden-shamrock-id58880-26052030111867555452545255664567x.jpg

A lot of Silver Shamrocks were made in Ireland...not as many Golden Shamrocks,but still probably 50+ boats. The overwhelming majority are sailing out of the UK.

So...about eight years ago I was boatless and looking around various listings and I came across this...

http://www.sailingtexas.com/sgoldenshamrock30100.html

I did a double-take and finally called the guy. Yup, it was Stuart Woods boat..."Golden Harp" that had done the OSTAR. He'd sold it on the East Coast after the race and it had banged around the Northeast for 30 years. I thought hard about buying it, in fact if you search way back on this forum, you'll find posts by me about doing just that. It probably wouldn't have been a good choice for me, it needed a ton of work and I would have had to ship it out here, but the emotional tug was hard to resist. I still have the owners e-mails from back then. If a megadump of money fell out of the sky on me, I could see getting it out here, closing my eyes, and returning her to her past glory, just "because". She'd still be a fun boat to knock around the Bay in.


What books and boats influenced you, as you were coming along?

[Critter]

I can't say this was an influence, because I only heard of it about 15 years ago. But another half-tonner that floats my boat, also built in Ireland I think, is the Achilles 9 meter. The designer Chris Butler did an OSTAR in it. Nice cosy cockpit, not too beamy, nice looking ... but I've never heard of one in the US.
2077

[sleddog]

1/21/17

Storm surf locally. Monterey Bay Buoy reporting 30 foot swells (estimated average height of the highest one-third of the swells.)

Breakers about as far offshore as can be seen in the reduced visibility. At least half a mile, maybe more. That puts the water depth between 25-35 feet. 3rd Reef is breaking frequently. This morning, spray was being tossed upward to the top of the Santa Cruz Lighthouse, 60 feet above the waterline.

2078

It's a rare morning when no surfers are in the water at Santa Cruz. This is one of those days.

[sleddog]

Consider this: At one time San Francisco Bay had an estimated 300 near one-designs, varying in length from 55-70 feet. These heavily canvased sailing craft had adjustable sprits and centerboards, They were usually sailed, even raced, Double-Handed, although Singlehanded was not unusual.

A most unusual thing about these boats was they were rigged with traditional slab reefing (shortening sail from the top down and tying in reef points.) But in addition, they were frequently reefed from the bottom up. Yup. The main was raised and the main boom went higher up the mast.

What was this class of boat, and why "reefing from the bottom up?"

(Unfortunately, DAZZLER is DSQ from this Quiz, 'cause he knows the answer. But doubt he's reading, as Tom and Sue are off to dive Bonaire. No 3BF for them.)

[Dazzler]

Consider this...
(Unfortunately, DAZZLER is DSQ from this Quiz, 'cause he knows the answer. But doubt he's reading, as Tom and Sue are off to dive Bonaire. No 3BF for them.)

Sled, Greetings from Bonaire. Good quiz! Keep it up. Fun stuff.
We arrived last night and could see masts in the harbor. If I get a chance to check it out, maybe pictures.

Tom & Sue

[sleddog]

Who would have thunk Lands End made "Pussy Hats?" True. Here's H. Spruit in his at Coffee Club yesterday morning:

2079

Yesterday, I biked downtown. The assembling crowd was massive, enthusiastic, and with many wearing knit pink Pussy Hats. Most of downtown Santa Cruz was closed to vehicular traffic. Taiko drummers provided the beat with synchronous thunder.

2080

After some barely audible speeches at City Hall, the "March" began. With such a crowd, shoulder to shoulder, it took about 30 minutes to get moving..the vanguard reaching the end of the March, 11 city blocks on, before the main body got moving. I would guess 8-10,000 marchers, not counting the crowds on the sidewalks, balconies, and roofs. Not a cop in sight.

I felt sorry for the young kids and dogs down around knee level. But spirits were high. A loud cheer erupted in front of Planned Parenthood on Pacific Ave. when a doctor, with stethoscope, appeared with a sign saying "Resist!."

Somehow I ended up accompanying a Native American Dance Troup, who's members were frocked in colorful costume with dozens of silver bells . I had a firm grip on my sign, as the pre-frontal breeze was gusty.

About an hour later the end of the March was reached at Louden Nelson Park. My bike, locked to a guard rail, was surrounded by a sea of humanity. It took a while to extricate,the escape being behind the stage where the post March concert was in full swing.

In the Bay Area, a reported 60,000 marched in Oakland, 20,000 in San Jose. Sweethearts Annie, daughter Naima, and granddaughter Olina marched last evening in soggy conditions of wind and rain in downtown SF, the parade, in support of Women's Rights, led by Joan Baez singing "We Shall Not Be Moved" in Spanish. (No Nos Moveran) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKopB66ujuQ

2081

I don't know how big the SF crowd was, but reportedly the largest ever to march in San Francisco. After, Annie, Naima, and Olina took the trans-Bay ferry to Larkspur, and made their way home to Sausalito. I talked with Olina, not yet 2, on the phone last night, and she was wildly enthusiastic, the energy was that contagious.

2082

Lot's of fun signs. One of the best: IKEA has a better cabinet!

[sleddog]

2083

Massive swells yesterday tore the stern off the SS PALO ALTO, the legendary "Cement Ship" at Sea Cliff State Beach, just down the road from Capitola-In-The-Sea.

Local weathermen at the National Weather Service in Monterey said recorded 34 foot swells, 15 miles offshore, were the largest in their memory. The Coast Guard closed the San Francisco Bar and Entrance Channel to all shipping yesterday, last night, and this morning. Too dangerous, even for big ships.

2084

Hard to imagine the Cement Ship was once a casino, restaurant, dance hall, with a swimming pool. After she initially cracked in half, the hull was stripped and became a fishing pier...Now the PALO ALTO. with gulls as observers, is returning into sand, from which she was built as a tanker in 1920.

2085

[DaveH]

Consider this: At one time San Francisco Bay had an estimated 300 near one-designs, varying in length from 55-70 feet. These heavily canvased sailing craft had adjustable sprits and centerboards, They were usually sailed, even raced, Double-Handed, although Singlehanded was not unusual.

A most unusual thing about these boats was they were rigged with traditional slab reefing (shortening sail from the top down and tying in reef points.) But in addition, they were frequently reefed from the bottom up. Yup. The main was raised and the main boom went higher up the mast.

What was this class of boat, and why "reefing from the bottom up?"

(Unfortunately, DAZZLER is DSQ from this Quiz, 'cause he knows the answer. But doubt he's reading, as Tom and Sue are off to dive Bonaire. No 3BF for them.)

OK, I'll stick my neck out.
are you speaking of "pumpkin seed" sloops? my understanding is these were distant cousins to the Sandbaggers of Long Island Sound.
from pictures I've seen, these were mostly gaffers... botttom up reefs so that the gaff stays in place?

me thinks the chicken awaits someone else...

[BobJ]

"Hay scows" aka scow schooners would reef up their sails so the booms would clear the bales of hay stacked on deck. There were lots of them and often they were sailed shorthanded (the scows, not the hay bales - although it's said that in a good year you can get to Hawaii on a bale of hay).

Speaking of sails - For a leg o' mutton, are the battens in Rags' current #3 jib vertical or horizontal?
.

[sleddog]

"Hay scows" aka scow schooners would reef up their sails so the booms would clear the bales of hay stacked on deck. There were lots of them and often they were sailed shorthanded .

Well spoke, BobJ! San Francisco Bay history is centered around scow schooners that delivered vital materials from Sacramento to San Francisco to Alviso, and many points in between. They were flat bottomed, shoal draft, with a centerboard and steering system to the rudder that allowed the wheel to be raised up, sometimes 15 feet or more, so the skipper could see over his cargo.

Scow schooners were first developed as 40 foot sloops in the 1850's. In later years, as cargo grew, larger scows were built, and the handier schooner rig became popular. Between the 1860s-1870's scow schooners served the San Francisco Bay region before there were bridges, roads, and trucks. Their cargo was mostly lumber, brick, shell, coal, hay, grain bags, and produce. So numerous were these scow schooners that as many as 30 could be seen on any given day unloading brick in San Francisco.

Although scow schooners carried many different types of cargo, it was the improbable sight of a hay stack sailing smartly across San Francisco Bay that caught the public fancy and earned the name of "hay scow" regardless of the cargo.

Here's COVINA beating down Suisun Bay. Check out the main topsail and "twist" in the sails.
2086

Matthew Turner, San Francisco's most notable builder of wooden boats, launched many scows from his yard in Benicia. Notable is the fact all these scow schooners were originally engineless, and plied the Bay under sail alone, while poling and kedging up shallow creeks. No small feat of seamanship and hard labor.

And here's ANNIE L, 67 feet long, (same length as CHUBASCO), delivering more than 350 bales of hay for San Francisco's horse population. Sometimes as many as 700 hay bales were loaded. No wonder the working sails had to be "reefed up." That's a lot of horse poop. hihi
2087

By 1943, all the scow schooners, doomed by the advancement of gas engines, were gone, rotting derelicts on the mudflats. All except ALMA, which was rescued from the mudflats of Alviso on a dark night in 1959, when the tide was especially high.

2088

ALMA, after much restoration, graces San Francisco Bay to this day as a National Historic Landmark. Long live ALMA!

[sleddog]

Speaking of sails - For a leg o' mutton, are the battens in Rags' current #3 jib vertical or horizontal?.

Back in the dark ages, in the age of white sails, when I used to crew on RAGTIME, the #3 had vertical battens
(However, knowing BobJ's quest for leading edge technology, the trick answer is probably something like "inflatable and 45 degrees to vertical.") But I will stick with "vertical," and mint sauce with the mutton please.

[Wylieguy]

In October my 3 Grandsons joined me for an "ALMA" sail on the Petaluma River. Elljay, the oldest and a 3rd grader, wrote a report for his class on the "History of the Petaluma River" and scow schooners were an important part of that history. If you've "sailed" up the Petaluma River (which is really a slough renamed in order to get the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge it), you can appreciate how difficult that was in a blunt bowed box. Add in fog. Along with hay, produce, & eggs, they hauled most of the cobblestones used in San Francisco and Oakland. The stones were quarried in what's now Spring Lake Park and Annadel Park in Santa Rosa, hauled by rail to either Petaluma or Lakeville, and "scowed" to their destination. Here's Elljay, Preston, and Tyler helping hoist the main and Elljay "riding the rail."

20912092

[Wylieguy]

Sled, Will you be having that mint sauce on canvas as you carve up the LOM sail? Good idea to remove the snotter before you dive in with your knife and fork. ;-)

[BobJ]

Fine looking crew there Pat. BTW, you were actually witness to part of the problem with the unmodified sail.

For Sled, yes, it was a bit of a trick question. Here's my current #3 jib, before modification:

2094

Photo credits: That fine "white sails" photo at the start of the 2008 SHTP was taken by Christine and Jonathan @NorCalSailing

The photo under the Gate was at the start of our ill-advised 2014 Pacific Cup and was taken by Leslie Richter @Rockskipper

[sleddog]

Big waves pound the California Coast about once a decade. Last Saturday, when the stern of the Cement Ship broke off, and the SF Bar was closed, was that "once in a decade."

Maverick's pioneer surfer Jeff Clark drove down from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz in the morning looking for a place to paddle out. Said Clark, "Biggest swell since 2001, I saw waves breaking a mile off the beach all the way down.”

Although some may argue, paddling out a mile in 20-40 foot surf to catch a wave is basically not possible.

Not that some didn't try. Shawn Dollar caught a wave with a 20-foot face, electrifying the crowd gathered along East Cliff Drive at Pleasure Point. But everyone else who tried was washed unceremoniously back to shore.

“I’ve never seen waves that big at Pleasure Point,” said Jeff Clark.

Veteran big wave surfer Tyler Fox and a group of four friends decided to try something audacious: surf the two miles from Pleasure Point to New Brighton Beach. Fox, a pro big wave surfer, has ridden "Ghost Trees" at Carmel when it was 70 feet, so he knows what it's about.

The five paddled out and into the teeth of one of the afternoon’s larger sets. Said Fox, " “I was farthest out and a set broke another 100 yards beyond me. I got pounded by the first two waves and the third broke my leash.
I was underwater kind of laughing to myself thinking, there is no way I’m going to die at Pleasure Point.”

Three of the five managed to make it out and rode double to triple overhead waves all the way to New Brighton. It took an hour and a half..... Doggies.

[BobJ]

I never quite got the surfing thing - something about having eleventyseven tons of water crashing down on top of you just for fun. But then I'm an accountant.

We were asking a lot of the full-length top roller batten and it didn't last long. They're made of composite now instead of leftover venetian blinds, but they still don't like to bend. So we're experimenting with a vertical top batten and horizontal roller battens for the middle and bottom (all because of the roller-furler). The jury is still out.

2095

[sleddog]

Speaking of sails - For a leg o' mutton, are the battens in Rags' current #3 jib vertical or horizontal?.

Hah, so it was a trick question. "Both vertical and horizontal" apparently is the correct answer for the leg of mutton. I would never post a trick question myself ;-)

As you know, I also have roller furling on my cat. My jib is from an Etchell's 22, and it used to have battens. Battens don't roll up. I got rid of the battens, and surprise, little difference in the shape of the sail. Blasphemous I know. But politely suggest trying your #3 with no battens, and a tad more leech cord tension.

From my point of view, the loss in shape with no battens is offset being able to have a nice tight roll on the headfoil.

[Philpott]

Well, regardless of the technical characteristics of Bob's new jib, it's very pretty.

[BobJ]

Thank you Jackie, but the grey #3 is now five years old. I've been fiddling with the battens for awhile!

It appears Hank Easom is having the same issue with the #3's battens on his beautiful new SERENADE:
Today's 'Lectronic Latitude (scroll down) (http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2017-01-23#.WIZroVMrKpo)

Going batten-less doesn't work with these 3DLs - there's way too much leech hook, even with a slack leech cord.

[Philpott]

It appears Hank Easom is having the same issue with the #3's battens on his beautiful new SERENADE:


Hank Easom. Didn't he rig the lovely Kynntana? Where IS that boat? Carliane? Still near Quinn's Lighthouse?

[BobJ]

You're thinking of Hank's nephew Scott, who owns Easom Racing & Rigging. Yes, KYNNTANA spent a few days at Scott's and got some new go-fast bling.

That was awhile back, before the Corian ;)

[Wylieguy]

Hey Bob, I've got an old steel crow bar I inherited from my carpenter father out in the garage (I mean extra boat junk storage area) that looks to be about the same dimensions as your broken batten. I'd be happy to donate it to the cause. And, I'd guarantee that it would never break on you! Probably last thru several new roll-up headsails. What a bargain. Pat ;-)

[BobJ]

I have a hunch the crowbar's bend characteristics won't match the sail design. But thanks.

[sleddog]

Big waves pound the California Coast about once a decade. Last Saturday, when the stern of the Cement Ship broke off, and the SF Bar was closed, was that "once in a decade."
Maverick's pioneer surfer Jeff Clark drove down from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz in the morning looking for a place to paddle out. Said Clark, "Biggest swell since 2001, I saw waves breaking a mile off the beach all the way down.”

The physics of breaking waves is a fascinating study, and the California Coast in winter, with Highway 1 near shore for much of its length, is a close-up classroom for surfers and photographers alike.

When Maverick's big wave pioneer Jeff Clark reported he saw waves breaking a mile out to sea as he drove from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz last Saturday, I have little reason to doubt him. Generally, waves begin to feel the bottom at a depth of 1/2 their wave length (measured from crest to crest.) When a wave "feels the bottom," friction makes the wave begin to slow and rise up. A wave 200 feet from crest to crest would likely begin to hump up in 100 feet of water.

As the wave slows and rises up, it can begin to break. As the 10 fathom (60 foot) depth contour line roughly parallels the coast a mile offshore, this means the breaking waves Jeff was seeing were generally in the vicinity of 45 feet high. (60'/1.3wave height).

As BobJ sums it up succinctly, "eleventyseven tons of water crashing down."

Here's Santa Cruz Harbor last Saturday. The vertical posts in the foreground are the supports for the old trolley tracks which ran from Santa Cruz to Capitola.

2099

According to surfers who remember these things, last Saturday was a 10 year event. It is a sobering reminder the San Francisco Bar, that horseshoe shaped shoal 2-7 miles to sea, that surrounds the entrance to San Francsisco Bay, is only 25-35 feet deep at low tide. And more shoal at places like the "Potato Patch," (Four Fathom Bank) just west of Point Bonita.

And the 27 foot shoal at the northwest end of SE Farallon Island is where LOW SPEED CHASE met her tragic end in a monster breaking wave in April, 2012.

[Philpott]

Wow! What a shot!

[AlanH]

Here's Santa Cruz Harbor last Saturday. The vertical posts in the foreground are the supports for the old trolley tracks which ran from Santa Cruz to Capitola.

2099


Whoah.




According to surfers who remember these things, last Saturday was a 10 year event. It is a sobering reminder the San Francisco Bar, that horseshoe shaped shoal 2-7 miles to sea, that surrounds the entrance to San Francsisco Bay, is only 25-35 feet deep at low tide. And more shoal at places like the "Potato Patch," (Four Fathom Bank) just west of Point Bonita.

And the 27 foot shoal at the northwest end of SE Farallon Island is where LOW SPEED CHASE met her tragic end in a monster breaking wave in April, 2012.

I was thinking exactly this, last weekend. "I wonder what the Potato Patch looks like today? Man, I'm glad i'm not a San Francisco Bar Pilot".

[AlanH]

On the subject of antique boat show, I learned a while ago that you can still buy tufnol blocks. These were standard issue on about a bazillion boats built during the early 60's. I kind of like the look.

https://marinestore.co.uk/Tufnol_Blocks.html

https://www.s3i.co.uk/image/s3i/Double%20Sheave%20Main.jpg

[Tchoupitoulas]

I ran into my bar pilot neighbor yesterday who was grinning ear to ear because he knew I was going to ask him how it's been out there. Insane, he said. He was also glad to be off on Saturday when informed of the multi hundred short handed sailboat race that would be taking place.

[WBChristie]

Whoah.



I was thinking exactly this, last weekend. "I wonder what the Potato Patch looks like today? Man, I'm glad i'm not a San Francisco Bar Pilot".


Pilot footage:


https://www.facebook.com/john.atkinson.399/videos/1218226788258559/

[sleddog]

Pilot footage:
https://www.facebook.com/john.atkinson.399/videos/1218226788258559/

The above short video was taken last Saturday morning from the Pilot Boat DRAKE, 105 feet LOA, steel construction. The DRAKE was in the San Francisco Bar Entrance Channel (Main Ship Channel) dredged to a depth of 54 feet, or 20-30 feet deeper than the rest of the Bar.

The tide was near max ebb, and there was additional fresh water runoff, something to consider for this
weekend's 3BF.

In addition, Saturday's swells were coming from the west southwest, right down the maw of the Main Ship Channel. Their 20 second period meant the waves were well spread apart, and not every wave was breaking.

If, in rough figures, the 54 foot deep dredged channel was breaking, as filmed from aboard the DRAKE, the formula for wave height is Depth= 1.3 x Wave Height. 54/1.3 = 42 feet. Confirmed by the nearby Scripps Wave Rider Buoy, which showed a 50 foot wave about that time.

Interesting, the Scripps Wave Buoy is anchored with a giant rubber band, and is set up to survive radical wave heights.

A fellow SF Bar pilot, in his 30th year of service, can only remember ~ 8 times when the SF Bar Entrance Channel was similarly breaking and had to be closed, as it was last Saturday morning (Jan.21, 2017).

The DRAKE, after cresting the filmed "35 foot wave," did not attempt to return to San Francisco until the next morning. They remained hove-to in deep water offshore all day Saturday and Saturday night.

[AlanH]

Oh, HELL no. No No No No No.

I ain't coming back in through that. No way.

[sleddog]

A low tide walk at local Seacliff State Beach revealed some unusual sights. A massive amount of timber had washed down the San Lorenzo River, out to sea, and down the coast.

2105

Two hapless kayakers attempted to launch through crashing 8 foot surf. "Why?" we asked. "We think we can make it out" was their reply, before being repulsed with broken boats. A reminder of the saying "fools rush in where angels fear to tread."

2106

It was open season on the Green Flash, viewed between broken parts of the Cement Ship, the old SS PALO ALTO.

2107

[mike cunningham]

I motored 50 NM to the Bay down the San Joaquin river, etc. on Thursday 26th. I anticipated a fairly quick trip and was amply rewarded. My boat motors over the water at about 5.8 Kts. I hit 10.3 Kts SOG under the Carquinez bridge. Avoided a LOT of logs, boards, goodness knows what, on the way down. I usually push on after dark, but had I not made it into San Pablo Bay by 6:00 PM I would have stopped due to all the dangerous debris in the rivers.

It was slow going on the way back but, surprisingly, things picked up nicely with the flood after the weapons station and I had a pretty fast trip home too.

[sleddog]

I motored 50 NM to the Bay down the San Joaquin river, etc. on Thursday 26th. I anticipated a fairly quick trip and was amply rewarded. My boat motors over the water at about 5.8 Kts. I hit 10.3 Kts SOG under the Carquinez bridge. Avoided a LOT of logs, boards, goodness knows what, on the way down. I usually push on after dark, but had I not made it into San Pablo Bay by 6:00 PM I would have stopped due to all the dangerous debris in the rivers. It was slow going on the way back but, surprisingly, things picked up nicely with the flood after the weapons station and I had a pretty fast trip home too.

Hi Mike,
Always good to hear from you and the good ship JACQUELINE. Glad you had a safe trip down and back, and enjoyed the 3BF!

For a small harbor, Santa Cruz gets its share of excitement. Two nights ago a boat caught fire, spreading to neighbors. Final tally: two boats (one a sailboat) destroyed (melted), a third sunk, and fourth heavily damaged, as were the docks. All the boats were apparently live-aboards. (Housing is tight in these parts.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_nwYbpUBv0

[mike cunningham]

Hi Mike,
Always good to hear from you and the good ship JACQUELINE. Glad you had a safe trip down and back, and enjoyed the 3BF!

For a small harbor, Santa Cruz gets its share of excitement. Two nights ago a boat caught fire, spreading to neighbors. Final tally: two boats (one a sailboat) destroyed (melted), a third sunk, and fourth heavily damaged, as were the docks. All the boats were apparently live-aboards. (Housing is tight in these parts.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_nwYbpUBv0

Yikes, that looks bad. A few folks are now homeless. A fire on a boat is one of those risks you don't think about so much but it can be really really dangerous. Even more so at sea.

[Steevee]

For a small harbor, Santa Cruz gets its share of excitement. Two nights ago a boat caught fire, spreading to neighbors. Final tally: two boats (one a sailboat) destroyed (melted), a third sunk, and fourth heavily damaged, as were the docks. All the boats were apparently live-aboards. (Housing is tight in these parts.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_nwYbpUBv0

What's impressive is that the propane canister on the grill is still intact.

[sleddog]

Many of you know my feelings about the danger of handling emergency flares in time of maritime distress. I won't get into that at present.

Unless you shell out $99 for the CG approved nighttime electric distress signal, you may likely soon be purchasing the 4-pack Orion Handheld Red Locator day/night flares to satisfy a Coast Guard safety inspection (only 3 flares required).

I recently did so at a cost of about $34 plus tax. Heads up if you are doing so, with these, or any other flares. The Orions, and other flares, are generally good for 42 months from date of manufacture to expiration. The freshest flares I could find at our local marine hardware store only had 27 months left to expiration. Most were months older than that.

The idea of selling something for full price that is half used up does not sit well. However, the vendor pointed out
flares are constantly "getting old" in inventory. Six months is allocated to getting flares to the consumer, and "three years should be the useful life in your possession."

Because vendors try to sell oldest inventory first, unless one looks closely at purchase time, you'll likely get older flares that have sat all winter and been moved to the front of the display. My suggestion is look at the back of the rack for the newest flares.

What really should happen is the vendor should discount older flares. Fat chance.

[Philpott]

What really should happen is the vendor should discount older flares. Fat chance.

When Kelly still worked at Svendsen's she would go over to the warehouse and find me the most recent flares. Alas, Kelly doesn't work there anymore. In fact, does anybody work there any more? I haven't been there in ... gee, two weeks, and the place was pretty low stocked. My understanding is that Matt and Alex bought Blue Pelican and are its owners as of ... yesterday. Skip, I'm sorry you are sad and mad. Why do you buy flares if Wildflower is resting in your driveway? Maybe the carnage on Highway 17 is so widespread that the Highway Patrol requires them in your car now?

[BobJ]

Because vendors try to sell oldest inventory first, unless one looks closely at purchase time, you'll likely get older flares that have sat all winter and been moved to the front of the display. My suggestion is look at the back of the rack for the newest flares. What really should happen is the vendor should discount older flares.

Same with batteries. You need to know how to read the date code stickers to make sure you're getting the newest one(s) on the shelf. Shall we make another contest out of it?

[sleddog]

. Skip, I'm sorry you are sad and mad. Why do you buy flares if Wildflower is resting in your driveway? Maybe the carnage on Highway 17 is so widespread that the Highway Patrol requires them in your car now?

Neither sad nor mad...Cheryl will be doing my yearly CG Courtesy Inspection which gives me the sticker and piece of official paper to ward off those Coasties wanting to come aboard and risk getting wedged in the companionway hatch with their weapons, radio,and PFD. This has happened, and the young Coasty was firmly stuck, until I offered to assist by pushing on his back with my foot until he was dislodged onto the cabin floor.

As you know, Cheryl plays by the book, flare expiration dates included.

WF has been back in the water, and is now loaded for imminent departure via the I-5 Yacht Club to a big river/lake in AZ. Gotta shake down that new HS rudder, fir bowsprit, and composting C-Head, hihi.

2134

Good going on finishing the 3BF! Syn and Rreveur were here last night, and laughed when I mentioned you channeling the inner Synthia and "deploying," as the Euros like to say.

[AlanH]

A low tide walk at local Seacliff State Beach revealed some unusual sights. A massive amount of timber had washed down the San Lorenzo River, out to sea, and down the coast.

2105



Hmmm. I see some potential Scottish Throwing Toys in that lot. I might have to bop down to the beach.

[sleddog]

If you're on the fence about the SHTP, 2017 or beyond, here's a photo of the Hanalei SHTP Finish rendezvous area taken this morning by Capt. Bob, 2/3/17.

2135

Capt. Bob's father, a sailor himself, came to Hanalei in '57 to film SOUTH PACIFIC. It was Capt. Bob's father's slideshow of Hanalei and Bali Hai that convinced Capt. Bob to sail to Hanalei. Capt. Bob, now retired from Matson after several hundred Pacific passages, first sailed to Hanalei in '63 on the Frers 49 FJORD III and has been coming back ever since.

And here's Hanalei, looking northwest, towards Bali Hai, at sunset.

2136

[AZ Sailor]

Just beautiful! Thanks for sharing.


And here's Hanalei, looking northwest, towards Bali Hai, at sunset.


And thanks for keeping up our cultural literacy along with our geographical knowledge.

[AZ Sailor]

Lest my last comment be mistaken for sarcasm: I didn’t understand what Sled meant by ‘looking northwest, towards Bali Hai.’ I figured it was a trick question sort of remark, somehow tied into the South Pacific musical, or maybe the Michener book it was based on. A little bit of research and I found this on Wikipedia:

“Makana is a mountain located on northern shore of the island of Kauaʻi, where it rises 1,115 feet (340 m) above Limahuli Valley.[1] Makana is a Hawaiian language term meaning gift or reward.[2] It is often used as a person's name or as part of a name. Limahuli Garden and Preserve preserves the valley below.[3] It was featured in the 1958 film adaptation of the musical South Pacific as Bali Haʻi, a name that is still used to this day.”

So, again, genuine thanks for prodding me to learn a little something interesting.

[mike cunningham]

Only 508 days and 14 hours to go assuming we start on 30 June, but who's counting?

[AlanH]

An event which has fascinated me for a number of years is the Texas 200.

http://www.texas200.com/

I really like the idea of "run what ya brung"....and the large number of alternatively designed, home-built boats that do the event. Sure there are lots of Hobie catamarans, O-Day daysailers and MacGregor 26s that do it. There are seemingly normal home-built boats like Goat Island Skiffs and Welsford Navigators that do it.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4134/4747073827_ef99a45f51_b.jpg

https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/1480694_845795178842534_7028545230883505521_n.jpg

But there are also boats like these... a seriously customized Puddle Duck Racer, complete with built in chair, which I assume moves to the other side when you're on the other tack,but heck if I know. in 2014 a gaggle of Puddle Duck Racers did it.

http://www.pdracer.com/articles/control-problems/texas-200-puddle-duck.jpg


https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/10356170_10202099696885112_2858784450590793609_n.j pg

A lot of Jim Michalak (not my favorite designer, but whatever floats your....) boats have done it. One of those is the mayfly 14, which in fact I think is a pretty good-looking boat and perfect for this event.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SdTAIyohpgc/T_9wOZ7yclI/AAAAAAAABAw/ZSKbGJ14PRc/s1600/024+-+Copy+(2).JPG

It's been done by guys in inflatable kayaks with inflatable pontoons.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3035/2634672209_d796bdfde4_b.jpg


One of my favorite T200 boats is Andy Linn's "ooze goose", a 12 foot version of the Puddle Duck Racer, upon which he placed a cabin. To my eye, while the PDR's are just fugly, the damned goose actually looks pretty good.

http://andrewlinn.com/2012/120603_launch/index.htm

And then there's the famous incident where two guys cut out a Michalak boat at home and put the parts in their pickup truck. They drove to Texas, got there a couple of days early and assembled the boat. They painted it a shocking color. Then they sailed it 200 miles. They tried to sell it when they were done, but couldn't so they poured some gasoline on it and set it on fire. One of the builders, Andy Linn, has a penchant for setting boats on fire.

I'm not making this up. Here's the boat.... it's a "Laguna" by Jim Michalak, and actually I think it's a good boat for this event.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4080/4747075745_9513f50b96_b.jpg

[AlanH]

Ooze goose with the mizzen furled, old skool..REALLY old skool....

https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/250859_3244812010347_924493536_n.jpg?oh=409642b520 6c581767cf8aa1d3293370&oe=5905A42A

AMF Sunbird 16 production boat that competed with the O'Day daysailer. There were a bunch of 15-17 foot daysailers with little cabins built in the 70's that tried to fit into this market.

https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/484543_10150915756893226_1458281958_n.jpg?oh=77fb6 e3e32f3b9a99cb4c52b974830ac&oe=59390906

it is, truly, the perfect event for the MacGregor 26.

https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/10403494_10203377654625426_1991677762124815016_n.j pg?oh=e32c782c01a57497df42bee9043f6280&oe=5944B9E9

And just in case you thought I was kidding about setting the pink boat on fire after the event...


http://s445.photobucket.com/user/jeadstx/media/PCTLT8M1Q6/Picture110.mp4.html?sort=3&o=0

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I was going to take the Skerry down there and do it, summer of 2015 but I let Joan talk me out of it. It's a three-day drive to Texas...a day to set up and meet everybody. Another day is spent moving the truck/trailer to the end point of the event and getting back for the shrimp boil dinner. Then it's four days to do the event. A day is needed to recover, tell lies and hang out, and then three days driving to get home. I probably should have done it, but the skerry was only marginally ready at that point.

There's a local guy who's done the event in a Mirror. The Mirror is a small pram-dinghy like an El toro, but 10 feet long instead of 8 and it has a lot more internal structure and flotation.

[sleddog]

Drying out today after California's Central Coast, and Santa Cruz County in particular, felt the effects of three back to back storms over the last week that flooded homes, knocked out power and water, closed roads, and caused numerous land slippages.

The National Weather Service used descriptive terminology for these weather events, referring to an "atmospheric river," "AR," "firehose," and "Pineapple Express." The earth was already saturated, and it didn't take much wind or rain to topple trees and cause hillsides to slide. For a time, all roads into and out of Santa Cruz were blocked, including Highways 1, 35, 9, 17, 129, 152, and 101. Highway 17, the major artery over the Hill to Silicon Valley, remains compromised due to an active slide and rocks falling on the highway.

Here's a couple of short videos of the San Lorenzo River at flood stage. Check out the redwood trees floating downstream in swift current to the ocean.. Even the ducks sought high ground.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qx8PAQxboA

Capitola Beach was recipient of more timber as Soquel Creek also reached flood stage. AlanH: come and get your practice cabers and stones, they're easy to find.

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If you wonder why AlanH is seeking big poles (~22'x180 pounds) on the beach, and what he does with them, here's one visual explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytcjy3Em_O8

[Ian Rogers]

Hi Sled --

We are considering a practice run from SF to Santa Cruz this weekend. Do you know if the harbor entrance is open for an 8 foot draft boat? I called the harbor office but have only been able to get the voice mail. Might have to change plans and go to Monterrey if Santa Cruz is closed out.

Thanks,

[H Spruit]

Hello Ian~
Howard Spruit here~
Skip is on a camping trip, not expected back until later in the week.
I have been monitoring the harbor mouth daily.
Yesterday the surf was flat and at High tide a 9 foot draft fishing boat powered out at High tide and radioed back he thought he rubbed the bottom.
The deepest part is close to the East Jetty.
The dredge is out of service due to a blown engine on the service tug.
I would say entering at this time with an 8' draft is marginal at best.
SO Monterey or Moss landing may be the smart thing to do.
I hop this helps.
Howard

[Ian Rogers]

Hello Ian~
Howard Spruit here~
Skip is on a camping trip, not expected back until later in the week.
I have been monitoring the harbor mouth daily.
Yesterday the surf was flat and at High tide a 9 foot draft fishing boat powered out at High tide and radioed back he thought he rubbed the bottom.
The deepest part is close to the East Jetty.
The dredge is out of service due to a blown engine on the service tug.
I would say entering at this time with an 8' draft is marginal at best.
SO Monterey or Moss landing may be the smart thing to do.
I hop this helps.
Howard

Hi Howard --
Great info, I think we will pass on Santa Cruz. These newer boats do like bumping the bottom.

Thank you for the quick update.

[sleddog]

Gentle Sailors,

In these times of tumult and tribulations, here's a fun (and challenging) geographical/nautical quiz. There are three sections, A, B, and C. The first correct answer to section A wins fish tacos at Olitas on the Santa Cruz Wharf. First correct answer to section B wins a delicious margarita at Olitas. And first to answer section C has the option for a yummy dessert also at Olitas. Ready, Set, Go!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^/)^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Central California Coast is incredibly spectacular, rugged, historical, and challenging to navigate, especially in small craft. Flippy recently visited a headland along this coast that gets doubled regularly by small boats northbound, much less often when sailing southbound.

This headland is distinguished by vertical bluffs, arch rocks, inaccessible coves, sea caves, sea stacks, a blowhole, a giant sinkhole accessible by kayak from waterlevel, and other wonders.

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Inland from the headland are hills that have been occupied for 9,000 years. Currently the hills are home to only wildlife that includes badger, coyote, rattlesnake, cougar, bear, deer, bobcat, vole, ground squirrel, white egret, peregrine, golden eagle. There are also seals and sealions, abalone and otter near shore and a mountain of gold that yields its bounty to those who seek.

Once, on this headland, there was a Maine lighthouse with a fully operational Fresnel light. Today, the headland's skies are the darkest on the Central California coast. Southeast of the headland is a cove of the warmest water on the Coast, often 79-80 degrees. But no swimming, as the bluff trail stops short, past Windy Point and Rattlesnake Cove.

Enough clues. Question A: what is the name of this above described and photographed headland, or the park to its north?

Question B: Within view from this headland is a magnificent stone castle landmark, visible miles to sea on a clear day, guiding sailors to a sometimes safe harbor, but sometimes not. What is this landmark?

Question C: Australian actress, singer, and activist Helen Reddy nearly won an Academy Award singing a famous torch song on this headland ….what was the name of the musical she was leading actress in, on our mystery headland?

I regretfully must DSQ Howard Spruit who, in the early '70's beached his Hobie 14 on this headland when a plastic rudder pintle broke. Repairs were made on the small beach whence Howard completed his voyage.* Also, CHAUTAUQUA is DSQ as she grew up summers on this headland and shoreline, as her grandfather Oliver once owned and farmed the surrounding land.

* Howard recollects " I was not Racing. We were on a “Pleasure cruise”.The boat was a Hobie 14 and we were the only boat on this adventure. The surf was totally flat that day and the wind was a beam reach in both directions. The plastic rudder pintle on the port side sheared off so I sailed up to a wet sand beach at the base of a high cliff, the beach was about 20 feet wide and 50 yards long I replaced the pintle with a couple 3/8” bolts that I LUCKLY had in my tool kit."

"While on the beach we wandered around, ate our sandwiches, and discovered a small cave just above the high tide line. In that cave somebody had built a wall with concrete blocks from about 2’ off the floor to just overhead and about 3’ wide that damed off a freshwater spring and formed a small reservoir, at the lower end of this wall there was a water faucet with a porcelain handle, that had the word COLD written on it. I opened the faucet and indeed the water that came out was cold."

"There was no visible way to scale this cliff and the beach would be gone at High tide….. So there was a very dedicated soul out there with a tremendous sense of humor just trying to mess with my mind."

[BobJ]

A: Piedras Blancas
B: Hearst Castle
C: Pete's Dragon (the song was Candle on the Water)

[sleddog]

A: Piedras Blancas
B: Hearst Castle
C: Pete's Dragon (the song was Candle on the Water)

Excellent, BobJ! You have one correct answer, C, out of three, and won dessert at Olita's for identifying Pete's Dragon as the musical Helen Reddy was leading actress and Academy Award nominee on our mystery headland.

Anyone wanna win the fish tacos and/or margarita by correctly identifying the A: mystery headland/park, and/or B: stone landmark of safety/danger?

Hint: the ego of a famous movie actor was proximate cause of one of the most spectacular shipwrecks ever photographed in vicinity of the stone landmark.

[Dazzler]

BobJ is partially correct.

I know this place as not long ago I hiked along the bluffs. The giveaway hint is "...or the park to the north?" The sea stacks at Point Buchon are quite wonderful. I also have some history with the area from work I did nearby related to issues of coastal access.

Sled asked...
Question A: what is the name of this above described and photographed headland, or the park to its north?
Point Buchon is best accessed from Montaña de Oro State Park. Which, BTW, has a lovely campground.

Question B: Within view from this headland is a magnificent stone castle landmark, visible miles to sea on a clear day, guiding sailors to a sometimes safe harbor, but sometimes not. What is this landmark? I think BobJ was correct with Hearst Castle. The sometimes not so safe harbors are Morro Bay and San Simeon Bay. If you are ever at Morro Bay, look for the photos of the 82' Dittmire and Donaldson MOJO leaving when large swells were closing out the harbor entrance. And San Simeon Bay is not a safe anchorage during winter storms.

Question C: Australian actress, singer, and activist Helen Reddy nearly won an Academy Award singing a famous torch song on this headland ….what was the name of the musical she was leading actress in, on our mystery headland?
Disney Point is so named because a Disney picture, Pete’s Dragon, was filmed here in the 1970s. The beautiful shoreline played the role of Northern Maine on screen. A temporary lighthouse was built along the coast for the movie and was later removed.

[Dazzler]

Ok, the "Stone Landmark" is Morro Rock.

For a bit of fun, we have a lot of named "rocks" on our coast. I wonder how many are named "Bird Rock?" I have no answer. North of Point Piedras Blancas is "Harlech Castle Rock" named after a famous castle in Wales.

[BobJ]

"Within view from this headland is a magnificent stone castle landmark"

[sleddog]

Congrats, DAZZLER, for winning the fish tacos and margarita at Olita's!

Point Buchon is exactly the stunningly lovely headland we recently visited. It is reached by road through Montana de Oro (Mountain of Gold) State Park (free admission.)

At the south end of Montana de Oro, so named because of its carpeted fields of yellow, orange, and gold wildflowers, lies the Pt. Buchon Trail. Permission to hike is granted Thursday through Monday by landowner PG&E, who also manages Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, 3.5 miles southeast from Pt. Buchon. At Diablo Canyon is a man made cove where cooling water is released from the two reactors, keeping the water temp at a balmy 79-80 degrees and the local marine life weird.

Diablo Canyon will stop producing power in 2025, and be dismantled, partly because it sits on top of the Hosgri earthquake fault. Less certain, except for huge cost overruns, are the upgrades that accidentally were installed backwards due to inadvertent reversal of construction blueprints....

Close by Pt. Buchon is "Disney Point", as DAZZLER describes, where a full on Maine lighthouse was built in 1977 for the film Pete's Dragon.

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7 miles north of Pt. Buchon, at the end of a long sandspit, is the famous landmark Morro Rock, at the entrance to Morro Bay. This 581 foot high volcanic plug guards the northern side of Morro Bay Entrance and was the background for the spectacular Jan. 28, 1978, wipeout of the 82 foot motoryacht MOJO, chartered by actor George C. Scott to carry him and his actress wife up the coast to the Crosby Golf Tournament, where Scott had a tee time to meet despite warnings by the Morro Bay Coast Guard and Harbor Patrol not to proceed.

Here is Flippy contemplating the wave that took out MOJO:

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[sleddog]

Apologies to all, especially BOBJ and DAZZLER, for inaccuracies in our recent Trip Report to Montana de Oro State Park, Pt. Buchon, and comments on Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.

BobJ is correct that Point Piedras Blancas, and nearby Hearst Castle at San Simeon, are entirely plausible answers to Parts A and B of the above quiz. Piedras Blancas did have a lighthouse with a Fresnel lens, and the lens is currently on display in downtown Cambria. Except during stormy weather, tours of Piedras Blancas light station are available, and the coast is equally spectacular as the Pt. Buchon headland and Montana de Oro to the south.

Note: President Barack Obama expanded the territory of the California Coastal National Monument January 12, 2017, adding Piedras Blancas and more than 6,000 acres to the monument area that includes islets, reefs and rock outcroppings spanning much of the state’s coastline.

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Morro Rock, at the entrance to Morro Bay, has little to do with a "castle" landmark (except for perhaps the similarity in name to Morro Castle at the entrance to Havana Harbor.) My bad, and we will award BobJ the fish tacos and margarita, as well as DAZZLER.

Secondly, DAZZLER is intimately familiar with this section of coast, as well as Diablo Canyon, and I bow to his expertise and thank him for correcting my late night, loose cannon, approach to describing the area beyond the terminus of the Pt. Buchon Trail, land that is off limits to public access.

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Here is what DAZZLER has to say:

"I worked for PG&E from late 1986 to spring 1995. My first assignment was as "Site Architect" for Diablo Canyon. Basically, I was responsible for cleaning up what had been a long term construction site. I have a couple of comments related to your SSS post.

1. PG&E engineers designed the power plant. There are two reactors with associated steam turbine generators. One is a mirror image of the other. The "design mistake" was that they simply mirrored the drawings for the second reactor/generator. The result was that for all of the mirrored systems the thrust bracing was backwards, and the problem wasn't discovered until construction was underway. At that point Bechtel was brought in to re-engineer the system. Obviously, this caused increased costs.

2. As for the ocean temperatures at Diablo Canyon, I can't comment. I had the delight of getting to know the marine biologists who were monitoring the adjacent marine life and one of my projects was for a shore faculty to accommodate the scientist divers. There are two "heat exchangers" for the plant cooling water that isolate the nuclear generated steam from the ocean water.

I had great trepidation going to work for PG&E in 1986, and especially knowing that they were operating a nuclear power plant. As I became more knowledgable about the operation, I gained great respect for the high degree of care and professionalism exhibited by everyone at the plant. Within the company, the people at Diablo were top notch. Given the options, there are still many respected scientists that believe nuclear power is among the best options."

Back then I was involved in issues of coastal access to the PG&E controlled property. There were conflicting concerns that were not easily resolved. Given my history, I had long wanted to see more of the area. So, it's not surprising that not long ago we hiked the Pt. Buchon trail.

[BobJ]

No worries Sled. Those questions were linked, such that one answer tended to eliminate answers to the others. I camped out too much on "castle" and was aware that San Simeon Bay only LOOKS like a good anchorage (etc.)

Before going to my office yesterday I drove to RYC and checked on the boat. All was well except I was going to my office afterwards. So I need to get outdoors today. I would head your way but many of the roads are damaged and another system is coming in later today.

I can't really complain - the extra tax-season hours recharge the boat kitty. My next big project is replacing the standing rigging. You may recall the J/92 has insufficient spreader sweep to get enough headstay tension in breeze (without over-flattening the main). Some owners have switched from wire to rod to be able to maintain rig tension, and I plan to do that.

[sleddog]

Thanks to Cris Field (Todd), daughter of Hale Field of RENEGADE and Cal Cruising 46 fame, for helping enlighten us further on the history of Montana de Oro, Pt. Buchon, and the bluffs south to Diablo Canyon.

In 1942, Cris's grandparents, Oliver C. and Ruby Hale Field, acquired the Spooner Ranch, which included the lands from Montana de Oro State Park, south to the present-day boundaries of Diablo Canyon Power Plant. Also in the 1940s, the Fields constructed a small dam and pump house along Coon Creek, from which irrigation water was piped to agricultural fields downstream. These structures, and many other sites of historic interest, are visible today from the Point Buchon Trail.

Cris continues, "Our Rancho Pecho was named for the golden hills, and their obvious comparisons to glorious feminine anatomical endowment.

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The State's name "Montana de Oro" for the park to the north end of the 8,000 acres my grandfather once owned was a cleaned up version of the Spanish one. Actually the whole family owned parts of that. One side of the entry road we called the "His" because the men owned it and the other side of the road was called the "Hers". One of the all time great beach access roads at Hazard Canyon is on that stretch that the state acquired as a result of a condemnation suit against my grandfather, et al. This was at the same time that the main water rights to the ranch were compromised severely by PG&E's forced purchase of the other end of Pecho ranch at Diablo Creek. We still had access to the water source and had to travel thru PG&E territory to get to it but it squelched my Grandfather's vision for the distribution of the water rights for each of the family's selected parcels... not to mention gave my Grandfather a stroke which eventually was too much for him.

My association with that whole area goes back to before 1945, as I have photos to prove that I even visited the ranch as an unborn human being. My Dad proposed to my Mom on that Smugglers Cove beach in front of the Rangers Station which used to be the old main house. He used a shell with a hole in it and later replaced it with a ring. The newer house was built up on the hills in the center of the arc from Windy Point to Castle Rock... right around then.

The rather large shoreline mound of rock with caves right near the center of the ranch on the coast near Lion Rock we called Castle Rock. I remember climbing that to check out the tide to estimate when we could go get abalones without getting wet above our knees, and try to find the somewhat tame horses.

I could go on and on about all of the good times spent out there with the waves crashing over us, and hiking the high trails, wildflower sighting, working to help bring in alfalfa for winter feed, singing around the campfire in the outdoor entertaining area Grandpa had built near the house. Eating venison sausages made by grandpa from deer at the ranch. Visiting the family that raised the pigs near the gate at Coon Creek. Swinging from the big tire swings up at the pond at Diablo Canyon, clearing the road along the crest... I know I learned to drive out there in the ranch jeep; most of my generation did I think.

[sleddog]

While awaiting the arrival of today's forecast "Atmospheric River," which may again cause evacuation downstream of Oroville Dam, it's a good time to contemplate local weather resources in addition to the National Weather Service, Cliff Mass, Windy-T, Passage Weather, and NOAA weather fax maps. (I don't have TV, nor use social media.)

For PG&E, and Diablo Canyon in particular, weather information, forecasting and measurement, is critical. Diablo Canyon has the best instrumentation and forecasters on the Central California coast, and they are publicly available and as good as it gets.

Here's the poop. In San Luis Obispo (SLO), next door to Diablo Canyon, John Lindsey is PG&E's go-to guy and prefessional marine meterologist. His analysis, forecasts, and up-to-minute measurements are the best, and available on the radio, e-mail, and online. The area covered extends north to at least San Francisco, and south to Southern CA.

John Lindsey's website: https://twitter.com/pge_john

[sleddog]

Fun on a recent trip to Montana de Oro State Park/Morro Bay to visit with good friends Craig and Vicky Johnsen of nearby Los Osos. C&J continue to celebrate recent acquisition of their Iain Oughtred Sooty Tern design WEE BONNIE, and Craig was just finishing up a new hollow spruce mainmast he had built with sufficient coats of varnish.

Here is WEE BONNIE at the Morro Bay launch ramp:

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And beached on the Morro Bay sandspit for a picnic:

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Both Craig and Vicky are experienced sailors and navigators, with many ocean miles. In addition, Craig enjoys designing, building, and tweaking wood boats. They have recently sold their beautiful schooner MAGIC to the East Coast.

Craig tells us more about WEE BONNIE:

The Sooty Tern is a design by Iain Oughtred, an Australian who settled on the Isle of Skye, off the west coast of Scotland. It is the last and perhaps most refined in a design series he has created based upon his interpretation of a traditional Scottish near-shore double-ended fishing boat called a ”Yole”.

Iain designed his boats to utilize epoxy-glued lap construction using high-grade marine plywood for the planking, combining strength and lightness. These double-ended boats row very easily with a pair of 9-1/2’ oars and the rig can be set up or taken down in just a couple of minutes.

Like most of Iain’s design series, our WEE BONNIE utilizes an unstayed lug yawl rig. The Sooty Terns are 20’ long centerboarders, with a bit over 5’ of beam, a draft of less than a foot with the board up and probably weighs in about 350 lbs. (We have not weighed ours.) They are easily trailered and launch with a minimum of fuus from most ramps. As you saw, they can conveniently be stored in a side yard or longish garage. As a result of these features, the Sooty Terns have developed a following in a number of locales and are often used for beach camping cruises, especially in the PNW.

We named ours “WEE BONNIE” because of her Scottish heritage, her good looks and because she is noticeably smaller than our previous cruising boats. She was originally built in 2013 by a talented amateur builder in Victoria, BC. We purchased her last March and trailered her the 1200 miles back to the Central Coast. This past summer, after sailing her a few times, we began some minor upgrades and a completed refinishing of paint and varnish. There are a few more touches and tweaks to go before we have WEE BONNIE “just so”, but she is a lovely craft to see underway, a joy to sail and handles well in these local waters.

One picture is worth a thousand words. Here we go:

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Sweet. Thanks to the Johnsen's for the photos of their lovely WEE BONNIE. We hope to see them soon at the Capitola Boat Club and Maritime Museum.

[AlanH]

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Sweet. Thanks to the Johnsen's for the photos of their lovely WEE BONNIE. We hope to see them soon at the Capitola Boat Club and Maritime Museum.

it was the Sooty Tern design that got me to wield a pen, and then the Carlson Design "Hulls" program, in order to design a small boat that made sense to me and was also pretty. Starting with the Sooty Tern, I soon discovered gunning dories.

Here's a gunning dory. They're primarily made for rowing and duck hunting.

http://gentrycustomboats.com/pics/GDa.jpg

Twiddling with the lines of the gunning dory to add more stability and righting moment, with the considerations of 1.) whatever I built had to fit in my front yard, diagonally 2.) anything that was to be covered under my homeowners insurance had to be <16 feet LOA and 3.) I could only build something about 15 feet if I wanted to use standard plywood sheets and only have one scarf in each hull panel

led me to the making of several cardboard models. When I was done, about 4 months later, I had a boat that I thought would work well, have a lot of the shape of Sooty Tern, the flat bottom and beach-stability of the gunning dory, and both row and sail reasonably well. Maybe two weeks after finishing my design and printing out the data points for laying out the hull panels on sheets of plywood, I discoverd that my boat had already been designed. John Harris of Chesapeake Light Craft had designed the Skerry, and all her dimensions were within an inch of what I had come up with. When the San Francisco Sea Scouts were donated a half-finished skerry, I bought her and finished her off.

The process started with falling in love with the Sooty Tern, though.

Here's the skerry, being rowed on launching day.

https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/393616_3052442712496_530524955_n.jpg?oh=608295cd7a 559ae0e81a652685cb3cea&oe=592FBFAD

[AlanH]

The balanced lug rig is a good rig. Now, the way I see it, there's a community of "alternative" boat nuts who just hate bermudan rigs and love lugs. They're gotten so hardnosed about it that now there's a reverse snobbery thing going on. .... to be in the cool peoples club, your boat HAS to have a lug rig of some kind. A distant second place which will leave you with associated club membership status is a sprit rig,but anything that looks bermudan is just bad, bad, bad.

Once, before I bought the S2 7.9, I was down at the Alameda Marina, at the end of the small boat dock, the dock farthest west. Some homeless guy had stripped the Cal 20 that he was living on of everything metal..mast, winches, blocks, gudgeons...mast base... jib tracks, EVERYTHING, and cut it loose in the Estuary. It had drifted over to the Alameda Marina, where a tenant had kept it from beating up on some boats there, and tied it off to the end of the dock.

I seriously considered picking it up...getting an aluminum tube (3-inch diameter straight tube, 20 feet long is about $80 at Allan Steel in Redwood City) and turning a mast base and masthead fitting out of hard maple, on a wood lathe. A few more pieces of wood, and a cut-down secondhand mainsail....some old blocks...make a new rudder out of a 2 x 12 and voila...I'm "big boat" sailing again for cheap.

I didn't do it, but there are days.....

[AlanH]

If someone wanted to make a relatively simple Oughtred design that has a flat bottom so that it beaches relatively easily, the Skerrieskiff 15 and 17 are very good candidates. The designs were put together so that high school shop classes could build them.

http://www.billthomaswoodworking.com/images/DSCF0618.jpg

the skerrieskiff is primarily intended for rowing, but the plans make allowances for a daggerboard.

http://maineboats.com/files/u2/IB-025wbc.jpg

[sleddog]

Heads Up.

There's an Olson 29 in Olympia, WA For Sale in the classifieds. My thinking is there is no better boat and bang for the buck for an experienced sailor to sail in the SHTP and vie for both 1st to Finish, and Overall prizes. The Olson 29 is an improved O-30, faster and more sea kindly by a little and a lot. It would be a good catch for the right person.

[sleddog]

If you've ever sailed on Bill Lee's MERLIN, or just want to attend a fun, once-in-a-lifetime event, tomorrow afternoon at Santa Cruz Harbor MERLIN is being recommissioned after a long absence to the Great Lakes. MERLIN is legend, and in attendance tomorrow will be sailing legends, much of Santa Cruz's sailing and boat building community, as well as MERLIN's original 1977 Transpac crew when they set the elapsed time record that stood for 20 years.

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MERLIN stories will be rife. Remember when MERLIN, under Dave Wahle's command, powered down Santa Cruz Harbor in reverse at 8 knots, spun on a dime as the closed Entrance, and motored back to her slip, again full speed in reverse, to satisfy the Transpac Race inspector's motoring requirement? The onboard inspector from S.Cal fled in terror and was not seen again.

Here is the proposed schedule:
Sunday, 2/26/17

1:00 - Move Merlin to the D dock end tie on West Side from Harbor Marine slip on East Side. - Everyone is welcome.

3:00 - Party starts - Hosted keg beer and wine on MERLIN.

4:00 - Ceremony starts, Chuck Hawley, Karen Trap, Bill Burr.
If the size of the crowd is large, we may do some of the presentation at Aldo’s

4:30 - Hors d’oeuvres at Aldos - No host beer and wine too

Weather looks to be sunny, but cool and possibly breezy. Bring warm clothes, and be sure to ask any MERLIN crew member to describe the famous "Cosmic Flush," and the "Cosmic Squeeze."

Bring your favorite MERLIN stories, and Get Licked By MERLIN.

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Evening Trivia:Was MERLIN named for

A) the most fascinating figure in Welsh mythology and Arthurian legend: the great wizard, prophet and adviser to several kings, including King Arthur.

or B): a small, fierce falcon bird of prey of great speed.

or C): the legendary 12 cylinder Rolls Royce engine that powered the Spitfire and Mustang P-51 fighter jets, as well as many other aircraft. The Merlin could develop 1,620 horse power and pull the P-51, a prop plane, above 440 mph. You can hear the distinctive Merlin engine approaching from several miles away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_957949&feature=iv&src_vid=P2nlGN6aS8g&v=Y5rGyP6SSYM

or D) all of the above

[Wylieguy]

A
All of the above,however. A) As a retired English Prof. I recuse myself. B) As the father of a raptor walk leader I recuse myself. C) As a RC boat sailor who sailed against a WWII Spitfire pilot on the Kensington Palace's Round Pond and listened to some wonderful stories, I recuse myself.

The "Rolls Royce 'Merlin'" that powered P-51s presents a controversy. The engine was build under license by Packard in the U.S. The Brits bristle when they hear about the Packard engines or "Packard Merlin" engines used in P-51s. No matter what, though, the RR Merlin turned a mediocre fighter design into perhaps the best piston-driven fighter plane of all time.

[sleddog]

WYLIEGUY:
Spot on. Despite recusing yourself, you've correctly answered for what MERLIN was named "All of the above."... Chicken dinner winner will have to be a chicken pot pie for the moment. But come on down for a visit anytime.

Here's an undated photo of Bill Lee in his Merlin Wizard get up, which he wore to launchings of his Santa Cruz built boats.

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[Dazzler]

Sled: Very tempting to be there for the MERLIN party. I was at Moss Landing for the original launch party 40 years ago. I suspect today's date was selected to mark that 40 year anniversary. I recall that at the original launch party my daughter, not yet 2 years old, enjoyed exploring MERLIN. Best wishes for a fine day with lots of good stories.

[sleddog]

Sled: Very tempting to be there for the MERLIN party. I was at Moss Landing for the original launch party 40 years ago. I suspect today's date was selected to mark that 40 year anniversary. I recall that at the original launch party my daughter, not yet 2 years old, enjoyed exploring MERLIN. Best wishes for a fine day with lots of good stories.

A sunny afternoon for MERLIN's 40th Birthday celebration. Many familiar faces among the 150 paying homage, with the docks filled, tours below, and the cockpit filled with smiles and mandolin music. Much emotion too, realizing we are all 40 years down the road. Yay, MERLIN, bringing us together again.

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Bill and Lu Lee (Bill in his red 1977 Transpac crew shirt)
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Surviving 6 crew from MERLIN's 1977 Transpac record run.
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(left to right) Don Snyder (navigated by celestial), Phil Vandenberg (cosmic flushed), Bill Lee, Bos'n Dave Wahle, Jack Halterman, and Bobbo Larson. RIP Harvey Kilpatrick and Rob Wade.

[sleddog]

For a fun and informative, real time sailing adventure, one could not do better than follow Rob aboard his NM-45 TIGER BEETLE as he makes his way south along the Pacific Coast. Rob calls it as it is, and writes and photographs with brevity and clarity that is a pleasure to follow.

Currently TIGER BEETLE is approaching offshore Cabo San Lucas at the tip of Baja. Rob will bypass Cabo enroute to Banderas Bay, where he hopes to pick up a replacement dinghy outboard for the one that swallowed a lot of sand in a dinghy upset at Bahia Santa Maria.

Rob's adventures are never boring, and he also helps out other cruisers by explaining in clear to understand technical advice.

Rob couldn't understand why his autopilot stopped working one windy night along Baja and TIGER BEETLE went into a rounddown after having the cockpit pooped by a breaking whitecap .....we've all been there, done that. However the reason BEETLE's steeriing locked up was not the autopilot's fault. Rather, a soggy bean bag had been dislodged and repositioned hard against the wheel, preventing movement.

Join Rob aboard TIGER BEETLE for some singlehanded sailing fun. https://tbeetle.wordpress.com/

[hodgmo]

...Join Rob aboard TIGER BEETLE for some singlehanded sailing fun. https://tbeetle.wordpress.com/

Thanks for the tip, it's a great read!

[sleddog]

TIGER BEETLE is currently motoring in light wind, passing the Tres Marias Islands to port and closing on landfall near Punta Mita, at the entrance to Banderas Bay, on mainland Mexico.

Rob was asked by a curious reader, "how far can the Beetle go on a full tank of fuel?" I don't know about Rob. But from experience I'd say "it depends." Depends on how hard you work at it, what your best cruising RPM is, and if there's any wind to assist." My cruising range on WILDFLOWER, with it's single cylinder Yanmar 1GM10 diesel, a 14 gallon tank, and two 5 gal. jerry jugs, was not unlimited. But sometimes felt like it.

After miles of voyaging, I found WILDFLOWER's most economical fuel consumption was a measely .18 gal/hour, equivalent to about a pint and half/hour at 2,200 RPM at about 5 knots boat speed. This worked out to about 133 hours of motoring, 5.5 days, and 667 miles.

But as we are reminded, "But wait, there's more!" Usually when motoring, there's a bit of wind. It doesn't take much wind to make more wind. And with more wind, you can make more wind yet, and more speed, increasing range dramatically. This is called motor sailing, something we are all familiar with.

Unless flat calm and rolly seas, the best motor sailing is achieved by keeping the sails up and trimmed to the apparent wind. Making apparent wind out of almost imperceptible true wind is the key. Sometimes it requires an adjustment of course and throttle to get the sails pulling at their best, usually to a close or beam reach (AWA= 50-90 degrees.)

Here's an example: In February, 1987, WILDFLOWER was sailing south from Agua Verde towards Isla Partida in the Sea of Cortez. The early morning wind was light drainage from offshore, about 3-4 knots, just enough to wrinkle the water. On course, without the motor, the wind was well aft of abeam and boat speed was about 1.5 knots.

I cranked up the engine on slow ahead, about 1,200 RPM, and now with motor assist, the apparent wind was drawn abeam. The main and jib began pulling, and boat speed doubled, to between 3-4 knots. This was satisfying. But I wanted to see what was possible. Continuing to motor, I set the spinnaker and dropped the jib. With the pole on the headstay and the spinnaker trimmed, the boat speed went to 5 knots. This was better. But there was yet more potential.

I slowly increased the engine revs, and trimmed the spinnaker sheet as the apparent wind went further forward yet. Now the apparent wind angle (AWA) was 75 degrees, the boat speed was 6 knots at 1,800 RPM, and the pull of the spinnaker began to heel the boat. Kwell.

One last try. With the autopilot steering, I nudged up the throttle to 2,200 RPM (max was 3,400). The apparent wind went further ahead yet, to about 50 degrees AWA, and unbelievably we were motorsailing at nearly 7 knots with a 27 foot sloop of 21.5' waterline, displacing 6,500 pounds, in wind that was barely wrinkling the aqua blue water. WILDFLOWER heeled to near 15 degrees and the spinnaker pulled like harnessed pair of Norwegian Fjords.

The point being, motoring in light wind can be a fun exercise in apparent wind and sail trim, sometimes doubling, even tripling boat speed and range.

[sleddog]

It was a dark and stormy night. There was a sharp pop and this writer fell to the ground.

Actually, it was broad daylight, at 3:30 pm in the afternoon, on Marnell St. The weather was fine. My leg wasn't.

We've all broken rope for one reason or another: overload, chafe, halyard, bad lead, towline, kitestring.

The audible pop I heard was the parting of my Achilles tendon, largest and strongest tendon in the body, capable of bearing up to 10x body weight.

I'd faintly heard of the Achilles tendon when I ruptured the first one in my right calf, 41 years ago, playing basketball during a lunch break while building boats at Tom Wylie Design in Alameda. It took three doctors a week to diagnose what was initially thought to be a badly sprained ankle.

Recently, my left leg Achilles parted while pushing a small RV trailer from the street into the driveway. Operator error. Fortunately, my foot surgeon was nearby and available, and after the Thompson Test* to confirm the rupture diagnosis, surgical repair was scheduled for the next day. 24 hours later the two halves of the tendon had been surgically rejoined with small diameter wire-rope, leaving a 5" vertical scar and stitches as evidence.

Hobbling on crutches, navigating a knee scooter, on hands and knees up stairs, non-weight bearing, is not my strong point. The knee scooter is especially devilish, with all the stability and steering subtlety of an IOR lead dog spinnakering in good breeze.

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My splint has been replaced by a black plastic orthopedic boot. It's a beauty, big enough for a PHRF rating and with enough tabs, Velcro, straps, and stiffness to satisfy even RAGTIME's quest for rig improvement.

They got pills for about everything. But for patience, not so much.

Carry on.

* Thompson Test: Lying on your tummy, the doctor squeezes your leg calf. When the Achilles tendon is intact, the ankle and foot will flex. When the ankle and foot do not flex, a complete tear of the Achilles tendon is the culprit.

[BobJ]

So sorry to hear, Sled!

You were pushing a trailer into the driveway from the street? "A small RV trailer." Yeah, well they have these things called "tow vehicles."

I can't say much. A few years ago I decided to do something similar with my FJ on its trailer. I'd had to beg the trailer shop to install a hitch on my MG. "Those cars can't tow trailers!" he said. He was right and there were some adventures, even towing a measly FJ. But anyway, this particular day I decided I would hand-push the FJ and trailer from the upper driveway to the lower driveway - we lived on a hill. By the time I reached the lower driveway the rig had some momentum. Holding onto the hitch, I started to turn the trailer into the driveway and centrifugal force took over. Like the outside kid on a playground spinner I went flying. Fortunately the boat didn't get hurt.

Towing a boat with an MG - more to come.

[BobJ]

The coolest thing about owning a small, trailerable sailboat is being able to sail on the lakes and reservoirs around here. There are many options. One that's not as well-known is Lake Pillsbury. Pillsbury is best described as "rustic," being a bit north of "Wild Bill Place" and "Three Crossing." It has a marina that can handle maybe six boats and when I last towed the FJ up there, it was accessed by a dirt road named simply "M6."

I and a group of friends had a grand time camping and sailing, until the time came to haul the boat and drive back down the hill. Towing the FJ - with the MG. If you've owned an MG you know the brakes are adequate to stop the car most of the time. There were no brakes on the trailer. Coming down the hill, all went okay until the pads got too warm. I could still slow down quite a bit if I stood on the brake pedal while pulling hard on the emergency brake. Things were getting pretty dicey by the time M6 teed into Highway 20 above Lake Mendocino.

Being a Sunday afternoon, Highway 20 was busy with campers, boats, etc. heading north out of Clear Lake. But I was about to turn onto it, towing a boat, without benefit of stopping first. Like a Cecil B. Demille movie, the "sea" of vehicles parted and I skidded through the turn onto Highway 20 like a boss.

Philpott names her cars - her beemer is "Miss Lucy." My MG was named "Cholmondeley." I loved that car.

[Intermission]

If you've owned an MG you know the brakes are adequate to stop the car most of the time. There were no brakes on the trailer. Coming down the hill, all went okay until the pads got too warm. I could still slow down quite a bit if I stood on the brake pedal while pulling hard on the emergency brake. Things were getting pretty dicey by the time M6 teed into Highway 20 above Lake Mendocino.



Ever try downshifting?

[BobJ]

Of course - they didn't offer automatic transmissions. But at some point the trailer starts pushing the car.

[sleddog]

If you haven't seen Sir Anthony Hopkins in the true story film The Worlds Fastest Indian, I recommend it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bu9dGRQvJY

BobJ and his trailer out-of-control story reminded me of "The Worlds Fastest Olson 30."

Eric Thomas had recently arrived in Alameda from his home in Duluth, Minnesota, with his Olson 30 POLAR BEAR in tow behind his pickup. Eric was entered in the 2008 Singlehanded Transpac, and we were sitting together at the send-off luncheon at CYC. I asked Eric how his non-stop drive West went, towing the boat...

Eric is a quiet sort of guy, not one to brag. His story was epic Seems Eric was napping in back while his crew was driving the rig. Eric awoke to the sound of the truck engine winding out. He couldn't believe his eyes: they were crossing some huge salt flat in the middle of no-where.

Seems his crew had been a bit bored, and while driving I-80 in NW Utah had came upon the turn-off for Bonneville Salt Flats, where land speed record attempts are run. Without Eric awakening, the crew entered the Speedway and was asked his intent. His reply "I just want to drive on the salt flats."

No sooner said than done. Eric awoke to find his pick-up, with POLAR BEAR in tow, racing through the speed traps at nearly 100 mph. Verified by electronic timing, as on exit, they were told by Bonneville officials they had set the speed record for the fastest pickup truck with boat in tow.

This run confirmed Eric as a true lifetime Bugliter even though he usually sails on fresh water near Duluth, MN.
Eric gave his well prepped O-30 POLAR BEAR one fine ride in the 2008 SHTP, and was first-to-finish, second overall.

Eric and POLAR BEAR were immortalized on the cover of Lat-38, showing how to "hang 10" at the Hanalei finish while planing under spinnaker. POLAR BEAR's SHTP success made them celebrities at the Minnesota State Fair where a full scale POLAR BEAR was carved out of butter, becoming the only O30 to melt in the heat of a Minnesota September afternoon.

[islandplanet]

I scooped up the Scampi 30 mentioned earlier in this thread. While it certainly needs some attention, it was too good a deal to pass up. The salt water in the bilge is from the stuffing box. Only 2 thru-hulls plus transducer. Diesel runs well and the Ballenger double spreader rig is due for new wire but in good shape otherwise. Even has a decent dodger. Lots of sails with it but haven't had a chance to inspect. Spinnaker staysail and a blooper are sails we don't see too often. Should be a lot of fun once things are sorted.

[sleddog]

I scooped up the Scampi 30 mentioned earlier in this thread. While it certainly needs some attention, it was too good a deal to pass up. Should be a lot of fun once things are sorted.

Congrats!!!!!
I can't remember what prop was included. But a folding prop is worth a half knot in sailing speed over a solid prop.
~sleddog

[islandplanet]

Congrats!!!!!
I can't remember what prop was included. But a folding prop is worth a half knot in sailing speed over a solid prop.
~sleddog

Thanks.
It's a Martec 2-blade folder.
I was pleasantly surprised with the boat for that price.

[islandplanet]

219721982199

[sleddog]

As you likely know, MELODY has pedigree and is a SHTP vet. She knows the way, and 14 days, 18 hours is not snoozing.:cool:

[islandplanet]

As you likely know, MELODY has pedigree and is a SHTP vet. She knows the way, and 14 days, 18 hours is not snoozing.:cool:
Yes, I looked up the results before I even looked at the boat. It's definitely a find.

[Wylieguy]

I sailed against "MELODY" in Sausalito beer can races a long time ago. I seem to remember a nice guy named Peter sailed the boat and he was a musician - hence the name. And I crewed a few times with him on other races. It wasn't "duded" up for single handing then, but I think the compass cover dates back to the day. I saw the boat on Craigs List. I think you got a great buy on a great boat. -- Pat

[sleddog]

I sailed against "MELODY" in Sausalito beer can races a long time ago. I seem to remember a nice guy named Peter sailed the boat and he was a musician - hence the name. . -- Pat

Hans Peter Myrner owned MELODY and sailed her in 1994 SHTP. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sfgate/obituary.aspx?pid=159571521

[DonAhrens]

I could be wrong, but the photo below looks like the old Imp. Found it here https://www.facebook.com/events/1633284983633581/

[sleddog]

Thanks, Don.

Yup, that's iMP sailing under Irish owner George Radley, of Cork, about 10 years ago...It's a slightly different paint scheme from when we sailed her back in the day, but still the shades of green stripes. Radley won the Around Ireland Race, and also took iMP to the Caribbean Circuit. Not sure of her current whereabouts.

[AlanH]

If you haven't seen Sir Anthony Hopkins in the true story film The Worlds Fastest Indian, I recommend it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bu9dGRQvJY

BobJ and his trailer out-of-control story reminded me of "The Worlds Fastest Olson 30."

Eric Thomas had recently arrived in Alameda from his home in Duluth, Minnesota, with his Olson 30 POLAR BEAR in tow behind his pickup. Eric was entered in the 2008 Singlehanded Transpac, and we were sitting together at the send-off luncheon at CYC. I asked Eric how his non-stop drive West went, towing the boat...

Eric is a quiet sort of guy, not one to brag. His story was epic Seems Eric was napping in back while his crew was driving the rig. Eric awoke to the sound of the truck engine winding out. He couldn't believe his eyes: they were crossing some huge salt flat in the middle of no-where.

Seems his crew had been a bit bored, and while driving I-80 in NW Utah had came upon the turn-off for Bonneville Salt Flats, where land speed record attempts are run. Without Eric awakening, the crew entered the Speedway and was asked his intent. His reply "I just want to drive on the salt flats."

No sooner said than done. Eric awoke to find his pick-up, with POLAR BEAR in tow, racing through the speed traps at nearly 100 mph. Verified by electronic timing, as on exit, they were told by Bonneville officials they had set the speed record for the fastest pickup truck with boat in tow.

This run confirmed Eric as a true lifetime Bugliter even though he usually sails on fresh water near Duluth, MN.
Eric gave his well prepped O-30 POLAR BEAR one fine ride in the 2008 SHTP, and was first-to-finish, second overall.

Eric and POLAR BEAR were immortalized on the cover of Lat-38, showing how to "hang 10" at the Hanalei finish while planing under spinnaker. POLAR BEAR's SHTP success made them celebrities at the Minnesota State Fair where a full scale POLAR BEAR was carved out of butter, becoming the only O30 to melt in the heat of a Minnesota September afternoon.

I had not heard this story. Mad props for that!

[AlanH]

Yay, that Scampi has a home! Congratulations.

[sleddog]

If you didn't know they were there, you likely wouldn't know they were there. I'm talking about a small group of islands (3) called the Rendezvous, in the Salish Sea's Discovery Islands, north of Desolation Sound, East of Campbell River, and south of Johnstone Straits, near Vancouver Island, in British Columbia.

The Rendezvous are easily missed, as they blend with the land behind Calm Channel. But if you are entering/leaving narrow and shallow White Rock Passage, you'll likely pass in close proximity to the Rendezvous Group.
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18 miles as the crow flies, but 2.5 hours by skiff, car, ferry, and foot to the nearest shopping civilization, Campbell River, on North Rendezvous lives a dear friend and remarkable lady, Judith.

Few of Judith's neighbors live full time on the Island. All off-island access is by boat, and winter storms and snow can make this a difficult proposition. Judith's boat is a 12 foot wooden Sea Sled with a 15 horse outboard, a forerunner of the Boston Whaler inverted V tunnel hull.

Sea Sleds are amazing boats, fast, stable and seaworthy. One 55' version even became a successful aircraft carrier. The Sea Sled story is here: http://www.gerrmarine.com/Articles/SeaSleds.pdf

A fascinating book could be written about Judith's life. She is a wonderful communicator, community organizer, and writer, for years having edited a monthly newsletter for the Discovery Islands.

Here is a little piece Judith recently wrote to her neighbors of the small but tight Surge Narrows community.

For someone prone to seasickness, I was surprisingly susceptible to romantic images of ‘messing about in boats’ and I blame my reading of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ for underestimating of the sheer terror of boating. My most youthful experiences of floating reflectively in a tiny dinghy on a pond, or canoeing on gentle lakes and beaver swamps, provided a frisson of adventure with no real danger. Then I moved to an island and my eyes were pried wide open.

I remember an early trip to Heriot Bay through a brisk southeaster in our twenty foot sailboat. My three year old was below in the cabin, hanging on tightly while he vomited on-to the bunk. The baby was latched to my breast in one arm and the other hand was on the tiller, leaving only my teeth to manage the jib sheet. It was my novice’s ignorance of sea conditions and steering strategy that had put me into that fix but there was nothing else to do but keep on going, climbing a wave then plunging into a trough, over and over, until I could finally stop in the lea of Rebecca Spit and clean up the mess. In those days, every trip to town was a stressful epic of uncertain winds, mechanical failures, cold, fatigue and the demands of my long suffering tiny passengers. There must surely be a protector of the ignorant or we would never have survived.

Luckily, experience trumps, (oops, can’t use that word anymore), overcomes ignorance and eventually I learned that: a small southeast chop up by Surge is a reliable indicator of large waves by the Bretons; turning right and running the curving troughs into the Bay is more comfortable than quartering the waves; and keeping the fuel tank free of water accumulation is a good thing to do. Also, there’s no shame in judiciously turning around and going back home when the signs are against me. Or maybe never leaving the dock in the first place.
When a speed boat replaced our quarter speed sail boat, our trips could fit into smaller weather windows and the cold had less time to penetrate our bones. I found that gripping the gunnel with white knuckles and taking shallow breaths didn’t make the trip any easier so I traded that strategy for singing at the top of my lungs, which really did help, as I surfed through the frightening stretches. Each safe return boosted my confidence a little more and there was some new lesson learned with every boat trip.

There was no alternative to boating if I wanted to live in this beautiful place so there was never a question about whether I would prevail, even in darkest times. Once, in a moment of deep discomfort as I beat home, wet and weary after a night shift on the oyster beach, in the dark and into a nasty, frigid, outflow chop, I asked myself if I would like to be magically transported into my armchair by the fire sipping hot cocoa, and I answered, “No!”. This was my chosen life in this instant. I would get through this nightmare of a trip and the home comforts would be even sweeter by contrast.

Then, as time passed, boating became more and more of a pleasure and an adventure, just as my childhood reading had promised. I would set out, well dressed and prepared, in a boat I knew well and run through familiar waterways with confidence. My senses were open to the beauties of the scene, my eyes trained to changes in the sky and the water’s surface, and the world was mine. My children learned along with me and they were competent boaters at an early age, taking themselves to school or to visit friends down the channel by the time they were ten or eleven.

Now, I love to pull the boat into a pocket beach and comb for treasure, remembering to watch the tide so I don’t get stuck for hours until the water returns. Or putter close in along the shore admiring the lichens and wildflowers that grow on the jigsaw canvas of rocky outcrops, while steering clear of slightly submerged rocks and reefs. Or pausing to commune with a pod of whales as they dance through the unseen dimension below my hull, and feeling no fear. Or head out to Book Club at a harbour I’ve never visited before. Or make an excursion on a new route through our myriad islands just for the sheer pleasure of being out in the wind and salt spray. I can go anywhere on this coast, unrestricted by narrow ribbons of landlubber roads.

I love travelling at night when all the senses must be completely engaged to compensate for diminished sight. Suddenly, the only visual cues are the black ridge line against the sky, or the surface pattern-shifts of grey on silver that predict a junk filled eddy line or an oncoming boat. Occasionally there is the reassurance of a distant navigation light. Beyond those and the feel of current swirls under the boat, some kind of extra sense kicks in that provides all the needed information while everything “me” is lost to the place in this present moment .

Modern technology has made many things easier, from motors that start easily every time to navigation charts on our phones, and instructions on how to do anything on YouTube. With radar, sonar and GPS, we hardly have to think, although that does leave us vulnerable to technical glitches. I still carry a hand compass. An enclosed boat is comfortable but I don’t like being separated from the world by a full windscreen and roof so I will always choose the excellent visibility and atmospheric connection of an open boat.

The new reliability of craft is wonderful, though. In the old days it was unusual to make a trip without passing (and stopping to help) at least one boat that was dead in the water while the skipper tinkered with the outboard. Or being that drifting boat and waiting patiently for some neighbour to come by and offer a rescuing tow. Today, my foam filled boat is unsinkable but I sank my other boats five times, always at the dock or on the beach, and I be-came very adept at rescuing a submerged motor. There all kinds of possible mistakes to be made and I think I’ve hit them all, but I do it less frequently these days.

Women and boats are a natural fit and it only takes time and persistence to become comfortable alone on the water. If you do your own maintenance and repairs yet another field of skills opens to you, which also transfers usefully to the homestead. I am always amazed that some women don’t drive the family boat although they drive a car on horrendously risky, maniac-filled roads without blinking.

At one time we had a Surge skiff club for women with peter-pumpkin-eater husbands. A more experienced woman would meet the novices en route to the central meeting place, each woman joining the convoy in her own boat. Then we’d practice the lesson of the day: docking, or anchoring, or cleaning a spark plug, whatever was re-quested, and take a short run together to some point of interest or challenge. After a little socializing, each woman would then skipper her boat home, with a support boat still in sight, and tie up at her own dock feeling more skilled and empowered than the day before. It only took a few meetings before they were all boating around, enjoying their freedom to move and knowing they could always help out in a marine emergency.
Life is an adventure but in a boat it is the best adventure.

[AlanH]

That's wonderful. Thanks, Skip.

makes me think of the book, "The Curve of Time".

[sleddog]

Like all good sea stories, they can be retold. This one from the Forum 2.5 years ago, but updated with fresh information.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fred Hughes, Commodore of the New Jersey Yacht Club was a serious yacht racer and betting man. In the 1880's in New York, those two recreations, sailing and gambling, were not mutually exclusive .

Fred Hughes had “drunk the catamaran Kool-Aid” when he bought Nathanael Herreshoff's legendary pioneering catamaran design AMARYLLIS. Soon enough, he wanted something faster than AMARYLLIS. Hughes had Herreshoff build the 41' catamaran JESSIE with the intention of racing JESSIE against a horse from New York to Stony Creek, Connecticut, 90 miles, for a $1,000 bet, winner take all.

Hughes' catamaran JESSIE, favored with strong tail winds, won that race. The horse, “Boston,” came second. The owner of the horse, wealthy New York sportsman, Dr. Ezra P Daggett, was dissatisfied and wanted a rematch. Daggett was the inventor of preserving food in tin cans. Commodore Hughes readily agreed to Daggett's terms for a rematch. For the rematch, Hughes again had a new catamaran built, the 40' CYCLONE. Daggett again challenged with his horse “Boston.” And a third entry, a dark horse, was an unnamed man on a bicycle, who bet $500 he could beat both the horse and the catamaran, and take the $1,500 prize.

Here's CYCLONE, with JESSIE in the background: 2209

The start of the catamaran/ horse/ bicycle race was scheduled to leave New York 4:30 a.m. on morning of August 15, 1885. There was a problem. 4 detectives from the Humane Society were hunting for the “Boston” the horse, ready to arrest Daggett the owner on animal cruelty charges arising from the previous race.

At the 24th St starting line, Daggett cunningly disguised another horse as “Boston,” and the SPCA detectives tried to arrest the wrong horse. Meanwhile Daggett and “Boston” rode away at a 12 mph gate up Central Ave.

By the Boston Road, “Boston's” pace had increased to 20 mph with Daggett wearing oilskin foul weather gear and a Southwester hat pulled over his eyes to protect them from the driving rain.

Down on the water, Hughes CYCLONE was encountering difficulty starting the race. Leaving New York's East River through Hells Gate, the wind was strong and from the East, making it a dead muzzler, not a good point of sail for a catamaran. We can only guess the conversation onboard CYCLONE was not optimistic.

Meanwhile, the third starter, the bicyclist, failed to appear. Whether because of the foul weather, or because he hadn't secured the necessary $500 entry bet, the reason for the bicyclist's “no show” is unknown.

By 6 a.m., “Boston” and Daggett had reached New Rochelle, and the rain was beginning to let up. Stamford, Connecticut was reached at 8:15 a.m. In Stamford, “Boston” was given a swallow of brandy, a rubdown, and 45 minute rest.

At 11:30 a.m., “Boston” trotted briskly into Bridgeport, where the big boned gelding was given a well deserved hour's rest. At 12: 30 p.m. Dr. Daggett picked up “Boston's” reins, gave a chirp, and “Boston” responded by breaking into “a spanking gate” which they held all the way to New Haven.

At 2:45 pm “Boston” and Daggett entered New Haven, where “Boston” was again rested, rubbed down, and given oatmeal porridge flavored with a dose of brandy. It was here in New Haven that Daggett fully expected to be arrested by the Humane Officers. But none appeared.

At 4:34 p.m, after covering the final 11 miles from New Haven, “Boston” and Daggett crossed the finish line at Frank's Hotel to the applause of 50 welcomers. But the race wasn't over. Where was Hughes on CYCLONE? Nothing had been seen of the catamaran since the start. In addition, Daggett realized that in his ruse to escape the Humane detectives in New York, he had started the race five miles closer to the finish than CYCLONE.

To make up the five mile advantage, a very tired “Boston” was driven 5 miles up and down the road in front of the hotel until the requisite make up distance had been covered. Still no CYCLONE in sight as “Boston” was stabled, rubbed down, given another round of oatmeal, and snugged down for the night.

Whatever became of the catamaran CYCLONE? Apparently, Hughes and crew gave up the race at Bridgeport, 20 miles short of the finish.

It was reported in the NY Times the next day that “Dr. Daggett boasted he was ready to put up $2,000 that his horse could beat the catamaran two out of three.” That race never happened. Dr. Daggett was charged with animal cruelty by the Humane Society. Here is what the NY Times had to say about that.

"NEW-HAVEN, July 4.--Judge Denning, in the Criminal Court, to-day discharged Ezra Daggett, of New-York, who was tried on Tuesday on a charge made by the State Agent of the Humane Society that Daggett had driven his horse 90 miles in 15 hours. The discharge was on the ground that, while the horse had been driven that distance, it had been kindly treated and properly cared for. Daggett went to New-York to-day with the horse.

“Dr. Daggett versus the Catamaran” certainly sounds like an interesting sporting contest. If you are going to race a horse against a catamaran, give the horse some brandy for best results.

Meanwhile, I have recently learned the only surviving Herreshoff catamaran, AMARYLLIS II, was lowered from the rafters at the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, R.I. This interests me, as I have been lobbying to get AMARYLLIS lowered down where she can be viewed by the public.
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HMM staff even rigged AMARYLLIS, stepped the mast, and hoisted sail. I can't imagine what the 80 year old cotton canvas was like. It was reported "rigging the boat proved to be a day-long experimental archaeology project and a chance to puzzle out the mechanics of what it might have been like to sail her in the 1930’s,”

Here's AMARYLLIS after 83 years:

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Did the staff at Herreshoff Marine Museum dare to launch and sail the fragile AMARYLLIS? You'll have to wait to find out. Not sure myself.

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[sleddog]

"You can't get there from here." Yesterday, when Howard and I were driving over Hecker Pass (Hwy 152), from Watsonville to Gilroy, near the summit, one lane of the two lane road was missing. Where the pavement was is now cliff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6V2Ew1M0sE

Santa Cruz County estimates $70 million to fix its roads damaged by this winter's storms. Coming right up!

Better news from the Harbor, where the dredge has punched through a channel. Howard and Yvonne went sailing yesterday in sparkly warm weather, 70 degrees and 7 knots of wind. What could be better?

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[AlanH]

Like.

Well, the harbor, not the Hecker Pass Rd.

[sleddog]

Bill Ficker December 12, 1927 - March 13, 2017
Fair Winds & Godspeed

Bill Ficker was a friend, competitor, mentor, my boss. Bill's 1958 World Champion Starboat NHYCUSA (Newport Harbor Yacht Club USA) was always immaculately prepared. I should know. My Star was parked in an adjacent stall, and I worked a summer job for Bill in his architect's office.

Friday afternoons Bill would send me off early from work to wet sand the bottom of NHYCUSA, first with #800 fine grit, then #1200 extra fine. Years later I wondered if Bill didn't enjoy having the kid smoothing his boat's bottom, knowing I wouldn't have time to fine-tune my own boat for that weekend's race. It was part of the psych, and Bill was very good at that.

Bill was a quiet but fierce competitor, finely attuned to both the rules and winning tactics. You knew if Bill got ahead, you'd never pass. Bill was always conservative, never taking flyers if behind. And when he got ahead, he would always tack to cross, to consolidate his lead.

Bill, encouraged by his sister Sue and father Pete, was already a good sailor as a kid. At Cal Berkeley, Bill, with Lowell North and Larry Shep, made a formidable intercollegiate team. They would likely have won the 1950 championships, but Lowell broke his leg and couldn't sail. Dick Carter and Bobby Monetti came out from Yale and won by a point in a photo finish in the last race. That's Monetti holding the Morss trophy, Dick Carter immediately to his left in the dark shirt and shorts, and Bill Ficker standing tall behind Monetti, second from right, with the towel and head of hair.

2216

I could not help but learn when sailing against Bill Ficker. I knew I was sailing against the very best. Even watching from astern was a pleasure: you just knew Bill was on the right tack, his Baxter and Cicero sails perfectly shaped and trimmed for the breeze and sea conditions.

Once, in a Star fleet race, Bill's NHYCUSA and I were starting at the weather end. We had a perfectly timed start, and NHYCUSA, to weather, was a few seconds early and barging. I was about to tell the master, “No room, Bill, you're barging!” when Bill, without looking, said in a firm, level-toned voice, “Skip, I'm gonna need room, I have an absolute.”

I couldn't remember what an “absolute” was or if I'd read about it. I wavered at the tiller, and Bill slipped NHYCUSA through the hole we opened and sailed off to another win.

That afternoon as we washed our boats off, I mustered the nerve to ask Bill, “what's an 'absolute'?” With a wry grin Bill said to the 14 year old kid “why Skip, an “absolute” means I have absolutely no rights.”

2217 Bill Ficker. Great guy, wonderful sailor, true gentleman.

[AlanH]

Wonderful story, Skip.... I've certainly heard Bills name many times.

[sleddog]

Another great has passed into legend: Royal Robbins died Tuesday, age 82. Robbins was an inspiration, pioneer, roll model, and icon of American rock climbing during the Golden Age of Yosemite Rock Climbing, a god in a time when it was possible to have them.

2218

Royal Robbins was larger than life and his climbs were done in the epitome of style. If you've ever followed one of his First Ascent routes, you knew you were following in the steps of a master.

Robbin's climbing career was full of firsts, including the first ascent of the NW Face of Half Dome in 1957, and the first solo ascent of El Capitan. In addition to a nearly endless list of famous climbs in Yosemite, the Tetons, and in Europe, Robbins authored books on how to climb and developed many modern free and aid climbing techniques, gear, and standards. He was also a vocal proponent of clean climbing, and the first to use nuts on Yosemite's big walls where the sound of hammers and pitons had come before.

Robbins was also a boater and waterman Maybe not a sailor as we like to call ourselves. But later in life, after age 40, Royal Robbins took up kayaking in the Sierra and made some amazing portages and first descents of back country waters.

Royal was greatly in love with his wife Liz for over 50 years.
2222

He also liked to play chess, especially with kids.
2221

Royal Robbins wrote what I copy below and I take a page out of his book to pass on. It is a timeless sermon, a gift of his legacy, and if you substitute "sailing" for "rock climbing " it all makes perfect sense.
2219

Professor of the Steep, we stand on your shoulders.
2220

Off Belay

[sleddog]

2223

The above photo of a jib sheet turning block on a 20 year old, aluminum, 73' maxi-yacht raises a lot of questions. The photo emphasizes the increased strain produced when a sheet, halyard, anchor rode, or other highly loaded line is turned through a block or lead. (As well as other factors such as the possibility of corrosion, the addition of spacers, and the apparent lack of thru-bolting.)

Turning a line through a block 90 degrees ("L" lead) increases the strain at the turn by a factor of 1.5. Turning a line 180 degrees ("V" lead) increases the load at the block by a factor of 2 (doubled). These turns are called "slingshot" leads for good reason. If the block or line breaks at the turn, the resulting slingshot can be disabling if contacting a leg, torso, or head.

Experience shows the wisdom of not stepping or standing in the middle of a slingshot lead. Nor placing yourself in the line of fire of other slingshot leads such as a loaded halyard deck block, clew reef block at forward end of the boom, or spinnaker sheet at the transom corner. Even on small boats, slingshot leads need to be recognized and respected.

The modern addition of low stretch, hi-tech lines has only increased the likelihood of failure at a slingshot lead.
Even anchor chain over a bow roller can create a slingshot lead. I once saw a highly loaded anchor chain, during a sequence of swells, bend an ultra strong stainless steel tube bow roller downward to 45 degrees.

[BobJ]

Apart from the pads adding leverage, no through bolts? Seriously?

[The Smokester]

"...The modern addition of low stretch, hi-tech lines has only increased the likelihood of failure..."

Also true in the slightly different context of jacklines. Something's gotta give.