Sorry to be naive but... Where was C&B Marine? I thought both Timberwolf and Sweet Okole were built in NZ.
Sorry to be naive but... Where was C&B Marine? I thought both Timberwolf and Sweet Okole were built in NZ.
Hi Jonathan,
C&B (Bob Thompson) was in Santa Cruz, originally at Moore's Reef, then moving to Soquel in 1976. Built many quality wood boats including TIMBERWOLF, WILD SPIRIT, ALERT, ISIS, a 77' Alden Schooner, rebuilt 8 meter ANGELITA, and others.
SWEET OKOLE was built in Hono by Foo Lim and sons 1976-77. Neither was built in N.Z.
Last edited by sleddog; 08-16-2019 at 09:06 PM.
Sooty Shearwaters are back! Hundreds of thousands, if not millions are nearshore flying in swirls of smoke as far as the eye can see. In some areas the ocean is black with shearwaters as they land for the night.
What I wrote in 2015: Here in Capitola, on the northern shore of Monterey Bay, we are currently blessed with visitors from deep in the Southern Hemisphere. Surf is head high in sets, the result of a southwest swell from two gales spinning 7,000 miles away, in the Southern Ocean, off the southeast coast of New Zealand.
Our south swell is the same one that two days ago led to High Surf Warnings and close out sets of 10-15 feet at Ala Wai Harbor in Honolulu, keeping half a dozen Transpac Race finishers from entering Ala Wai until daylight.
It's that time of year. Riding the swell off New Brighton Beach in the evening flockup are thousands of sooty shearwaters. They are packed so tightly, the inner birds in the circle can't take off until the outer rows become airborne.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPjPnTahK6U
These sooty shearwaters, like the ocean swell, also come from the Southern Ocean, flying extreme distances from New Zealand and Tasmania to overwinter (our summer) off the California Coast.
My direct observation over 40 years, as well as scientific census taking over the last 20 years, is the previously huge number (millions) of sooty shearwaters making the migration is much reduced. Burrow nests on 36 islands off the South Island of New Zealand are hunted for shearwater chicks and the young birds plucked, gutted, salted, and shipped overseas, as well as sold at corner shops as "mutton birds."
Mutton bird oil is used to rubdown the coats of greyhounds, racehorses, even athletes. "Good for reproductive organs and teeth," says the sales come on.
Wanna buy a dozen, 25, 50 or more salted mutton birds online, "a delicacy rich in Omega 3 fatty acids," delivered to your doorstep? http://www.muttonbird.net.au/index.htm
Sustainable harvest? Not to my way of thinking, especially when marketed overseas. Bummer.
In the early morning hours of August 18, 1961, thousands of sooty shearwaters became disoriented in the fog, and flew into the lights of Capitola, crashing into homes, cars, lightpoles, and shoreside structures. Dead and stunned birds littered the streets in the foggy early dawn. Startled by the rain of birds and the overpowering stench of disgorged fish, local residents rushed out on their lawns with flashlights, then rushed back inside as more shearwaters flew towards their lights.
The "invasion" caught the attention of local resident Alfred Hitchcock, and he used the shearwaters of Capitola as the basis of one of the all time classic horror movies, the 1963 film "The Birds."
Itsa foggy night tonight. I know the shearwaters are out there. "We'll Leave the Light On For You" is probably not a good idea.
Last edited by sleddog; 08-16-2019 at 09:25 PM.
The USSailing report on the MORPHEUS tragedy notes the lifelines had been removed, most likely to facilitate ease of assuming "legs over" hiking for the crew. A photo has emerged taken 12 days after the event that shows MORPHEUS with bow and stern pulpits and upper lifelines.
My guess, based on a written comment by Jeff of MORPHEUS's crew, is they sailed the boat shortly after the tragedy as a memorial tribute and likely (my guess) out of respect, replaced the stanchions and lifelines before that sail.
Another question: was MORPHEUS's tiller extension intact after the MOB? Sometimes an extendable tiller extension will lose its grip and extend at just the wrong moment with unexpected consequence.
In addition to the Committee's analysis and recommendations, my emphasis would have been on a mandatory requirement to carry the single most important piece of lifesaving gear after a PFD: a LifeSling. Also, rather than mentioning the Figure 8 return as a viable rescue method, the QuickStop is, IMO, better by far in almost all cases.
Lastly, the CG and other interested parties should have a policy of not disposing of evidence, whether a fatality occurred or not.
Last edited by sleddog; 08-17-2019 at 03:06 PM.
These posts are a treat to read and enjoy. There seem to be an absence of high profile sailing in my past.
I wonder if a few more comments could be provided. The fifty year retrospective is more predictable, since we know results. But, as a 20 something year old was there any doubt before or during these events. For example, my recollection that state of the art navigation was an RDF (radio direction finder), and where the knot meters calibrated. Was the voyage surrounded with a lot of youthful naïveté of what could possibly go wrong?
Another topic would be compensation for the crew - the appearance of a corinthian sport. Currently, fully paid crew and support is common. But in the 70's and 80's, any discussion of compensation seemed to hushed.
Ants
A tiller would work on MERLIN just fine. But the new 7 lb. carbon fiber wheel is a thing of beauty and delicious to hold. It turns so easily it is easy to lose track of accidentally changing course. Guest drivers on closehauled MERLIN would not realize they were bearing off. After all, the jib telltales were properly streaming..until they weren't, and the apparent wind quickly dropped. "Guess the wind stopped," was the common comment. "Uh, no, come up 50 degrees." And the apparent wind machine that is MERLIN would start all over.
My first Transpac on the 49 foot S&S yawl KIALOA had a different steering issue: the mahogany wheel had wooden spokes. In a moment of enlightenment, someone mounted a laminated perimeter teak ring around the end of the spokes so you could theoretically let the wheel spin through your grip as needed.
The came the coup-de-grasp. The owner ordered the new perimeter grip to be wrapped with marlin in the traditional manner. To further screw it up, multiple coats of varnish were brushed on the marlin to make the wheel look good. WTF Over?
So we get out into the trades and things begin to warm up. Not only does the marlin begin to unwrap, but the varnish begins to melt. When you placed your hands on the wheel for your steering shift, that's where they were going to stay, stuck in melting varnish. Then, a little off course, the mizzen spinnaker would drop over your head, only to refill with danger of taking either the binnacle or your neck, or both, aloft. I was not a happy camper, and being youngest and least experienced, came in for a fair share of abuse. DORADE and her sisters, like KIALOA, may once have been breakthrough designs for Olin Stephens. But the nuance was lost on this kid.
I knew I could do better. When I built WILDFLOWER, my Wylie 27 custom cruiser, a New Zealand friend presented the boat with a beautiful laminated kauri and mahogany tiller, strong enough to stand on and wonderful to grip for long hours of singlehanding. This tiller had the appropriate 22 coats of varnish, and was the only varnished wood on deck. Give me a bean bag and that tiller, and I never tired of steering.
In 1980 I became project manager on the SC-50 OAXACA, and in 1991 the owner upgraded to the SC-70 MIRAGE. Both had large, aluminum, "destroyer" wheels exquisitely covered with the finest elk hide and lovingly hand-stitched in place.
I didn't think steering could get better than that ....until MERLIN and her new carbonfiber wheel hove into view last week.
If you have the opportunity at next month's Big Boat Series to visit MERLIN, ask for a quick look aboard and give the wheel a turn. You will not be disappointed.
Last edited by sleddog; 08-18-2019 at 12:48 PM.
8/18/19
For those following Randall Reeves adventuresome and well planned and executed Figure 8 Circumnavigation, MOLI is currently anchored just inside False Strait adjacent to the west end of Bellot Straits at the southern end of Peel Sound.
https://www.followmychallenge.com/live/figure8voyage/
Randall made a long run yesterday from Graham Anchorage and is moored nearby to ALIOTH. These two well found yachts now face the crux of their East to West NW Passage transit. South of Bellot is a snout of 7/10's and greater ice coverage. (See the yellow/brown finger pointing southeast on the left-middle side of the below ice map.) Green color is 3/10 ice coverage or less, and can usually be transited with caution. Yellow is 4/10-6/10's ice coverage and beyond the limit of small craft. 7/10's and greater is only available to icebreakers.
It will be interesting to see if MOLI and ALIOTH wait for an opening. Or proceed today in an attempt to get south and out of the danger of further heavy ice that could compromise their passage. Once south of Bellot and the 7/10 snout coverage, it looks like clear sailing all the way to Alaska.
Bellot Straits marks an interesting geographical landmark. The narrow strait separates Somerset Island on the north from the Boothia Peninsula on the south. At its eastern end is the Murchison Promontory, the northernmost point of land of mainland North America.
Bellot averages about a mile wide and 16 miles long, prone to strong tidal flow of 5-6 knots, and makes a short cut connecting the Gulf of Boothia and Prince Regent Inlet on the east with Peel Sound and Franklin Strait on the west. It was first navigated in 1937. As recently as last year a yacht was sunk by ice in Bellot.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/08/...ith-a-sinking/
This season entry into Bellot from the east is closed by ice and likely will not be transited, which is why MOLI went down Peel Sound to the west, bypassing Prince Regent Sound and Bellot. Exciting and stressful navigational challenges for singlehanded Randall!
http://figure8voyage.com/blog/
Noon Update: AIS shows MOLI has left her anchorage and is proceeding on a slow bell into 1/10-3/10's pack ice....Presumably ALIOTH will leave shortly. ALIOTH is another story, a fully capable 53 foot aluminum sloop built in 2009 with a lifting keel, water ballast, twin rudders, and crash bulkheads in the bow and stern. She is an ocean-goer with some miles in her wake, having completed a circumnavigation. If ALIOTH completes the NW Passage, her next destination is New Zealand and Antarctica. Here's a photo of ALIOTH. Kinda makes MOLI look like a VW beetle.
Last edited by sleddog; 08-18-2019 at 05:04 PM.
Hi Ants,
Our crew aboard RED ROOSTER, IMPROBABLE, and IMP, among others, were tight knit, with great confidence in both boat and ourselves. This came from time sailing together in high stakes competition. As well, most of us had learned the best way to do things at the knee of "Coach," Warwick M. "Commodore" Tompkins, as fine a seaman as you'll find.
David Allen, (no relation), owner of IMPROBABLE and IMP, brought us together as family. We always knew David had our backs and were joyous being able to show David what his boat could do.
Youthful enthusiasm and optimism? Most definitely. Naivete? We learned fast from David, Commodore, and each other, as well as the culture we were playing in. Mistakes were made. But blame never entered the equation. It was fun feeling the power of a strong crew matched to an equally strong boat.
I remember the first time on IMP we went out to practice one of our moves, a "tack, back, jibe set." Nobody spoke or had to be told a thing, even though it was our first time and if anything was going to go wrong, this was it.
It was blowing 20 at Crissy. With the #2 jib, we approached on port tack on the port lay line. At the buoy we tacked to starboard, but purposely held the jib aback. As IMP spun in her own length and jibed, the spinnaker halyard was jumped, and simultaneously the jib halyard was let run. The spinnaker had filled before IMP's stern had left the mark. How'd they do that? Poetry.
This and other maneuvers, like our spinnaker string-drop in traffic, came as challenges our crew were only too ready to pull off. We were always looking for something further to add to our arsenal of "tricks" that were sometimes the difference between winning and coming second.
Here's a trick we used sailing on CRAZY HORSE, Larry Harvey's 49' Nelson Marek sloop, that helped us win the 1986 Kenwood Cup. That's CRAZY HORSE a length astern of rival TOMAHAWK as we ran down the coast of Maui. Dennis Durgin at the helm had been weaving TOMAHAWK madly attempting to shake his pursuer to no avail.
Even though CRAZY HORSE was smaller and rated slower than TOMADOG (all IOR boats had nicknames that ended in "dog), we held even for 40 miles and won the Molokai Race by doing what with CRAZY HORSE? (Salmon dinner at CBC for first correct answer. Sorry Mr. Hedgehog but you are excused as you won the last prize.)
1. Blooperbumping
2. Ooching
3. Pumping
4. Towing
5. Gassing
6. Helm-hawking
7. Spin-Trim-Pin
8. Fire boating
Speaking of family, my brother just sent pics of my grand nephew and grand niece visiting the model room at the Royal Thames Y.C in London. Kwell. Thanks, Bro.
Stewart Allan Brooke Allan
Last edited by sleddog; 08-21-2019 at 07:58 PM.
4 - being towed along on their wake. Very difficult to pull off, let alone for 40 miles!
- rob
[4 QUOTE=sleddog;24094]Hi Ants,
Our crew aboard RED ROOSTER, IMPROBABLE, and IMP, among others, were tight knit, with great confidence in both boat and ourselves. This came from time sailing together in high stakes competition. As well, most of us had learned the best way to do things at the knee of "Coach," Warwick M. "Commodore" Tompkins, as fine a seaman as you'll find.
David Allen, (no relation), owner of IMPROBABLE and IMP, brought us together as family. We always knew David had our backs and were joyous being able to show David what his boat could do.
Youthful enthusiasm and optimism? Most definitely. Naivete? We learned fast from David, Commodore, and each other, as well as the culture we were playing in. Mistakes were made. But blame never entered the equation. It was fun feeling the power of a strong crew matched to an equally strong boat.
I remember the first time on IMP we went out to practice one of our moves, a "tack, back, jibe set." Nobody spoke or had to be told a thing, even though it was our first time and if anything was going to go wrong, this was it.
It was blowing 20 at Crissy. With the #2 jib, we approached on port tack on the port lay line. At the buoy we tacked to starboard, but purposely held the jib aback. As IMP spun in her own length and jibed, the spinnaker halyard was jumped, and simultaneously the jib halyard was let run. The spinnaker had filled before IMP's stern had left the mark. How'd they do that? Poetry.
This and other maneuvers, like our spinnaker string-drop in traffic, came as challenges our crew were only too ready to pull off. We were always looking for something further to add to our arsenal of "tricks" that were sometimes the difference between winning and coming second.
Here's a trick we used sailing on CRAZY HORSE, Larry Harvey's 49' Nelson Marek sloop, that helped us win the 1986 Kenwood Cup. That's CRAZY HORSE a length astern of rival TOMAHAWK as we ran down the coast of Maui. Dennis Durgin at the helm had be weaving TOMAHAWK madly attempting to shake his pursuer to no avail.
Even though CRAZY HORSE was smaller and rated slower than TOMADOG (all IOR boats had nicknames that ended in "dog), we held even for 40 miles and won the Molokai Race by doing what with CRAZY HORSE? (Salmon dinner at CBC for first correct answer. Sorry Mr. Hedgehog but you are excused as you won the last prize.)
1. Blooperbumping
2. Ooching
3. Pumping
4. Towing
5. Gassing
6. Helm-hawking
7. Spin-Trim-Pin
8. Fire boating
Speaking of family, my brother just sent pics of my grand nephew and grand niece visiting the model room at the Royal Thames Y.C in London. Kwell. Thanks, Bro.
[/QUOTE]
Congrats to Randall for his just completed southward transit of Peel Sound icepack! In one non-stop leg, he's gotta be a tired puppy. It's looks like MOLI and ALIOTH are bypassing the clockwise end around of King William Island and Gjoa Haven and taking a straight shot for Cambridge Bay, saving several hundred miles. I wonder if the 3 crew on nearby ALIOTH are helping Randall by standing watch while he grabs a quick nap?
Though many sea miles yet to go for Randall to sail under the Golden Gate, the pack ice obstacles in Peel Sound are the last real ice he'll encounter. Bergs and bergy bits, yes. But max ice melt in the NW Passage is still to come in the next few weeks.
We look forward to Randall's next post and story of his recent passage down Peel Sound. But that probably won't come until he's anchor down in Cambridge Bay, 100 miles ahead.
OK, if you missed the above trivia correctly about CRAZY HORSE correctly answered by TIGER BEETLE, here's another chance. What islands did Randall recently pass and why were they purposely mischarted?
Last edited by sleddog; 08-20-2019 at 08:46 AM.