Photo, please? What will replace it? You can borrow Miss Lucy while I'm in Kauai - July 11-17. You might even find trinkets for Wildflower in her cushions and trunk.
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
Photo, please? What will replace it? You can borrow Miss Lucy while I'm in Kauai - July 11-17. You might even find trinkets for Wildflower in her cushions and trunk.
cat whisperer
Sad news that 72 miles from the start, and after nearly 100 miles of paddling, Karl had to retire from the R2Alaska. He'd averaged almost 4 knots when underway, and was ahead of many bigger, faster boats.Originally Posted by sleddog
Respect.
Hello Wonderful Friends and Supporters, The high of Karl SUPing with the whales is sadly followed by a low. I just got off the phone with Karl, and he has been struggling very hard with the tracking of his board. The extra weight has changed board handling enough that, after over 100 miles paddling, he is experiencing extreme pain in one knee and hip. He thinks he could make the trip supported with the board light (food drops etc), but to continue now would mean knee breakdown and possibly permanent damage. This is a very difficult post to write, as I know everyone wanted to watch that tracker and cheer him on to Ketchikan... he has pushed through a lot of pain already, and wants to be able to SUP again. We want to thank everyone for the incredible support and well wishes (including the woman who bought him fresh scones & chutney in Pirates Cove). Thank you all so much. There aren't quite words for how much the intense support and goodwill has meant to us. R2AK may be over for Team Heart of Gold, but there is a lot more SUPing to come. The support for this race has been overwhelming, and the decision to stop is a heart heavy one... We thank each one of you so much.
Last edited by sleddog; 06-28-2016 at 11:56 AM.
cat whisperer
The old Santa Cruz Harbor dredge SEABRIGHT has seen heavy use during its 30 year lifespan. Increasingly, breakdowns have sucked time and money more than sand that shoals the entrance. This winter the Harbor entrance was closed for 4 months, until ultimately, two weeks ago, SEABRIGHT's engine well and truly died for the last time.
New dredges aren't cheap, nor can they be bought off the shelf. Different states have different environmental concerns and regulations. California is especially strict on emissions, and an all electric dredge was considered.
After considerable wrangling among port officials, in 2015, Santa Cruz ordered a new diesel dredge from Louisiana, home of dredge building expertise ever since the Army Corp of Engineers began straightening and deepening the Mississippi and its tributaries.
Two weeks ago, the new dredge, to be named TWIN LAKES after a naming contest, arrived in a caravan of 18 wheeler trucks that shut down town traffic around the Harbor for hours as the final turns were painstakingly negotiated.
"Some assembly required" would be an understatement. Fortunately, the builders sent their best crew, and heavy equipment hummed from 7 a.m. until the foreman called it quits about dark.
Today was launch day. The 280 ton, 5 million dollar TWIN LAKES had been assembled on 18 inch diameter rollers at the head of the launch ramp. To get the dredge over the hump and down the ramp, normally used by outboards and small craft, required even bigger stuff. A festive crowd began gathering at 7 a.m., and continued to increase during the morning as 8 giant airbags, each 6 feet in diameter and 35 feet long, were inflated under the new dredge using a spaghetti of large hoses leading to a giant compressor and switchboard of valves and equalizing gauges.
By 9 a.m. the launch crew got the dredge to tilt downwards at the head of the launch ramp and the air bags, dredge on top, began rolling. The whole shebang was held in check by a 4:1 tackle of 1.5 inch flexible steel wire anchored to an 18 wheel tractor trailer and a giant diesel winch that slowly eased slack.
Things didn't quite go as planned. An air bag squirted out from underneath like a slippery sausage, and the dredge began to list on the ramp. The runaway airbag was caught as it began to float in the Harbor, and repositioned and reinflated to 2 psi. By 10:30 a.m, things began moving again.
Though it played out in slow motion, and took about 4 hours for the dredge to travel a precarious 75 feet down the ramp and into the waters of its new home, the crowd was appreciative, cheered, and applauded as the dredge took the waters. All that was needed was a brass band and swing dancers, as the three remaining air bladders from under the dredge surfaced with a mighty whoosh like some rubber missiles from the deep.
We're back in the dredging business. Now to replace the Harbor Bridge, terminally damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and held together by epoxy glue.
Never a dull moment in this town.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msvOqvBJLBw
Last edited by sleddog; 06-29-2016 at 07:05 PM.
200+ posts, OMG
Twin Lakes looks four times bigger than Seabright. Can she suck sand four times faster?
cat whisperer
According to those in the know, the old SEABRIGHT and new TWIN LAKES dredges are the same overall length:120 feet. TWIN LAKES has more freeboard by several feet, and looks much larger in comparison.
Both dredges pump through a 16" pipe, but I'm sure TWIN LAKES newer engines and pump are more powerful with less noxious emissions meeting all regulatory standards.
Inside TWIN LAKE's bridge, a touch-screen computer has replaced the control levers of old, and everything is automated, so the crew should have to enter the engine room much less frequently.
TWIN LAKES was custom built by DSC, and is classified as a "medium" size dredge. DSC also built the old dredge SEABRIGHT, which arrived by rail in 1986, and is now for sale on Craig's list for $10,000. They'd probably take much less, as scrap steel is only going for .03 cents/pound, and SEABRIGHT will have to be disassembled no matter.
For more dredgeucation, see http://www.dscdredge.com/
Or come to Santa Cruz tomorrow and watch them haul SEABRIGHT on the same inflatable airbags ....SEABRIGHT hasn't been hauled in 30 years and apparently has quite a marine garden growing on its bottom.
cat whisperer
Team MADDOG (M32 cat) won the Race2Alaska early this morning in the phenomenal time of 3 days, 20 hours,13 minutes for 750 straight line miles. They did not stop, barely slept using one bivvy bag, and lived in their drysuits with no shelter to hide behind... there's some happy but tired puppies in Ketchikan this morning. Congrats and well done, Randy, Colin, and Ian.
There's a close race for the second place steak knives between SKIFF KITTY and MADRONA (both mono-hulls) and two tris, MAIL ORDER BRIDE and BRODERNA.
R2AK tracker is here: http://leg2.r2ak.com/
Last edited by sleddog; 06-30-2016 at 12:54 PM.
Alerion 38 "Surprise!"
Once again there are SSS connections - last year SHTP vet Al Hughes skippered the winning ELSIE PIDDOCK. Sled mentions other connections in his previous posts.
For this year's race, Greg Nelsen built the human propulsion drive for the winning Marstrom 32. Skiff Foundation's JUNGLE KITTY, currently in 2nd place, is the Fox 44 (former WylieCat) OCELOT on which Greg, Dan, Ruben, Stephen and other SSS'ers have raced many times. They had to take its engine out to qualify for the R2AK. Are any other SSS'ers involved this year?
This event has the SSS spirit all through it.
.
Last edited by BobJ; 06-30-2016 at 09:42 AM.
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
Wow! That's CRAZY!!! hahahahaha! Uncomfortable! Cold! Miserable conditions! "Who ARE those guys?"
cat whisperer
Hi Jackie,
No doubt Team MADDOG was all of the above. However, close inspection revealed a practiced and prepared team for this adventure race. (No handicaps).
KISS was one of Team MADDOG's mantras. It couldn't break if it wasn't aboard. The M-32 carried only two sails: main with three reefs and roller furled gennaker. No electronics. All navigation and communication powered by AA batteries. They didn't plan on stopping and could travel light.
For those who can afford them, dry suits have changed sailing. With fleece underneath, you are warm, dry, and out of the environment in a drysuit , even going upwind in 40 knots of apparent wind.
MAD DOG sailed an almost level angle of heel, and the crew sat on fold up racks outside of the boat and steered with 12' tiller extensions (!) Their intention was to keep the bottom of the windward hull just at or above the water's surface, the most efficient way to sail a cat.
I think each of the three man crew got about 10 hours total of fitful sleep over four days. Not much, but apparently enough to function. They only had one bivvy bag between them, and stood watches of two crew "on," one sleeping, in 3 hour shifts. Each tack the sleeper would be awoken to change sides, so they minimized tacking.
MADDOG was cool to look at, and the crew friendly and forthcoming. The pre-race safety inspector had little idea what he was looking at. A rocketship for a flight to Mars.
Last edited by sleddog; 06-30-2016 at 02:12 PM.
Kynntana (Freedom 38)
Umm, as a former cave diver who used to provide support for a group that pushed the deep systems then spent 10+ hours in deco mode, I gotta ask -- did they use a dump valve and Depends? It's not easy getting in and out of these suits on a bouncy trampoline screaming across the water...inquiring minds really wanna know.
Irrespective of the potty breaks, they are indisputably crazy
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