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Thread: New Boat 4 Sled

  1. #1641
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Capitola,CA
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    Congrats to my nephew Jeremy who yesterday completed a New York to New York round trip via the tip of South America on his KLR motorcycle. Brief understated stats are:
    44,640 miles ( 1.8 laps around the Earth)
    324 days.
    33 border crossings.
    16 countries.
    12 capital cities.
    10 oil changes.
    8 motorcycle tires. (5 rear, 3 front)
    4 flats. (2 frightening)
    3 drive chains.
    2 near arrests.
    1 heroic spark plug.
    & 1 Chilean hostage.

    The "Chilean hostage" briefly mentioned is the beautiful Lorena from Santiago who rode the back of Jeremy's KLR on four crossings of the Andes, then up South and Central America, crossing to Baja, up the West Coast, then across the USA and Canada to Maine and back to NYC.

    Well done Jeremy and Lorena! We're proud of you.

  2. #1642
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Another Moore 24 epic was recently completed, this by Webb Chiles aboard GANNET. Here's the tale if you haven't already seen it:

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    At 5 a.m., Monday, August 22, our 53rd day at sea since leaving Darwin, Australia, the wind died, and GANNET, my Moore 24, was becalmed ten miles from Durban Harbor. Confident that the 6,000 mile passage would be over in a few hours, I took advantage of the smooth conditions to fit the outboard bracket and electric Torqeedo onto the stern. The Torqeedo had not been used in months, not since I powered the last half mile to the marina in Bundaberg, Australia. I was pleased when it started at the first push of a button. Then I removed what is called the tiller arm and tilted the Torqeedo from the water. It has a limited range and I would use it only after entering the port.
    A few minutes later the wind, which had been light and behind us, returned with a rush, but from directly ahead. I raised a triple reefed main and partially unfurled the jib.
    The wind continued to build and build. Had I not so wanted to get in, I would have stopped sailing by 6 a.m. But I did and kept on. GANNET was heeled 40°, thrashing through and under water. Lee rail buried. Activity below was impossible. One of the rules on GANNET is the same as in boxing: protect yourself at all times. Trying to heat water for coffee, momentarily I didn’t and was thrown across the cabin. This, of course isn’t far, but I lost a good piece of skin and got a good sized lump on my elbow. I drank the coffee with air temperature water and ate a protein bar for breakfast.
    With the wind coming partially over the point of land to the south, I thought it possible the sea would be smoother closer to the coast. I was wrong. The wind there was as strong and the waves steeper. I threaded my way through a half dozen ships anchored waiting entrance to the harbor until I ran out of room and a mile offshore tried to come about. Despite moving at speed, GANNET didn’t have the weight to do it. The wind stopped and shook her like a dog a bone. I had to do what I didn’t want to and gybe. The power of the boom going over was immense. GANNET went to almost to 90°, but Moore 24s are self-correcting boats. They seem to want to do the right thing, and as I eased the sheet, she came up. Some. As I steered back past the anchored ships one of them gave a blast on her horn that I decided to interpret as applause. To the south I could see the breakwaters at Durban seven miles away.
    Wave after wave swept over GANNET and me. While being flailed In the failed attempt to tack, the jib sheets had tied themselves in a Gordian knot. Once clear of the ships, I tied down the tiller and lowered and subdued the mainsail and went forward to untangle the jib sheets so I could furl it. All brutal and dangerous.
    Finally under bare pole and being pushed north, I called on the handheld VHF to the anchored ships, asking for wind speed and forecast. One of them answered, giving wind speed of 45 knots, forecast to go to 50 with 6 meter/20’ waves, easing in 24 hours. GANNET’s cabin was as wet as it has ever been, but she felt safer and much less likely to be rolled. She had taken a beating. We both had.
    I don’t think the waves ever reached 20’, perhaps 12’ to 14’, but I have always preferred to err on the low side rather than high. Whatever their height, they were steep walls of seething water and big enough.
    After an unrelenting afternoon and night, the wind began to drop at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday almost as quickly as it rose. Even after all these years, I am sometimes amazed by how quickly waves decrease with the wind. By 1:00 p.m. GANNET was headed back toward Durban, now forty miles distant, making three and four knots under full sail across a mildly undulating sea on a sunny afternoon. Two whales spouted a few whale lengths away. Albatrosses glided above us.
    We entered the harbor late the next morning and tied to the International Jetty at noon.
    The passage that ended then was difficult and sometimes tested my limits. First with too little wind. A week out of Darwin we were becalmed for almost twenty-four hours on a glassy sea and GANNET had her slowest day’s run ever of only 28 miles. I went overboard for a swim, startling a fish that seemed to be living beneath us.
    Then we had two weeks of too much wind, 25+ knots going to gale force twice. This was complicated by tiller pilot failure. I probably did 5,000 of the 6,000 miles using sheet to tiller steering. In strong wind this can result in accidental gybes. Twice I had to lie ahull because the risk of being rolled was too great. And GANNET’s interior was entirely wet, as was I. Every surface. Slime and mold. My sleeping bag intolerably sodden, so I slept in wet foul weather gear beneath a foil survival blanket.
    Finally that ended and we again had mostly too light wind.
    On a moderate day, with only six foot waves, one of them broke and caught us just right and rolled the masthead into the water. I know it went in because the masthead Windex is hanging off the side and the masthead Raymarine wind unit is gone. I somehow don’t think this will be covered under warranty.
    GANNET is the fourth boat whose masthead I have put in the water. This is a club you probably don’t want to join.
    GANNET has covered more than 9,000 miles since we sailed from Opua, New Zealand, less than four months ago. Despite being driven and tossed on the deep blue sea, I can’t see that she has suffered any structural damage.
    We have done what we planned to do this year. We are both going to rest.
    The photo of me was taken on the 39th day at sea.
    I think GANNET looks as though she just came in from a daysail.
    Last edited by sleddog; 08-26-2016 at 02:39 PM.

  3. #1643
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Santa Cruz
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    108

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    I have been told by Moore 24 owners on more than one occasion that they were very comforted during extreme conditions to be sailing on a boat that would float like a cork when they were cold wet and exhausted. It is obvious that Web has proven that true again.
    Having done a little traveling on Motor cycles, I am also VERY impressed by sled's, Nephew's travels
    And most of all, Frog and the Guys are pleased to see that Flippy is back safely, from the Hawaiian adventure.

  4. #1644
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    Sep 2007
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    End of an era. Yesterday the wheelhouse, the last vestige of the rusty 30 year old Santa Cruz Harbor dredge SEABRIGHT, was hauled away for scrap metal, ending a meritorious service to the boating community in which an average of 250,000 cubic yards of sand was removed from the shoaled entrance yearly, usually between early November and April. 250,000 cubic yards equates to 25,000 dump truck loads yearly.

    That's 750,000 dumptruck loads of sand moved by the SEABRIGHT over its lifetime. No wonder its machinery was worn out!

    The SEABRIGHT, and tender DAUNTLESS, originally purchased for $3.5 million, were operated by a crew of 5 in their often futile attempts to maintain a 20 foot depth in the ill designed Harbor entrance throughout the winter. Two days of winter storm with the accompanying movement of sand could fill in the channel, precluding passage of all vessels, often for weeks at a time.

    As the SEABRIGHT leaves the scene, the new, more modern dredge TWIN LAKES is having finishing touches added before taking over duty.

    Farewell SEABRIGHT! Thank you for your hardwork.
    Last edited by sleddog; 08-27-2016 at 03:01 PM.

  5. #1645
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    Sep 2007
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    Never quite sure what solo-sailing adventure may be gleaned in this neck of the woods (Santa Cruz, CA).

    It's a little OT, but the recent local escapades of "Buddy," aka Budweiser the Clydesdale horse, whose 1 ton self disappeared into thin air for 5 days is noteworthy for both audacity and ingenuity.

    Kinda like having your J-92 go sailing without you.

    It turns out Buddy didn't just wander out from his pen unaided: It was doublehanded. Buddy's best friend, a dwarf Nigerian billy goat named Lancelot, stealthily learned to unlatch and butt open the gate, and off they went, the Clydesdale and the escape goat.

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    Lancelot soon returned to the fold. But Buddy apparently was enjoying his freedom, staying well hidden and eluding volunteer searchers. They even trotted out Lancelot in an attempt to lure Buddy into the open. Nothing doing, Buddy remained on the lam for 5 days.

    Finally a pair of searchers on horseback found Buddy hiding in some manzanita and led him back to his pen, where he was reported to be "extra frisky, playful, and happy to be back."

    It's Tuesday, almost midweek. Do you know where your boat is? Did she seem to be a little "extra frisky and playful" in her moorage when last seen? Boats do have a life when we are not aboard you know. Just ask the solo sailors of the 2016 SHTP who anchored out in Hanalei Bay.

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    photos courtesy of Tamara Schmitz
    Last edited by sleddog; 08-30-2016 at 03:56 PM.

  6. #1646
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    3,485

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    Quote Originally Posted by sleddog View Post
    Never quite sure what solo-sailing adventure may be gleaned in this neck of the woods (Santa Cruz, CA).

    It's a little OT, but the recent local escapades of "Buddy," aka Budweiser the Clydesdale horse, whose 1 ton self disappeared into thin air for 5 days is noteworthy for both audacity and ingenuity.

    Kinda like having your J-92 go sailing without you.

    It turns out Buddy didn't just wander out from his pen unaided: It was doublehanded. Buddy's best friend, a dwarf Nigerian billy goat named Lancelot, stealthily learned to unlatch and butt open the gate, and off they went, the Clydesdale and the escape goat.

    Name:  Buddy 1.jpg
Views: 927
Size:  77.3 KB

    Lancelot soon returned to the fold. But Buddy apparently was enjoying his freedom, staying well hidden and eluding volunteer searchers. They even trotted out Lancelot in an attempt to lure Buddy into the open. Nothing doing, Buddy remained on the lam for 5 days.

    Finally a pair of searchers on horseback found Buddy hiding in some manzanita and led him back to his pen, where he was reported to be "extra frisky, playful, and happy to be back."

    It's Tuesday, almost midweek. Do you know where your boat is? Did she seem to be a little "extra frisky and playful" in her moorage when last seen? Boats do have a life when we are not aboard you know. Just ask the solo sailors of the 2016 SHTP who anchored out in Hanalei Bay.
    Name:  Buddy2.jpg
Views: 934
Size:  90.0 KBphotos courtesy of Tamara Schmitz
    You kill me! Do you have a little stash of photographers doing your bidding, finding these little treasures of stories to unleash upon us when we least expect them? You are the Sailing AP (Associated Press) of the Northern California sailing scene. Thank you again, Skip. And what a lovely smile :-)

  7. #1647
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    Sep 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by sleddog View Post
    Do you know where your boat is? Did she seem to be a little "extra frisky and playful" in her moorage when last seen? Boats do have a life when we are not aboard you know.
    A couple weeks ago I drove over to Sausalito and looked at a Hinckley (yes, I really did). Despite her weight she was doing just as you described - rocking around in her slip and pulling at her docklines. The boats on either side weren't - just her. It kind of freaked me out.

    Her story is all too common. The owner spent well up into six figures having the best upgrades and gear installed to take a South Pacific cruise, but never went. She's ready to go and appeared to want me to know that.

    On the other hand, when I returned to RYC, Rags seemed especially sluggish in her slip. Yeah, they know.

  8. #1648
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    Jan 2010
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobJ View Post
    On the other hand, when I returned to RYC, Rags seemed especially sluggish in her slip. Yeah, they know.
    Sullen. Resentful. I don't blame her. She knows.

  9. #1649
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Discovery Bay, CA
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    496

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    Ha Ha, I often glance up at Jacqueline in her slip while I am surfing yachtworld or sailboatlistings. I feel a little guilty "don'i worry" says I, "I am only looking"...

  10. #1650
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Capitola,CA
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    Fav quotes for the day:

    Gary Burton: "How is it that 2 weeks ago, I would have abandoned my boat 200 miles offshore if someone had offered me a ride home, and now I wish I was back out there? I think I need therapy."

    Peter Heiberg (in reply): "The absolute best, most necessary skill for a mariner is a shitty memory."

    "We knew everything when we started. The rest we learned along the way." Unattributed.

    "Listen to your boat. On day 2 indecision broke out whether to set the spinnaker. The boat decided for me: Just then the jib halyard broke and the jib fell to the deck." Dave Herrigel, 2016 SHTP Winner

    "Bolt your socks on, it's gonna blow" John Rumsey, 1979 Fastnet Race

    "A goal without a plan is just a wish." Antoine de St.Exupery

    "Half the pleasure of owning a boat is being able to admire its beauty." (And having heads turn upon entering a harbor) Bill Lee

    "Courage needs exercise too, just like fingers and biceps." Dan Arnold, Early Days in the Range of Light.

    The hardest part of an extended voyage, as many sailors will attest, is finishing it. You think, feel, and act differently. Your internal clock, once set by the wind and the waves and the rhythm of shipboard life, is now governed by the uncontrollable, inconvenient, and external realities and pressures of a 9-5 schedule and rush hour traffic. You look at the world, and particularly its trials, travails, and trivialities, in an altered and bemused state. Or at least you try to. The trouble with all this, of course, is that society hasn't changed, even if you have. And if you can't deal with it, that's your problem, and nobody else's. Herb McCormick, after 55 weeks and 25,000 miles sailing around the Americas.

    Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened. Gabriel Garcia Marquez
    Last edited by sleddog; 09-03-2016 at 11:56 AM.

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