New Boat 4 Sled

[Gamayun]

Your post reminds me of the stories my older brother would tell me about Mount Washington in New Hampshire where he lives. He would take me there when I would visit in the summer and tell me how it is the windiest place in the world. A good story of that record-taking measurement is here:
https://www.mountwashington.org/abou...cord-wind.aspx in which they say, "It is incredibly difficult and dangerous to climb atop a building in winds greater than 180 miles per hour to free an anemometer of ice." Umm, yeah? I have always been a little freaked by wind (a funny thing for a sailor to admit to) but when I was about 8 years old in Florida, there was a hurricane brewing and I ran outside to get the wash off the line. My mother, a single parent, was still at work and we kids were home alone. I distinctly recall my feet leaving the ground as I ran out to "rescue" the clothes. It's a surreal memory that's clear to me even today, but thinking back, it was probably only 50 or 60 knots since I was a light kid. Years later, the biggest wind I experienced was around 100 MPH from another hurricane in Florida. The noise was more scary than the wind. When I first started sailing, I swore I'd never want to go out in anything more than 20 knots. Sailing SF Bay disabused me of that, but 36 knots is about the biggest I've seen so far. Baby steps....

[BobJ]

Not sure why it took 11 months, but the National Center for Environmental Information, a division of NOAA, just this past week certified a 199 mph (173 knot) wind gust as the strongest wind ever recorded in California. The record was set at Alpine Meadows ski resort last February, at a private weather station atop the 8,637' local peak. Alpine is near the north west shore of Lake Tahoe.

This was near the Siberia Chair (Squaw-Alpine) the previous month. It's a clip of a screen shot from NOAA. I don't remember if it was knots or MPH:



"Puff ON!"

[AlanH]

I recall a summer backpacking trip when a front came in and wow....was it ever windy. It was a lot windier than anything I'd ever experienced on the water, but it only lasted for about 15 minutes. 60? Maybe 70?

The only time I've seen 40 knots on the water was a squall just out past the first entrance buoys on a Farallones race in around 2000 or 2001. That lasted bout 15 minutes as well, but took a toll of the fleets sails. I have a hard time conceiving of 180 knots.

[DonAhrens]

[QUOTE=sleddog;19387]Sad news: ANNALISE, a Wylie 34, lovingly owned by Paul and Anne for 33 years, sunk at her slip in Gig Harbor, and is being scrapped...from the photo, it appears a below waterline hose detached. Reportedly the thru-hull was open... With the vibration of small diesel engines, checking hose clamps (I only see one) and hose tightness on fittings regularly is wise. The sad end of a well loved boat.

I believe Annalise was originally built by Dan Knewland and at the time was named Pegasus. She was a highly modified Wylie 34. Dan sailed and I believe won at least one Single-handed Transpac with the boat. I remember seeing Dan, in front of North Coast Yachts, almost every weekend for several weeks long boarding the hull. It's sad to see her demise.

[sleddog]

With Santa Cruz Harbor entrance closed because of shoaling and giant surf, nothing for it but to go in search of the trail of one of California's most famous banditos, Joaquin Murrieta (1829-1853). Murrieta was a Mexican from Hermosillo who came to California to take part in the 1849 Gold Rush only to experience discrimination, his wife raped, his brother lynched, and he himself horsewhipped.

Depending on who you believe, Murrieta became a horse rustler, or bandito, hiding out in the Panoche Valley in the caves of the Diablo Range, above and beyond the New Idria mine. Again, depending on who you believe, Murrieta's exploits earned him a name as the "Mexican Robin Hood" and a $6,000 bounty was issued for his head by the California Legislature.

A posse of 20 California Rangers, led by Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff Harry Love, went after Murrieta in 1853 and with a lucky break caught Murrieta's band of desperadoes, bringing in the severed head of Murrieta preserved in whisky to claim the reward.



Sheriff Love further profited by exhibiting Murrieta's head throughout the state, charging $1 for a view. Eventually the head ended up in a San Francisco museum, where it went missing in the Great Earthquake of 1906.

But was it really Joaquin Murrieta's head preserved in whisky? Some say it was not, and that he lived to be an old man. Murrieta's story became the stuff of legend when he was modeled as Zorro (Spanish for "fox"), a fictional character created in 1919 by pulp writer Johnston McCulley.

With RUBY in tow, as we bounced along the pot holed and deserted country road 30 miles south of Hollister, I could easily imagine Joaquin Murrieta and his gang riding nearby, silhouetted along the ridges of the Diablo Range.

[sleddog]

Never a dull moment in the middle of the night:

A bulletin has been issued by the National Tsunami Warning Center. A Tsunami Watch is in effect for the California coast due to an 8.2 earthquake in Kodiak, Alaska. .

A Tsunami Watch is an alert issued to areas outside the warned area. The area included in the watch is based on the magnitude of the earthquake. For earthquakes over magnitude 7.0, the watch area is 1-hour tsunami travel time outside the warning zone.
We anticipate that if a tsunami occurs in Santa Cruz Harbor, it will be dangerous dockside and aboard your vessel. We are not recommending people come to the harbor, but monitor the situation and notify 911 if you know of someone in the immediate harbor area who may be in danger.
The harbor patrol is actively watching docks, monitoring activity, securing lines, contacting known liveaboards.
If you are aboard your vessel, it is recommended you vacate your vessel and seek higher ground.

Fortunately the tsunami alert was canceled...the last tsunami to hit Santa Cruz Harbor destroyed much of the harbor, sunk dozens of boats, and caused $25 million in damages, still being repaired seven years later...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgt8qBSZEn0

[sleddog]

With RUBY in tow, as we bounced along the pot holed and deserted country road 30 miles south of Hollister, I could easily imagine Joaquin Murrieta and his gang riding nearby, silhouetted along the ridges of the Diablo Range.

So we did run into Joaquin Murrieta (aka Zorro) and his merry band of Robin Hood banditos last week. Here's the story:

Murrieta had his hideouts in the rocky cliffs of the Diablo Range, at the southern end of the Panoche. The Panoche (pa-no-che) is a wide open and empty valley, 20 miles wide and 50 miles long, 35 miles west of Los Banos and the same distance south of Hollister. It is a beautiful and serene location with nothing for many miles but wildflower laden hills, coyotes, kit foxes, bob cats, and dark night skies. There's only one way in and out, Little Panoche Rd.

Driving east along Little Panoche Rd. we came to our destination, the oasis of Mercey Hot Springs, and pulled into our campsite. Nearby are the tubs, a pool, some cabins, two rental Airstreams, and not much else except for the shade of some very old trees.



Mercey's warm and medicinal waters were discovered bv Native Americans, later by sheep rancher John Merci. Even Hollywood had its day, as actors would discretely bring their mistresses for a vacation. But the hotel burned down in the 1930's, and things remain rustic.

I'm sure Joaquin Murrieta frequented Mercey Hot Springs, as the trail through the Panoche passed nearby.

There are many rabbits, ground squirrels, and frogs on Mercey's 160 acres. Good hunting for local residents. We had a bobcat walk through camp, and coyote paw prints followed the muddy creek bank.

Overhead, on tree limbs, resided the spirits of Joaquin Murrieta's gang...We counted at least 3 great horned owls, several long earred owls, and a heart shaped barn owl. At 5:12 pm each evening, the owls would take flight, and their dinner hunting began. Murrieta's right hand man was "Tres Dedos," aka "3 Fingered Jack." It was not hard to imagine the barn owl being the ghost of 3 Fingered Jack.



One evening as I was walking near the creek to check out the vocal frog population, I shone my flashlite downward. There, nearby on the water's edge, was a large juvenile great horned owl we'd named "Wheezer" for his plaintive "feed me" squawks to nearby mom. It was obvious what Wheezer was doing: fishing for frogs.



If you want to meet Joaquin Murrieta, 3 Fingered Jack, Wheezer and the rest of the merry band of owls, they hang out at 36-42-36 N x 120-51-36 W.

[H Spruit]

Yes, it is a shame, but makes total sense, that the ghost of a notorious outlaw would find joy, when feasting on the highest level of spiritual existence, FROGS!

[sleddog]

Congrats to Matt and John on finishing first in last Saturday's 3 Bridge Fiasco! A combination of good planning, execution, and perseverance swung luck their way, and IMMORAL, their Moore-24, was the only boat to successfully round Treasure Island counter-clockwise, the winning move.

A significant factor in their negotiation of TI's southern and eastern sides was an active and bold use of anchoring in the shoal water and eddys just feet from the cliffs...Their near shore proximity allowed them to quickly pull up the anchor when a stray puff visited, and they would advance several lengths before re-anchoring while waiting for the next puff.

Many boats anchored during the 3BF to prevent losing ground. For Matt and John, converting anchoring into an activity that helped advance forward progress, not something that can be readily practiced, was key to their well earned win. Kudos, Gentlemen.

[sleddog]

Impressive beyond description, watching Leo size, locate, and move 35 feet of massive purple heart timber for TALLY HO's new keelson. The timbers, which he has to scarf together, weigh more than 3,000 pounds and cost upwards of $6,000.

http://sampsonboat.co.uk/14-buying-a-new-keel-timber/

http://sampsonboat.co.uk/14-part-2-c...e-keel-scarph/

Just watching Leo cut and shape the scarf with a modified chainsaw and power planers is worth a few minutes of attention. You'll not see this skill and craftsmanship anyplace else. I love it, the chickens walking in and out of the scene, the parrot participating in encouragement. TALLY HO is in good hands.

Here on the homefront, I've been asked to help locate a slightly smaller version of TALLY HO: Peter Tangvald's 43 foot, E.P.Hart designed, double-ended yawl WINDFLOWER. Tangvald sailed WINDFLOWER from England to San Pedro in 1958 before selling WINDFLOWER, and shortly after losing his life on a reef.