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Thread: New Boat 4 Sled

  1. #271
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Capitola,CA
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    Many sailors on SF Bay have likely noticed an increase in sightings of Harbor Porpoise. These small and usually solitary animals are found up and down the CA coast. But their presence in SF Bay since WW II was limited. Now, likely because of cleaner water, they have returned.

    But there is possibly another, darker, reason for Harbor Porpoise in SF Bay. Right here off Capitola, and elsewhere off the Central CA Coast, gangs of juvenile Bottlenose Dolphins are attacking the smaller Harbor Porpoise and killing them with blunt force. Dozens of dead Harbor Porpoise have washed ashore in the last few years, and there is now video of these attacks.

    What this all means is uncertain. Bottlenose Dolphins are usually found in warmer waters to the south. Are Harbor Porpoise seeking refuge from these "porpicide" attacks in SF Bay? Fascinating stuff.

    http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/P...es-2309298.php

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBul5j30V98

  2. #272
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    Sep 2007
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    Capitola,CA
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    On her trailer, WILDFLOWER is now rerigged here in Capitola and ready for some driveway sailing. A two page list of maintenance and improvements awaits sunny winter days.

    Say what you want. But there is a certain pleasure being able to see the boat out the window. And step outside, climb a ladder, and be aboard.

    On the other side of the World, the Vendee racers have passed south of the Cape of Good Hope. The Virtual Vendee now has 390,000 racers, of which SLEDCAT is currently 1500 miles behind the leader in position 28,872. No worries, we've been averaging 21.8 knots for 36 hours with a 30 knot tailwind down at latitude 43 S. The leading group is only making 6 knots, stuck under a slow moving area of high pressure.

    The enjoyment of sailing takes many forms. My good friend, Gary, in Anacortes, finds simple pleasure in seeking out used bronze boat parts. Over in Hawaii, Cap'n Bob stand up paddles every day, as well as monitoring Matson's fleet comings and goings. Down in Los Barriles, Alex is windsurfing.

    Onward.
    Last edited by sleddog; 12-06-2012 at 08:06 PM.

  3. #273
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    Sep 2007
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    You can't put numbers in front of a bean-counter like that and not expect him to do something with them - you're in the top 8% of a 390,000 boat fleet and moving up!

    In the live race, the tactics for staying in the breeze while navigating through the latest ice gate have been interesting. I was sure Armel (BP) had given up his lead for good but now it looks like he'll be back up there as the other leaders sail into 5 knots of breeze to clear the gate.

    The top three boats are less than 50 miles apart after 27 days of racing!
    Last edited by BobJ; 12-07-2012 at 09:42 AM.

  4. #274
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Capitola,CA
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    We are all connoisseurs of something: wine, coffee, dessert, wood, hot springs, gardens and ?
    My taste reaches towards the horizon. More specifically, catching the Green Flash at sunrise and sunset. The Green Flash twice a day takes some doing and some luck. Sunrise is harder than sunset. I walk to the cliff, hoping it is clear down the Salinas Valley, toward El Gabilan Peak. I know the sun is currently rising 40 seconds later each morning.

    If everything aligns, like it did this morning at 7:13:29 a.m., the Green Flash lights a point on the horizon for an instant, just as the sun's upper limb appears above the distant Coastal mountain range. The color, at least to me, is not deep green. But more a fluorescent green, almost turquoise, that lasts for a count of 2.

    I'd be interested if others have seen the Green Flash at sunrise, and where.

  5. #275
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Santa Cruz
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    108

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    We used to refer to color of the flash as psychedelic or electric green.
    While living in Hawaii the evening sunset and green flash became a ritual event, my mornings have almost never allowed such leisure.
    However in the winter of 1968, when leaving La Paz before sunrise bound for San Diego, and strictly by chance, caught the morning flash.
    H Spruit

  6. #276
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    Sep 2007
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    Capitola,CA
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    Single and short handed sailors like you and I often create marvelously inventive equipment and techniques to compensate for our lack of manpower. For example, though I am not a fan of spinnaker snuffers, in the '98 DH Pacific Cup on the 60' Wylie design ROXANNE, we would hoist the spinnaker by attaching the tail of the spinnaker halyard to a 5 gal mayonnaise bucket. On the command "hoist away" the mayo bucket would be launched overboard. It would fill with water having a sea anchor effect, and the 35 pound spinnaker, with snuffer, would shoot to the top of the 80 foot mast in 3-4 seconds, no physical exertion required.

    When the spinnaker two blocked, the 75# plastic wire tie holding the halyard tail to the bucket handle would break, the bucket would capsize, and we would conveniently haul it back aboard.

    OK. I'm offering another cruise on WILDFLOWER to the most creative shorthanded piece of gear or technique posted below. The above H. Spruit has already made known one of his many boat building shortcuts. H Spruit is the only one I know who has 19 pairs of vice grips in his tool kit. I asked him why. He says he often uses them when singlehandedly removing fasteners from deck gear and jib tracks. He simply attaches a vice grip to each underdeck nut, then goes topsides with his Makita electric drill. Presto, the jib track or whatever is removed in a few short minutes....
    Last edited by sleddog; 12-08-2012 at 10:44 AM.

  7. #277
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    Sep 2007
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    Capitola,CA
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    On a lowtide walk this afternoon down towards New Brighton, I encountered possibly 100 or more beached Humboldt Squid. The seagulls were having a calimari feast on the carcasses. The squid looked to be mostly about 2' long, weighing probably 5 pounds.

    Why they came ashore last night is anyone's guess. Humboldt Squid, until recently, were found much further south, Mexico and beyond. I'd hate to have one of those puppies be flushed into the cockpit at night. Their beaks are rumored to be razor sharp.

    http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/apt...hed-aptos-area

  8. #278
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    Sep 2007
    Location
    San Mateo
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    124

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    Do you know if they are any good to eat ? if fresh of course.

  9. #279
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    Sep 2007
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    Capitola,CA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Phil MacFarlane View Post
    Do you know if they are any good to eat ? if fresh of course.
    My neighbor uses Humboldt squid he catches with a fishing pole to bait his crab traps. But according to guide books, they are good eating as well. The Humboldt squid give thick steaks. But reportedly the tentacle suction cups have teeth and are not edible.

    The knock on Humboldt squid is that it is tough and chewy, like retread truck tires. But this toughness is often a result of overcooking. If worried about toughness, wrap the squid steak in plastic, and pound it with a meat tenderizer or wooden mallet. The other thing is to use a marinade containing something acidic, like lemon juice or vinegar.

    Cleaning a Humboldt Squid: Film at 11.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM8_JgzAKdE

  10. #280
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    One of my childhood heroes and pioneering British solo sailor Bill King has died at age 102. King was a much decorated British submarine captain, and the only man to command a sub from the first to the last day of WW II.

    While restoring the roofless 12th century Oranmore Castle overlooking Galway Bay, the idea of sailing alone around the world took seed for King. He developed his own junk-rigged 42' schooner GALWAY BLAZER II to compete in the Sunday Times Golden Globe solo round-the-world race, which was eventually won by Robin Knox-Johnston.

    King left Plymouth in August, 1968, but lost his rig two months later in what he described as the "worst storm I have ever witnessed" and was towed to Cape Town. A second attempt ended in Perth, Western Australia when ill health forced him ashore. He resumed his voyage the following year and finally completed his circumnavigation in 1973.

    During his time in subs, Bill King survived on a "soap-like meat substitute" and became so haunted by the smell of Spam that he lived on raisins, wholemeal biscuits and almond paste for protein. For vitamin C he, like Chichester, grew watercress aboard, and collected the odd flying fish.

    In 1975 The Cruising Club of America (CCA) awarded Commander Bill King the Blue Water Medal. I recommend his books, including "The Stick and the Stars" about his war experiences and "Adventure in Depth" about sailing.
    Last edited by sleddog; 12-10-2012 at 09:56 PM.

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