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Thread: New Boat 4 Sled

  1. #4571
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    What a great photo! Like a Turner painting.

  2. #4572
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    Sep 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobJ View Post
    Sled, thank you for making the long drive to be part of it.

    It's not unusual to see sailing dignitaries like Sled on the deck of the Richmond YC, especially during a big regatta weekend like the Great Pumpkin. So when Connie, (son) Tim and I went up to have dinner and I saw Sled, it didn't register that something else might be happening. I was completely surprised when other friends started appearing and a "Happy Retirement" cake was placed in front of me. They got me again when I was led down to the boat and an even larger group surrounded Surprise! on the dock.

    Thanks again to everyone - I will treasure these memories!
    .
    Fantastic! Congratulations!
    1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
    1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
    Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"

  3. #4573
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    This is 78 year old Christian Williams recent, 3rd round trip "cruising" passage between LA and Hawaii, two on his Erickson 38 THELONIOUS. Christian enjoys his solo passages and being with himself. Though I don't subscribe to his Dinty Moore and Spam menu, his long winded self deprecation and corny jokes, nor some of his prep, you do get to see him again breaking his spinnaker pole, again breaking his roller furling line, his Cape Horn self steering coming apart twice, his perpetual leak from his anchor locker drain, and other titbits of being at sea on a heavy, rolly boat with 70 gallons of water, 150 gallons of fuel, and a 3 bladed prop. It's 83 minutes, so you are warned. Not for everybody. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz8wpl9YG1o
    Last edited by sleddog; 11-02-2021 at 06:54 AM.

  4. #4574
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    Old news, but congrats to Dave Hodges and Tim Cordrey winning the Double Handed Farallones Race Sept. 25th, both on elapsed time and corrected time against 27 monohulls. TIMBERWOLF was first to the Rock Pile in shifty SW winds 10-12 knots, rounded to starboard, and was first monohull home, thereby winning the Stewart Kett trophy. Here's a photo of TIMBERWOLF rounding the SE Farallon.

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    TIMBERWOLF, a Farr 38, was built in Santa Cruz by C&B in 1979, and remains one of the fastest boats on SF Bay, especially downwind in waves.

    Stewart Kett, whose name honors the First-To-Finish trophy in the DH Farallones, was a much loved owner and skipper of OCTAVIA, Santa Cruz 50 #8, home ported in Santa Cruz. When he was lost overboard in the Santa Barbara Channel on a delivery down the Coast, it was a very sad time for local sailors. The trophy honors his memory.

  5. #4575
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    Quote Originally Posted by sleddog View Post
    Good one, PJ! Macapuno for you. Drake's Cove in Drake's Estero is the correct answer for where Drake and crew set up camp and careened their ship, and yes, the map (painting really) is aligned so north is towards the bottom and south up, confusing most everyone, including myself. And thanks to DAZZLER for revealing the facts to me. Tom and Sue have stood on the exact spot Hondius's map was painted, overlooking Drake's Cove.
    . ~sleddog
    11/05/21 This morning was a grand time for a circumnavigation in my 8' kayak yacht PADDLIN' MADELINE. The sun was up in a clear, blue sky, the dogs had been walked on Seabright Beach, the Harbor was quiet with zero activity, partially because the Entrance was closing out on big swells that were coming over the west breakwater. What was there to circumnavigate? With the high tide, there is narrow passage around the entire Upper Harbor between the marina docks and the riprap seawall, the only hazard being pipes under the gangways. It was so pleasant, I circumnavigated twice in an hour, observing all sorts of things I hadn't seen, including a flotilla of small boats berthed on the inside end ties. One of them in particularly poor condition was a 16' outboard fishing boat named CRISIS EVERY HOUR. That name certainly beat the 40 foot powerboat named A-FISHY-A-KNOTTO. Try saying that over VHF 16 to the Coasties.

    A week ago, on the spur of the moment, I decided to attempt a visit to Drake's Cove to get myself out of the rabbit hole I had unanticipatedly entered several months previously in search of Francis Drake's careening spot for his ship GOLDEN HIND during 36 days in June and July, 1579. The search had taken me figuratively, and sometimes literally, from Vancouver Island to Cape Flattery and the Straits of Juan de Fuca, down the WA, Oregon Coast, and California Coasts as far as San Francisco Bay There was something to be said for every anchorage, and some had small industries, monuments, and chamber of commerce and academic advocates based on their cove being Drake's landing spot including Whale Cove, Cape Arago, Bodega, Tomales, Drakes Bay, Bolinas, and San Francisco Bay.

    Along the way I encountered many characters, as well as the infamous hoax of the "Plate of Brass" Drake left behind, claiming the country for England. This hoax, created in 1933 by Professor Herbert Bolton and friends and proven false in 1979, is celebrated to this day by the display of Bolton's fake Plate of Brass at Bancroft Library, U.C, Berkeley, where Bolton was head of the history department.

    Francis Drake arrived by sea and left by sea, and though I parked in the new visitors lot at Drakes Beach on Pt. Reyes, the only way to visit Drakes Cove inside Drakes Estero is either by kayak via a wind, weather and tide dependent 8 mile round trip paddle. Or on foot hiking northeast along a white sand beach for 2 miles. I chose the later and here is the report entered in my log, though it must be noted the whole area is closed from March 1 to June 30th for Harbor Seal pupping.

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    "The hills, even after only 4 days since our recent Atmospheric River bomb cyclone, were already green. Tomales was fogged in, but sunny overhead. Drakes Beach Visitor Center had fog, sunny breaks, with largish swell of 3-6 feet. I hiked the beach northeastwards along the White Cliffs, noticing considerable rockfall, some still active, along the cliff base. Halfway, a rock ledge blocking the beach was encountered. The tide was falling, and at about +4 feet, there was no way forward except to climb over a notch in a muddy outcropping, with a 5 foot drop on the north side. It took about 5 minutes to negotiate this obstacle before resuming the beach hike. After 1 hour, 15 minutes, at noon, I was at the end of the spit gazing across the sole entrance into Drake's Estero and across at Limantour Spit, 200 yards distance. I gave respectful distance to a flock of 2-3 dozen white pelicans at the spit tip, where the current looked to be ebbing at 2-3 knots.

    On the north side of the spit, in Drakes Cove proper, was smooth water with 10 knots of WNW wind. I hiked past where Drake's encampment would have been, and along the beach. Just back of the beach the terrain was pretty difficult due to vegetation. 3/4's of the way along the 300 yard beach I came to a Monument to Drake, which is not visible from the beach and about 25 yards inland. Though once visited by master mariner and author Alan Villiers in 1972, the Monument looks like in a few years it will be almost invisible if you didn't know it was there.

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    Hondius Map, created in 1789 by Jodocus Hondius, a Dutch cartographer and close friend of Drake.

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    At the north end of the beach I searched for a way up onto the bluff overlooking the Cove from where the Hondius map, above, was originally sketched (remember, south, not north, is up.) I did find evidence of a possible one time wharf with rusty iron spikes and planks on the beach, probably from local schooners whose crews loaded highly prized cheese from Pt. Reyes dairies during the Gold Rush. But now there was no way up due to heavy growth of coyote brush and poison oak beginning just inland of the beach. I could see above where the old ranch road once descended, but it is now inaccessible and collapsed. There was a small grove of medium sized pines just inland at the north end of the beach, but even getting to them was not possible.

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    After a picnic on the beach, and watching harbor seals congregate on a sandbar 100 yards offshore, I headed back to the car. It was nearing low tide, and I was able to negotiate the rocky outcropping by climbing over slippery rocks. using my walking pole to good effect. Note, the beach was in its "winter configuration,' and according to a local surfer, had lost several feet of height in last week's 'Atmospheric River' storm. Total walking time from parking lot at Patrick Visitor center to the Monument and back following the beach would be 3-4 hours, the only hazard being the rocky outcropping and occasional stones coming off the cliffs. This alone would stop many potential visitors, especially at high tide, making kayaking the only alternative. There is no other access from above (the "D" ranch buildings), and the locked gate is marked 'no access, official vehicles only.'" 10/29/21
    Last edited by sleddog; 11-05-2021 at 09:02 PM.

  6. #4576
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    As some have experienced, it is only possible to post 5 photos at once. Here is one that was left behind:
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    This is a photo and composite painting, the photo by Matthew Dillingham, who on November 22, 1952 hiked alone to the bluff overlooking the sand spits and channel at the mouth of Drakes Estero. It was Dillingham who two days later printed his pictures and noticed something not noticed by anyone before: the shore of the sandspit below the bluff curved to enclose a small cove that resembled the cove in the Portus Novae Albionis inset on the Hondius Map. Drake's draftsman had apparently stood on this same bluff to make his drawing.

    Questions of course remain, If you visit CBC, I would be happy to discuss them with you if so moved. Drake was a remarkable sailor and seaman. I would also like to acknowledge Tom and Sue of DAZZLER, and Milly Biller, Port Captain and 110 Fleet "Admiral" at Inverness Yacht Club for steering me in the right direction, especially pointing out that on old maps, sketches, and paintings, north isn't always up.
    Last edited by sleddog; 11-05-2021 at 09:07 PM.

  7. #4577
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    Jul 2016
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    Bodfish, CA
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    Delightful description of your travels!

    Makes me wonder if there are other ways to explore more? Kayak on a cart? Inflatable?

    The routes and information are delightful when experienced in person!

    Don't stop now!

    Ants

  8. #4578
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    Hi Ants,
    All of Pt. Reyes is now a National Seashore under Park Service jurisdiction. They are very strict about following rules, one of which is no engines are allowed inside Drake's Estero. There is one kayak launch site at the old Johnson Oyster farm, which has been dismantled. Several companies run tours towards Drakes Cove with apparent success. But due to the drying mudflats, and the often strong northwest afternoon seabreeze on the nose during the 4 mile return paddle, people have gotten stuck. Rowing of course would also be possible. My trip was a recon that fortunately worked out. I believe hiking in is the logical easiest and cheapest way to reach Drake's Cove. However, paddling or rowing allows great visuals of birds, osprey, leopard sharks, bat rays, otters, and all sorts of marine life. I was just not prepared for a solo, 8 mile, paddle in my 8 foot kayak.

    For anyone truly interested in this wonderful area, there are many books available. My primary source for finding Drake's Cove, besides DAZZLER's and Milly's description (she even found a Ming shard from GOLDEN HIND in a gopher hole near a Miwok encampment) is the publication Discovering Francis Drake's California Harbor by Ray Aker and Edward Von der Porten, available at the Bear Valley Visitor Center for $17. Good stuff/recommended. Thank you for the compliment. FYI, it's pomegranate season at CBC!
    Last edited by sleddog; 11-05-2021 at 10:08 PM.

  9. #4579
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    Sled wrote, “At the north end of the beach I searched for a way up onto the bluff overlooking the Cove from where the Hondius map, above, was originally sketched….”

    What many people do not know is that the configuration of the Cove was changed by a rancher, Bill Hall in the 1940s. Hall, wanting to make a stock pond for his cattle, bulldozed a dam across the Cove’s entrance. A fresh water spring and the sloping high ground funnels water in significant quantities from the 33 inches of annual rainfall which sustain the pond. Hall’s construction project makes the Cove difficult to identify by using satellite maps and even when hiking to the site; one needs to know where to look for all of the 1579 cove.” Steve Wright, Drake Navigators Guild

    This photo is from my September 10, 2016 visit with Edward Von der Porten to the bluff above the cove. The original cove shoreline is visible on the right.
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    Last edited by Dazzler; 11-05-2021 at 09:53 PM.
    Tom P.

  10. #4580
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    Oct 2007
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    What's the depth into Drakes Estero? Wikipedia says the Golden Hind drew 13.5 feet. I know things have changed since back then but still...

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