New Boat 4 Sled

[Intermission]

Hey Skip,

When will you answer post # 5678 on page 568 regarding Bob Buell's guess?

[Dazzler]

Sled, I don't remember any giant squid story from you, so will guess #8?
Capt Bob

ok, Sled. This is the only “guess” you haven’t responded to. I did a bit of internet searching and there is an account of a squid purported to have attached itself to a French boat in mid-Atlantic that was participating in the Jules Verne round the world race in 2003. But your question was specifically about an event that “occurred in a different part of the Pacific.”

I’ve seen a (dead) Giant Humboldt Squid at Hopkins Marine Lab. It was about 9-10 feet long. They have a scary large mouth that looks more like the beak of a bird. Some years back, I listened to a guy promoting night diving trips with giant squid out of Loreto. He was going to wear Star Wars Stormtrooper style armor, tether himself with steel cable and act as bait so you could take pictures. I never heard if he got any takers.

[sleddog]

Sled, I don't remember any giant squid story from you, so will guess #8?
Capt Bob

Sorry, Cap, for the delay in answering partially due to the history hubbubs. Allow me to introduce Captain Bob, winner of the 2023 SHTP Trivia contest and future recipient of the Macapuno. Well done, Sir! Bob, then a junior Matson officer, was first welcoming committee for the 1978 SHTP aboard his L/36 BELLWETHER. He and family, vacationing at Hanalei, did not know the race was happening, and when we started arriving at Hanalei, there was nothing for it but to row over and bring each finisher a cold brewski.

The squid story happened a while back to a young, Japanese, circumnavigator enroute from Panama to Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas. He became terribly overdue and his friends feared the worst.. Then one day, several weeks behind schedule, the young man on his sloop hove into Taiohae Bay. As soon as he was anchored, his friends came aboard to ask about his passage and what caused the delay.

The fellow reported that about 1/3 of the way, his boat slowed radically, and he could only coax 2-3 knots max speed. He peered over the side and astern, but could see nothing. He feared going swimming under the boat, probably a good thing to be afraid of.

After telling his tale, one of his fellow singlehanders jumped over the side with his swim mask to inspect the bottom. What he found was sobering: very large suction cup marks in the bottom paint.

Was that the reason for the slow speed, an attached giant squid? No one has ever proposed a better explanation.

In apology for my delay, and because Capt. Bob lives in Hawaii and only visits CBC once per year, I offer a consolation prize of another bowl of Macapuno with blueberries to the first who can tell us what SHTP skipper sweet talked the 1,092' aircraft carrier USS RONALD REAGAN CVN76 to change course and politely pass astern?

[MillyB]

They are all true stories

[AntsUiga]

The skipper to request aircraft carrier was likely Grace Sime in the red Moore 24 Ichiban. Grace told the story of waking up and seeing she was in the middle of naval maneuvers. I doubt a similar event happened a second time. If there was a repeat, sleddog would know.

Ants

[sleddog]

The skipper to request aircraft carrier was likely Grace Sime in the red Moore 24 Ichiban. Grace told the story of waking up and seeing she was in the middle of naval maneuvers. I doubt a similar event happened a second time. If there was a repeat, sleddog would know.Ants

Thanks, Ants, for the color on Grace Sime aboard ICHIBAN. I can't imagine her surprise awaking in the middle of naval maneuvers. We remember Grace raced ICHIBAN in the 1984 Singlehanded Transpac, the only woman in the fleet....However, the aircraft carrier USS RONALD REAGAN was not launched until 2001. So Grace did not encounter that giant warship with her little red dinghy.

Here is a hint for all endeavoring to answer for the consolation Macapuno. The name of the boat that encountered the USS RONALD REAGAN is slightly unusual. It is also the fastest runner of its species, a distant relative of #25, above. There is no time limit on number of guesses. My bet is Ants will guess it soon if you don't.

[Cover Craft]

That would have to be the Tiger Beetle, certainly an unusual boat name and a very fast beetle. Accomplished skipper too.

I'd love a health and welfare report on Grace Sime if anyone knows. I worked with her for a time in my first sailmaking job in Marina del Rey in the late '70s.

Tom K.

[sleddog]

That would have to be the Tiger Beetle, certainly an unusual boat name and a very fast beetle. Accomplished skipper too. Tom K.

Well done, Tom! Yes, it was Rob on TIGER BEETLE that encountered aircraft carrier USS RONALD REAGAN. Perhaps Beetle is listening, and can give us more details.

As for the hint about the boat's name being a fast insect, a Tiger Beetle is the world's fastest running insect. It can crawl at an average speed of 5.5 mph or 171 body lengths per second.

[sleddog]

Wild parrots are about to become the official animal of San Francisco, narrowly beating out the sealion. Parrots arrived in San Francisco in the late 1980s — likely escaping from a pet store — and two different species mated to create a hybrid, a loud, colorful newcomer unique to the city, even co-starring in a 2003 documentary.

[sleddog]

While kayaking recently I encountered a strange craft: a 14' combination surfboard/decked kayak with all sorts of instrumentation both above deck and below the waterline. Further investigation revealed it to be a soon to be launched drone, a "Wave Glider," one of eight, operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and Scripps.



A curious thing about the Wave Glider is its propulsion being a 12 flippered submerged module on a tether that tows the WAVE GLIDER using wave action at 1 knot in optimum conditions. ?? All this built by Boeing..
Check it out in this 2 minute explanation. https://www.liquid-robotics.com/wave.../how-it-works/

To me, with it's American Flag radar reflector, the Wave Glider looked like fresh meat for a container ship's bulbed bow. But was assured AIS will keep it safe. Really?

According to AIS, there are currently 3 Sail Drones cruising the Gulf of the Farallones, so Wave Glider is not the only drone operation in town. From Alameda, our own Hedgehog commands ~15 Sail Drones 8 hours/day in another part of the world, between the tip of Africa and Australia. Weather permitting they will be rendezvousing south of Madagascar for something important.



Above, the big momma Sail Drone SURVEYOR, a lethal looking 72 footer displacing 14 tons, recently made news by discovering an uncharted seamount (volcano?) 150 miles west of Cape Mendocino using wide beam sonar at 11,000 foot depths. Like other offshore SSSers, the SURVEYOR may have caught the attention of the Coast Guard. It is undergoing mods. Apparently future Sail Drone Surveyors will be a little less than 65 feet overall to meet compliance. Do Sail Drones need lifelines, PFD's, fire extinguishers, and liferafts? Only time will tell. Sleddog is a just a mushroom here at CBC.