New Boat 4 Sled

[MillyB]

I tend to favor plywood box boats as well Howard- but 110s at the CBC ? The Santa Cruz 110 fleet ? Surely you jest.

[Howard Spruit]

I tend to favor plywood box boats as well Howard- but 110s at the CBC ? The Santa Cruz 110 fleet ? Surely you jest.

Fantasy is fun! And I have not yet spoken with the CBC Commodore about a 110 fleet but he has mentioned a SCAMP championship series!

[sleddog]

Yesterday's paddle to Steamer Lane was warm and glassy. No surf and two dozen otters, many with pups.
Attachment 8750

Today was a whole nother kettle of fish. SC Harbor entrance closing out and 15 foot surf where we paddled yesterday.

Much flotsam collected inside the Harbor until my 8 foot kayak could hold no more. 2 fenders, an ice chest with bilge pump inside, vodka bottle, bike handgrip, kayak paddle,

[MillyB]

Good on you for picking up so much plastic and other debris.

[sleddog]

I always thought SPRITE (from "spirit") would be a good name for a small boat, like the Scamp now in CBC's registry (Howard named his Scamp PUFF, an equally fun name). What is a "sprite?" It is a small elfish and ephemeral spirit. Here's a view of some red sprite lightning taken recently in France. Cool. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Escurat.

[sleddog]

When the Polynesian Voyaging Double-hulled canoe (Vaka) HOKULE'A left Half Moon Bay at 0700 for points south on Thursday morning, it was difficult to tell their destination. Their online itinerary said "Monterey Bay," so we had hopes they might raft up here at CBC for burgers and macapuno.

It took some navigational sleuthing to figure things out. HOKULE'A's AIS seemed to have the ID of another vaka, the HIKINALIA, which was in Hawaii. In addition, the AIS was reporting HOKULE'A making a steady 8.1 knots on course for Monterey. That seemed improbable under sail, as Monterey Bay buoy was only reporting windspeed of 4 knots, gusting 7.

HOKULE'A has never had an engine, so it seemed logical she was under tow to her next port of call: Monterey. 65 miles at 8.1 knots was gonna take about 8 hours. If Annie and I were going to greet HOKULE'A's arrival, we should be there by 3 pm. I confirmed with Monterey Harbormaster that HOKULE'A was scheduled to tie-up at Wharf #1, but they didn't know when.

We hopped in the car for the 45 minute drive from CBC to Monterey. And arrived just before 3pm, in time to see HOKULE'A under tow by the 26 foot outboard KOLUA. Getting into the crowded harbor was going to be tricky, as HOKULE'A, 60 feet LOA x 20 feet beam, steers with an oar over the stern.



I needn't have been concerned. The oarsman was a giant of a man and was sculling HOKULE'A upwind and into her turn alongside the dock. I counted 13 crew, 10 kane and 3 wahine.



What happened next was unexpected. Monterey Harbor had laid electrified metal strips along the seaward edge of their docks to deter sealions hauling out. Though the metal strips were labeled, HOKULEA's crew weren't reading small print as they hauled docklines fore and aft. And the crew were mostly barefoot. What a welcome, getting a mild electric shock in your feet as you stepped off your ship.

Aloha, HOKULE'A! https://hokulea.com/october-5-2023-leg-8-day-5/


Note the steering oar in its stowed position. Also that there are few fastenings holding things together in favor of traditional rope lashings.

[MillyB]

I love that you finally got to greet her- after missing her in Port Townsend and Sausalito ! Good job Sled !

[AntsUiga]

Thanks for the close-up pictures. I have read comments about the overall assembly, however photos that show the details of the lashings clarify the construction. It must work well since the voyaging miles are huge.

Cheers,
Ants

PS. There were a few paddling craft to greet the arrival!

[Contosa]

When the Polynesian Voyaging Double-hulled canoe (Vaka) HOKULE'A left Half Moon Bay at 0700 for points south on Thursday morning, it was difficult to tell their destination. Their online itinerary said "Monterey Bay," so we had hopes they might raft up here at CBC for burgers and macapuno.

It took some navigational sleuthing to figure things out. HOKULE'A's AIS seemed to have the ID of another vaka, the HIKINALIA, which was in Hawaii. In addition, the AIS was reporting HOKULE'A making a steady 8.1 knots on course for Monterey. That seemed improbable under sail, as Monterey Bay buoy was only reporting windspeed of 4 knots, gusting 7.

HOKULE'A has never had an engine, so it seemed logical she was under tow to her next port of call: Monterey. 65 miles at 8.1 knots was gonna take about 8 hours. If Annie and I were going to greet HOKULE'A's arrival, we should be there by 3 pm. I confirmed with Monterey Harbormaster that HOKULE'A was scheduled to tie-up at Wharf #1, but they didn't know when.

We hopped in the car for the 45 minute drive from CBC to Monterey. And arrived just before 3pm, in time to see HOKULE'A under tow by the 26 foot outboard KOLUA. Getting into the crowded harbor was going to be tricky, as HOKULE'A, 60 feet LOA x 20 feet beam, steers with an oar over the stern.



I needn't have been concerned. The oarsman was a giant of a man and was sculling HOKULE'A upwind and into her turn alongside the dock. I counted 13 crew, 10 kane and 3 wahine.



What happened next was unexpected. Monterey Harbor had laid electrified metal strips along the seaward edge of their docks to deter sealions hauling out. Though the metal strips were labeled, HOKULEA's crew weren't reading small print as they hauled docklines fore and aft. And the crew were mostly barefoot. What a welcome, getting a mild electric shock in your feet as you stepped off your ship.

Aloha, HOKULE'A!


Note the steering oar in its stowed position. Also that there are few fastenings holding things together in favor of traditional rope lashings.

Fun day with Skip!

[sleddog]

With the seasonal current migration of boats south towards S.Cal and Mexico, real time nearshore weather off the Central Calif. coast is always appreciated by navigators. Unfortunately, Half Moon Bay Buoy,#46012, 24 miles SSW of SF Bay in 685 feet of water has been missing and off station for some time.

Fortunately, Saildrone is assisting by locating a mobile Saildrone #1073 at the missing buoy's location and transmitting real time weather for all mariners: https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_pa...tation=1801589

Saildrone 1073 is obviously not anchored, but hove to and slowly sailing into head current/drift that keeps the 24' drone on station. Thank you Saildrone for this service and to Hedgehog for the report.