Skip, Thank you for the compliments. If you look closely, you can see where I drew on the canvas with pencil, then painted over. There's even a small binnacle and wheel (drawn in pencil) where I don't believe one really existed. And then there's the crows nest... Tom
A Christmas present to Santa Cruz sailors has just been delivered. The LED flashing light atop Santa Cruz's historical lighthouse at Steamer Lane has been replaced with a rotating beam of light at five-second intervals, which sweeps 16 miles across Monterey Bay on a clear night.
The new light, made in New Zealand, only a 35 watt incandescent bulb, is aided in magnification power by a glass Fresnel lens that gives the yellow white beam its distance and signature "sweep."
The return of a solid rotating beam at the West Cliff Drive lighthouse was celebrated Thursday with a gathering of city leaders, Rep. Sam Farr, and community members.
Local sailors Bill Simpkins and Jim Thoits spearheaded the effort to get a solid beam back "because it's more attractive and historically fitting." Rep. Farr convinced the Coast Guard to give up ownership of the light -- a move necessary for the change to take place.
"The lighthouse is an incredible tradition going back over 100 years," Farr told the small crowd gathered in front of the lighthouse at sunset. "It's a symbol of safety. It also symbolizes bringing together this community."
Santa Cruz owns the brick lighthouse, which also is home to the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum. The original lighthouse was constructed in 1868 with wood, and torn down 80 years later, being rebuilt with red brick in 1967. The long and storied history of the Santa Cruz Point Lighthouse is told here: http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=87
The Coast Guard had owned and maintained the actual light, and had replaced the solid beam with a flashing bluish/white LED light two years ago. Simpkins, Thoits, and others were disappointed to see the blinking light.
"It was horrible," Simpkins said. "It was just this flash." In fact, you could mistake a car headlight along West Cliff Dr. for the old flashing light.
Santa Cruz now owns both the new light and the lighthouse.
"It's alive, it's moving," said Simpkins. "I've done a lot of sailing and a lot of times I see this light from the ocean. There's something romantic about it."
The North Magnetic Pole, where a compass will point straight down, had been proposed as early as 1600. But it wasn't until 1831 that James Clark Ross located the Pole near the Boothia Penisula in the Canadian Arctic. Ross had plenty of time to study the North Magnetic Pole, as his side-wheeled steamship, the VICTORY, spent an epic four winters frozen in the North West Passage before working free.
Amundsen on FRAM later found the North Magnetic Pole was drifting northwest at a variable rate attaining 30 miles/year. Modern day compasses point to the current position of the North Magnetic Pole. But in the news is the supposition that other things, like animals, use the North Magnetic Pole and its geo-magnetic field for all sorts of unimaginable reasons.
Bats, birds, whales, fish, even ants, also likely use magnetism to navigate. Google Earth satellite photos are just now proving cows and deer like to align themselves north/south when grazing. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7575459.stm
Not wanting to leave a stone unturned, we took Fido to the local dog park yesterday. And observed for ourselves. All I can say is, before too much excitement sets in, a dog on a boat would not pass my muster as a requisite back up compass.
Well there you go* - even MORE value added to your SSS membership!
*No pun intended?
Quick update: I've not started a study but I watched Louie spin a few circles and then point North for one dump observed over the weekend. And FYI, he's a locally-born pug, not from the southern hemisphere or anything.
Back to Rags: (yea! La Paz has internet!). She came to town a few years back, 09? Current owner Chris Welch talked about her history at RYC, what fun. Ben dutifully brought a photo of us sailing Mirage for an autograph. "Hardchined forever!" Knickspant is German for hardchined.
Skip, Feliz Ano Nuevo, gracias for the ever-changing subject matter covered by your New Boat.
After a 5 year hiatus in its pages, the horror of discovering Lat.38's editor sighted sleddog at the Puerto Vallarta airport and wrote of the brief encounter: "he is not ..as nimble..as in the late 70's."
Latitude 38's RS published his first edition in 1977, using SSS events as its main news. Unfortunately, in the intervening 37 years, it's editor and contents have not remained as nimble either. Hopefully RS has a waterproof cover for his I-pad as he writes at his favorite bar in St.Barth's, while rubbing shoulders with the splendor and gentility of the mega-yachts lined up nearby.
Lat.38 long ago became shameless promotion for cruising in Mexico. Not a bad thing. Except in excess, one grows tired of the fishing photos, dining on illegal lobster, the condo ads, and the ongoing touting of cheap Mexican health care. (One of my best sailing friends died in a Puerto Vallarta hospital because of mis-diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes.)
Instead of recycling the same old chamber of commerce format, wouldn't it be fun if Lat.38 reinvented itself with some creative writing; concerned reports on the degradation of the world's oceans; (accurate) historical pieces; or the transparency of telling it like it is instead of shameless promotions of how cheap and safe the cruising lifestyle is; Talk-Like-A-Pirate drink-a-thons; sexy, young, and blond Slavic cruising buddies; or Tongan feasts? And please, could Lee Helm be retired now that she is a grandmother living in Arizona?
In the most recent issue of Latitude-38 is another recycled promotion for bareboat chartering in the Pacific NW. Perhaps the author's "wonderland of dense forests" might be tempered with the reality of "clear cut scars at every turn." "Carefully maintained regional parks" do have mostly ill conceived and unsafe public moorings. And with skull and dagger warning signs posted along many shores, don't even think of hunting shellfish.
"Pacific NW charts are accurate" writes Latitude 38. Easy peazy lemon squeezy "for first time charterers." No mention that some charts are metric and your depth sounder may not be. And there are different symbols between US and Canadian charts indicating presence of half tide rocks.
No doubt about it. I love cruising the Pacific NW. But let's be realistic. Victoria "is the cleanest harbor Latitude 38 can think of." Really? Is the writer unaware
Greater Victoria's 380,000 residents continue to pump 34 million gallons of untreated sewage daily into its local waters http://www.victoriasewagealliance.or...geAlliance.htm, that the air of the Inner Harbor is often deafening and filled with noxious kerosene fumes from float planes, and 10,000 or more passengers from 2-6 visiting cruise ships and many ferries jam the waterfront of Victoria's downtown on any given summer day?
But all is good. With our boat moored out front, let's you and I have traditional "Afternoon High Tea" at Victoria's venerable Empress Hotel. Just bring a well endowed wallet. A cup of Darjeeling begins at $50, and goes up from there. And don't wear Levis. They don't match the chintz and you will be asked to leave. As I was.
This morning I was sweeping the driveway and a neighbor, walking her dogs, stopped by to tell me that we have a new "hybrid" month that is named Juneuary!
I am learning that sailmakers continue to shamelessly sell expensive storm trysails to boats racing this summer to Hawaii. Assuming your boat has at least two reefs, one of which is deeper than 40% of luff length, a trysail is not required, and will likely never see the light of day. A storm jib is a better deal.
In all the history of several hundred races to Hawaii since 1906, a storm trysail has never been used by any competitor.
Racing to SHTP or PacCup to Hawaii, if it is too windy for a double reef, it is time to drop the main, and reach off a bit under jib. (Assuming you are not a Wyliecat.) Your VMG speed will be as good or better.
Rigging a trysail, even one with its own track, is time consuming. If your slack main halyard takes off, or wraps in rigging, while transferring to the trysail head, you are SOL.
The shape of a storm trysail as made by modern day sailmakers is totally wrong, being longer on the foot than on the hoist. This is based on 19th century sail design, when sails were flax.
Trysails were thought to be advantageous for beating off a leeshore. I can certainly see their requirement for a Sydney to Hobart, where such conditions exist. But most modern S2H trysails have a more modern aspect ratio, 2:1 or greater on the hoist. That makes them efficient for beating into a Southerly Buster, more so than a third or fourth reef.
You won't be beating to Hawaii with a trysail.
Trysails for Transpacs? About as useful as the two SHTP competitors, one of whom carried a lawnmower lashed to his mast, the other a horse saddle in his main cabin.
I seem to have used up all my credibility chips with the current administration so you'll have to take up the SHTP trysail requirement with them directly. Maybe it was the lapel button I wore to the last two meetings (yes, I really did): "No worries, some of my best friends wear tracking devices."
I totally agree though - I bought a cheap used trysail from Bacon Sails for the 2006 SHTP, applied the requisite sail numbers and farted around with it to see how it would sheet. It was dutifully shown to various inspectors but otherwise never touched. To use it on my little boat, I'd have to take the main completely off the mast. I can't imagine trying to do that in conditions which would require using the thing.
The lawn mower and saddle inspired me - I need to think of something creative to carry on my next jaunt across the pond.
.
I dunno, but Peter Strylers, MD took along his harpsicord. Kinda hard to top that, especially in a Moore 24! And, he wrote a pretty good book about his TransPac experience, including quite a bit of medical advice. He also becaome interested in the names of all those sea mounts that dot the North Pacific. "The Floating Harpsicord" for those who might be interested. It's available as a download on the net. I think he practices medicine in El Cerrito, so might be a candidate for those looking to put together an SSS history. -- Pat
m/v PACIFIC LOON
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