New Boat 4 Sled

[Libations Too]

Thanks Skip...very helpful! I recognize those little friction clamps; they look like the ones used to hold my cockpit table to the binnacle guard. I didn't realize that your panel swivelled with the longer side inboard....sounds like a great idea. My use would be primarily to trickle charge my two group 27 batteries so a little shade occasionally would be no problem for me either.

 

[sleddog]

Hmmmm. It appears that even the Americas Cup can't overcome the fact that multihulls are still considered second class citizens by mere mortals.

After multiple phone calls, and snail mail through the required hoops of photo, registration, and insurance with Brickyard Cove named additional insured, I thought I had a deal with Brickyard Cove Marina for dry storage. WILDFLOWER met all the printed requirements, including measurements. She displaces 800 pounds, about 1700 pounds less than an Express 27, and is highway legal beam (8.5'), 9" less than an Olson 30.

Don't count your chickens, sleddog.

The printed material began with "Welcome to Brickyard Cove Marina! We are excited to welcome you to our harbor."
But hold on. Why won't the office currently return my calls?

A terse e-mail answered the mystery today: "Unfortunately we are not permitted to accept catamarans to store at Brickyard Cove."

Well, butter my buns and call me a biscuit.

On the other side of Brickyard is happier news. Rich Weirick, long time harbor master at RYC is retiring Oct. 10. Richie has been a true friend to sailors for years. And if you needed a thing-a-ma-jig for your broken smart pig, Richie likely had one in the back of his "office."

Well done, and thanks, Richie! We wish you fun cruising.

 

[sleddog]

Once a year or so, in the Fall, a combination of high pressure, offshore flow, and downslope winds brings a heatwave to the Coast. Yesterday we were bracketed by triple digits: 106 in Aptos, 105 in Soquel, 107 in Scotts Valley. More to come today before the cooling influence of stratus (marine layer) from a Southerly Surge makes it way up the Coast.

Reminds me of an unusual weather phenomena in the Big Boat Series some years ago. There was an inversion level down to about 50' and hot offshore zephyrs were wafting down from the Berkeley Hills across the Bay. About 3 pm the cool Westerly filled beneath the Gate, and blew eastward along the surface, under the warm Easterly.

Across the drifting fleet the unusual sight of the lower half of spinnakers filling with Westerly, while the upper half of the sail plan was sailing to windward in the old Easterly. It did not make for good headway, and I remember we all went swimming before the race was called at sunset.

It looks like a good sized fleet of SSS'ers racing to Vallejo. Tho we won't be racing WILDFLOWER this year, I look forward to bringing the boat to Vallejo as "escort" (or beer boat if you prefer.) We'll try to stay out of your water and off your wind. In Vallejo, feel free to stop by and say hello.

 

[Cover Craft]

Bert HATES multihulls. And kayaks too. Nothing to do with logic or reason. Just No.

(No longer a tenant.. Tom of Constellation.)

 

[sleddog]

Driving a boat over Hwy 17 and up the 880 is not for the faint of heart. But we got WILDFLOWER safely to Berkeley Marina yesterday. All went well with rigging. The plan was to launch using the 2 Ton hoist. Surprising to us, the lift clearance wasn't sufficient to get the boat up off the trailer. I shortened the slings, then we pulled the trailer out from under, like pulling a rug.

The plan was to sail across the Bay and take in the AC 45 Fleet Race. We tucked in a reef and left Berkeley at 3 pm in typical conditions of 18-20 knots and short chop. Overhead, six Blue Angels were roaring around in their practice. The big question: what was that little red bi-plane doing practicing with the Blue Angels? I think it was a Pitts Special, and was certainly hauling ass.

We got to the City Front at 5pm, in time for the AC Fleet Race start. The "arena" was well patrolled with big CG boats and many smaller boats with flashing red and blue lights. We watched the 11 AC cats start, round the first mark off the Marina Green, then take off "downwind." Downwind is relative for these high speed craft, as they always have the apparent wind forward of the beam.

Tho the racing was interesting from a distance, the real spectacle was the spectator fleet. There was several mega-yachts and a giant black ketch mixed in. Everyone seemed to stay clear. But clearly having a VIP flag let you speed around closer to the action with your RIB. Some creative flag maker should be selling those.

Our run back to Berkeley was fast, with the sun setting behind the fog over the GG Bridge. As we entered the Marina, there was a Dragon Boat being coached by non other than Lat.38's Max Ebb. Max has an interesting scientific theory: paddling in unison is not as fast as random paddling, each to his own speed and pace. I did mention we are in Berkeley?

Today we sail to RYC for the Vallejo 1-2 start. CU there.

 

[Critter]

Skip, the start is on the Circle, so you may as well stay in Berkeley. It's where G is supposed to be; I'll be setting our inflatable mark.

Looking forward to checking out Wildflower in Vallejo.
Max

 

[sleddog]

Yes, thanks, Max. Understand the Vallejo 1-2 starts off Bezerkely Circle, halfway between Richmond and Berkeley. But tonight at RYC is birthday party for SSS sailors Jonathan and Christine, born on same day of same year. So we are heading over there. As we are not officially racing the Vallejo 1-2, it doesn't really matter where we start, as long as the beer is cold.

I hope Capt. Jan is coming to Vallejo. Haven't seen her in a coon's age. Just imagine any other sailing organization having a amphibious Duck for a consort, like SSS does. (Just read Jan is RC Race Deck, and would appreciate assistance.)

Regarding the Pitt Special bi-plane working out with the Blue Angels yesterday. The Pitt is no ordinary plane. With 240 hp to hoist her 1200 pounds, she can climb at 3,000 feet/minute. http://www.aviataircraft.com/pitts.html I'm guessing the only SSS boat that could match that would be JETSTREAM with a JATO bottle. Daniel?

 

[BobJ]

Skip, before my family started sailing we did airplanes. My Dad had a Knight Twister, designed by Vernon Payne in Bellflower. Like the Pitts it was a racing biplane but with a more "modest" 150 hp Lycoming - yet only a 12' wingspan! Mom had him beat - she had her license but was also trained to do aerobatics. She spent a fair bit of time in a Citabria - the same model of plane in which adventurer and SHTP record-holder Steve Fossett lost his life. Citabria is air_batic spelled backwards.

It was an interesting childhood.

I have to work today but hope to sail down from Vallejo on Saturday morning's ebb. I'll look for the little cat in SP Bay, then will turn around and race you for pink slips back to VYC. At least that's the plan.

 

[sleddog]

A fun Vallejo 1 today, with 53 boats on the line in Southerly wind of 6 knots. EYRIE, ARCADIA, and OUTSIDER battled for the early lead along the Richmond shore, while TIMBERWOLF stayed well to the north. JETSTREAM, on starboard jibe, was one of the few to pass Redrock to the north, and seemed to benefit from an early flood.

The wind took a dump off Port Pinole, and the race restarted. A light SWerly filled to about 8 knots, with gusts to 10. The Santana 22 OREO was up in the high rent district, pacing the Expresses, the Moores, and seven Wyliecat 30's. MOONSHADOW went retro, and flew spinnaker and blooper from the 70's.

The fleet jibed down towards Vallejo in bright sunshine and pleasant temps. Up at the front, MAX, FLIGHTRISK, OUTSIDER, and JETSTREAM, were doing well.

The fleet had the usual port tack fetch to the finish up Mare Island Strait. OUTSIDER took line honors, a few lengths ahead of JETSTREAM. Jan and her crew on Race Deck finished the fleet and had the results posted online almost simultaneously. Thanks, Jan, for the salute to WILDFLOWER!

Vallejo YC members were stationed throughout the marina to guide everyone to their docking assignments, hot showers, and hamburger feed. Well done, VYC.

Overall winner of today's leg was OREO. Congrats, Garth!

 

[sleddog]

Thanks to all who stopped by at Vallejo YC for a tour of WILDFLOWER. It was fun to meet you all!

We had a fun afternoon with excitement thrown in. After picking up guests at RYC, we sailed for our slip at Berkeley Marina. Wind in the slot was 18-20 knots. We sailed upwind with EYRIE for a bit and took some pics of Syn and Ellie looking good. Then cracked off on a reach for Berkeley.

Owen, from Marblehead, MA was driving and WILDFLOWER was truckin. The thrill meter (Velocitek) was consistently above 8, with bursts to 13. As we approached the Berkeley breakwater, Owen said he couldn't steer. WTF???

I looked over the stern. Our RudderCraft blade (HDPE/ high density polyethelyne) was broken off flush with the bottom of the cassette. We hadn't hit anything, as there was no noise or bang when it went away. We dropped sail, and motored in. No drama. But there are some questions to be posed to RudderCraft tomorrow, who claim less than 1% failure rate on 10,000 rudders sold.

 

[sleddog]

As we crossed San Pablo Bay on Saturday, a sky writing plane was busy to the west, presumably over the City Front AC-45 races. Wow, I thought, they are honoring Stan Honey, who will be inducted into the Sailing Hall of Fame Oct. 14.

Indeed the smoke in the sky, which we were reading upside down and backwards, appeared to say "STAN HONEY." I thought this a cool way to honor Stan's contributions, but began to question my eyesight when the skywriter plane spelled out "GEICO."

It didn't take long to figure out what we were reading was "Save Money," not "Stan Honey."

Congratulations, anyway, Stan. You've earned your name in the sky.

 

[Travieso]

Regarding the Pitt Special bi-plane working out with the Blue Angels yesterday. The Pitt is no ordinary plane. With 240 hp to hoist her 1200 pounds, she can climb at 3,000 feet/minute. http://www.aviataircraft.com/pitts.html I'm guessing the only SSS boat that could match that would be JETSTREAM with a JATO bottle. Daniel?

That might be a stretch even for the mighty JETSTREAM (though not so mighty on either Vallejo leg). Perhaps if we drop the bulb and stick in a double array of JATOs.

It was very cool checking out WILDFLOWER in Vallejo. So much in so little...

 

[winefood]

Hey Skip,
It was great to see you and the new Wildflower. What a great boat! Your touch is unmistakeable. I cried when I read about the scuttling and was thrilled to see your comeback. Had no idea you would be in Valleho. Very disappointed to hear you won't be our neighbor at Brickyard. They weren't too nice about wasting your time. I hope you can find a slip nearby.

Fair Winds,
Larry

 

[sleddog]

As some may already know, there is going to be a reunion of Santa Cruz built boats next Spring, May 24-June 2, 2013. It should be quite an event. If you own an Olson, Santa Cruz, Wilderness, WylieCat, Express, Moore, C&B, Aeolus, Hull Works, Banshee, Jester, SeaRunner, Marples, FrogCraft, WaterRat, Ballenger, or anything faintly connected to Santa Cruz designed and/or built, you will be welcomed.

To encourage participation, the Spinnaker Cup and the Windjammers will be feeder races. Wednesday will be the "Wood is Good" reunion.

If you haven't seen Bill Lee in his Merlin wizard costume, this will be the time. Mark it on your calendars.

http://madeinsantacruzraceweek.com

 

[sleddog]

25% of the fleet racing to/from Vallejo last weekend were boats built in Santa Cruz. Most of these boats hark back to the ultra light revolution and local designers George Olson, Bill Lee, Carl Schmacher, Ron Moore, and others.

Before MERLIN there was RAGTIME. Before the Santa Cruz 27 there was MAGIC. Before the Moore 24 there was GRENDEL. Influences all on the Santa Cruz theme of "Fast is Fun."

But there is a special member of the SSS fleet that was racing last weekend racing to Vallejo. This 1956 design, a 30 footer, used to plane around the Gulf of the Farallones and SF Bay back in the 60's, driving local leadmine owners crazy. It easily outran a Cal-40, and regularly did so. When George Olson saw this boat, his creative mind went into overtime, and he went home to Santa Cruz and built GRENDEL, forerunner of the Moore 24.

I'm offering a ride on WILDFLOWER to the first of you who can name this historical boat, its designer, and construction. A hint might be that when its sailplan was submitted to a local sailmaker's computer for a new spinny, the computer smoked and output "Does Not Compute."

 

[BobJ]

The Black Soo (Starbuck and Mirage)
Van deStadt
Plywood

... but I had no idea it was the boat that motivated Olson.


Does this mean I have to name my next boat MERLIN? No, my production-line J is hardly worthy to bear RAG's name. One of the Matson captains called on the radio one day to make sure I knew he was there. When I responded he asked if it was "THAT Ragtime." I sheepishly said "no."

BTW, some of those Matson guys raced many TransPacs in their day and get a kick out of what we're doing out there. One of the benefits of the SHTP is you get to chat with them once in awhile.

 

[sleddog]

BobJ correctly answered the question posed above. The hard chined, plywood STARBUCK is not only the most historical and influential ultra-light in the Bay Area. But likely the most successful. She won at least 6 SSS Season Championships, numerous local races, as well as the 2000 SHTP. Not bad for a woodie that is now 45 years old.

 

[BobJ]

A Black Soo indeed won seven singlehanded season championships. Not to take anything away from Greg Nelsen (who won a couple more SSS seasons with OUTSIDER) but

Ben Mewes won in 2007 and 2010 with MIRAGE. MIRAGE also has the distinction of having a honeymoon spent aboard (on the way to Hawaii in the Pacific Cup).

Greg won with STARBUCK in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004, an amazing run. Stephen knows he has a heritage to maintain and he's working on the necessary mod's:

View attachment 246

 

[Dazzler]

Boy, miss a day and you miss out on one of Skip's trivia contests! Yes, I knew the answer. In 1969 I worked with Myron Spaulding measuring boats for IOR ratings. I remember well sailmaker Don Goring's 'Starbuck.' Don already had quite a winning reputation in MORA with his Gladiator. So, it was no surprise that Don had acquired this most unusual boat. We had Don's Starbuck at Myron's for measuring and I had the opportunity to explore the boat. One feature that made quite an impression on me was the inside tiller. Down below, and well forward of the rudder post was another tiller connected with two linkages. The idea was, with the cabin windows on three sides one could steer from below in tough conditions. What a radical concept! Yes, Starbuck made a lasting impression on an aspiring naval architect.

So, Ben, did Mirage have the inside tiller before you moved the rudder?

Tom

P.S. Bob, thanks for adding the BlackCat photo. What a great concept!

 

[Critter]

I figured the answer was the Black Soo, but thanks Skip and Bob and Tom for filling in the history.

I've always wondered where the name Black Soo comes from. It sure doesn't sound Dutch. Anyone know?