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New Boat 4 Sled

Offseason cruising in the San Juans means empty coves, wildlife, and why good friends Gary and Ev have converted from sail to a 34 foot, diesel stove heated, tug, SLOPOKE. A letter yesterday from Gary highlights a recent winter cruise:

BIG High Pressure & inversion meant cold temps here but light winds. Always worry about the dreaded "Fraser Valley" outflow. Kind of like "Arctic" version of the Santa Ana winds. Out 6 days last week on Slo Poke, which was only possible because of the diesel stove making the boat interior toasty/warm. Basically, fired up the stove on departure & turned off on return. It ran perfectly! Hiked up to Reed & Duck lakes on Cypress Island & found them frozen over. Going ashore in the morning, the beach landing sites had driftwood & chunks of bull kelp coated with ice. The bird population was amazing. Ducks everywhere, golden eye, bufflehead, merganzers mallards.......you name it & they were present. In Eagle Harbor there was a sea gull who thought it was a duck. It hung out with a large flock of buffle head ducks & they seem to accept it's presence like one of their own.

Some mornings the anchorage was enveloped in dense fog and kinda magical. Since we were the only boat, I didn't think it necessary to sound a bell fwd. & a gong aft. Didn't have to worry about the stove running out of fuel as it is fed by the port aft diesel tank (60 gals.).

Slopoke.JPG

. The house was very cold on our return. A roaring fire in the wood stove soon solved that. We had our dinner on the couch right in front of the wood stove while rest of the house heated up. On return to marina, we walked home to get car & retrieve gear from boat. This time, it was after sunset (somewhat dark) & driving down Commercial Ave. just abeam the Donut House the car in front of me hit the brakes to avoid 3 deer trying to cross the busy street. I came to a stop & they trotted by the side of my car like a bunch of jay walking what-evers......

Slopoke2.JPG

Gary
 
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While Star sailors were racing in Nassau, and Francois Gabert is racing the clock in the N. Atlantic, yesterday I was racing common murres off Santa Cruz.

As I left Santa Cruz breakwater, the only other boat in sight on the glassy sea was MOKU with Howard and Yvonne.
I pedaled over to say hi, then headed for Mile Buoy small in the distance to the southwest.

I fell into a comfortable rhythm of pedaling of about 45-50 revolutions/minute. It was warm and sunny, and I was soon shirtless and trying to stay hydrated on a December afternoon. Nearby were many common murres, also known as guillemots, some headed in my direction paddling at the same speed.

I glanced at my GPS speed puck and found I was making about 1.8 knots over the bottom. The sails were not doing much with the lack of wind and the telltales hung limp.

It took 55 minutes to pedal the 1.34 miles to Mile Buoy, a good test of the pedal drive system and my stamina. Rounding Mile Buoy, a dozen sealions barked their approval. Returning to the Harbor again took 55 minutes, which computed to about 1.5 knots of average boatspeed for the round trip.

Mile Buoy.jpg

All that, and the common murres, weighing 2 pounds each, were keeping up with my 22 footer. Good stuff.

murre.jpg
 
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Congrats and respect to Francois Gabart on completing his solo Around the World Voyage on MACIF in a record time that few thought was possible - 42 days, 16 hours, 40 min., 35 seconds. Wow. That beats the old record of Thomas Colville by more than 6 days, 10 hours.
 
All manner of exotic wildlife can and does emerge from the jungle at Yelapa, a small village on the Bay of Banderas, 15 miles SW of Puerto Vallarta.

stickbug1.jpg

Annie went out to hang clothing on the clothes line. And found it already occupied. A 12" stickbug was slowly making its way south.... the front end of the insect is not the end with the triangular bulb.

stickbug2.jpg

Has anyone else seen a stickbug? I had a praying mantis live on WILDFLOWER for a week in Hawaii. Named her "Alice" and she seemed quite content. Finally before departure I boxed her up for delivery into the mangroves near Kaneohe Yacht Club.

Then here was the spider that sailed with me on WILDFLOWER from New Zealand to Hawaii ...each night spinning a new web between the solar panel and wind vane bracket. Even in nature, Hope Springs Eternal.
 
The family of one of our SSS solo sailors has recently evacuated their Santa Barbara home. But are "guardedly optimistic that our home will survive" the devastating Thomas fire, third largest in state history. "We have the ‘essentials’ offloaded and safe just in case…."

A new and effective tool in the fire fight near Ventura/Santa Barbara has been the "Super Scooper" aircraft, built in Canada. It is a highwing, turbo-prop, amphibious plane that can land on the ocean or nearby lakes, scoop up 1,620 gallons of water without stopping, and then resume flying into the fire drop area. In addition, they can add retardant to the scooped water to assist the fire fight, but aren't doing so in this case. The amount of water the Super Scoopers can carry is much greater than helicopters, and they are much faster in turn around time than helos or larger, ground based, aircraft.

bombardier415superscooper.jpg

What is the sailing connection? The Super Scooper aircraft are using industrial-sized Elvstrom self bailers to scoop water, similar to many of the new generation of water ballasted race boats.

In the Thomas Fire, there are two Super Scoopers operating in tandem. They are using nearby Lake Cachuma for water pickups, and it only takes 15 minutes to drop water near Santa Barbara, make a lake landing, and return to the drop area. The firefighters are greatly impressed watching these aircraft work, and the planes have evidently helped save many homes.

Here's a short video of the Super Scooper, technically named the Bombardier 415.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS4U2ctIdzE
 
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Wow!!! that is SO cool! And ingenious. Sending best wishes out to "The family of one of our SSS solo sailors". That is scary stuff.
 
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More info on the Bombardier 415:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5LKF8G5huw

Very interesting aircraft designed, built and maximized for a very specific purpose. My father was a flying boat pilot and sometimes spoke about the unique challenges. His license reads, "Single and multi-engine, land and sea." You may note that they don't actually "land" the Super Scooper (i.e. let the hull rest on the water) while doing the water pick-up. Part of the reason is that flying boats (like planing sailboats) "stick" to the water. The hull is stepped to help break that suction on take-off.

It's also interesting to note how the foils and aerodynamic controls are maximized for the purpose (quick take-offs and maximum slow speed performance). Most aircraft are designed to maximize speed. Not this one. It's really not much different than thinking about how to maximize sail shape for different wind and sea conditions.

This is not just the type, but one of the specific flying boats that my father flew:
https://www.neam.org/ac-sikorsky-vs44.php

Tom
 
Dazzler said:
This is not just the type, but one of the specific flying boats that my father flew:
https://www.neam.org/ac-sikorsky-vs44.php

Tom
Click to expand...

Wow, Tom, thanks for the fascinating links ....Your father must have had quite the stories about piloting flying boats. The closest I ever came was flying to Catalina on a two engine flying boat, where each passenger was weighed, and seated accordingly.

Unless I'm mistaken, here is the story of the restoration of the EXCAMBIAN vs44 Sikorsky flying boat your father flew.

http://www.sikorskyarchives.com/S-44 restore.php
 
sleddog said:
Offseason cruising in the San Juans means empty coves, wildlife, and why good friends Gary and Ev have converted from sail to a 34 foot, diesel stove heated, tug, SLOPOKE. A letter yesterday from Gary highlights a recent winter cruise:

BIG High Pressure & inversion meant cold temps here but light winds. Always worry about the dreaded "Fraser Valley" outflow. Kind of like "Arctic" version of the Santa Ana winds. Out 6 days last week on Slo Poke, which was only possible because of the diesel stove making the boat interior toasty/warm. Basically, fired up the stove on departure & turned off on return. It ran perfectly! Hiked up to Reed & Duck lakes on Cypress Island & found them frozen over. Going ashore in the morning, the beach landing sites had driftwood & chunks of bull kelp coated with ice. The bird population was amazing. Ducks everywhere, golden eye, bufflehead, merganzers mallards.......you name it & they were present. In Eagle Harbor there was a sea gull who thought it was a duck. It hung out with a large flock of buffle head ducks & they seem to accept it's presence like one of their own.

Some mornings the anchorage was enveloped in dense fog and kinda magical. Since we were the only boat, I didn't think it necessary to sound a bell fwd. & a gong aft. Didn't have to worry about the stove running out of fuel as it is fed by the port aft diesel tank (60 gals.).

View attachment 2920
Click to expand...

Now, THAT is a powerboat.
 
strange3.jpg

Leo's restoration of the historic TALLY HO in Sequim, near Port Townsend, WA continues. His commitment, energy, and skill is truly awe-inspiring. In Leo's most recent video is also a short look at what is going on in Port Townsend boat restoration, specifically Robert D'Arcy, owner and captain of the lovely schooner MARTHA, and Robert's leading the reconstruction of a Spidsgatter, similar to Kaci Cronkhite's much beloved PAX.

You think removing your chainplates for inspection is an intimidating undertaking? Maybe not so much after watching this fun and educational video, 17 minutes in length. http://sampsonboat.co.uk/12-chainplates-knees-live-oak-bronze/

Happy Solstice and Holiday Best Wishes!
 
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spacex2.jpg

Last evening's SpaceX Falcon 9 missile launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, NW of Santa Barbara, was spectacular as viewed from our cliffs here in Capitola. Even though the launch was 200 miles south, we visually first picked up the red flame about a minute after the scheduled launch of 5:27 pm. Then the two stage Falcon 9 skyward track became visible as it ascended, turning a broad swath of the post sunset sky into a spectacular plume of snowy white that lasted for a good 10 minutes. Reportedly, nearby in the supermarket parking lot, many stopped to gawk at the Friday night lights.

I guess Southern CA got a real light show, with most of the population unaware of what was going on with the rocket launch that delivered 10 Iridium NEXT satellites into low earth orbit....Cars were pulling over on roads and freeways for a live view of what Space X founder Elon Musk jokingly tweeted was "Nuclear alien UFO from North Korea." Not too funny for the LA fire department and other emergency outlets who had to answer hundreds of calls and put out explanations on radio and TV to calm the public. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVi01wACopc
 
Yes, we can report that it was a nice show from Los Osos as well. The local Charter internet feed was, as is usual these days, lagging and sputtering along, so by the time they showed the lift off, the rocket was already climbing...we dashed outside to take a gander and were able to watch the throttle-down of the first stage and then the separation, followed by the light-off, of the upper stage. The sound of the lift-off arrived about this time. We could just see the booster dropping back and the sun highlighted the firings of its attitude jets. Now if one happened to be at sea last night, with the clear calm conditions, I imagine it would have been rather lovely, if scary should you not know what was going on.....
 
Unclear on Concept. Is this the latest version of heaving to (stationary sailing) without a sea anchor? Or tacking by reversing headway, like a proa? Give the gentleman credit for getting rid of the boom.

Push me Pull you.jpg

Also "Unclear on Concept" is why SpaceX's Elon Musk is launching his personal cherry red Tesla Roadster as the sole payload on the next rocket and will put his electric car into orbit around Mars, WTF. "Because we can"

Spacex3.jpg
 
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sleddog said:
Unclear on Concept. Is this the latest version of heaving to (stationary sailing) without a sea anchor? Or tacking by reversing headway, like a proa? Give the gentleman credit for getting rid of the boom.

View attachment 2942

Also "Unclear on Concept" is why SpaceX's Elon Musk is launching his personal cherry red Tesla Roadster as the sole payload on the next rocket and will put his electric car into orbit around Mars, WTF. "Because we can"

View attachment 2943
Click to expand...

A demo flight will typically include a payload of some sort, water ballast, concrete slabs or whatever. Musk is a showman, what better show than this? What I want to know is who is going to volunteer to fly with the car?
 
Moana2.jpg

Our SSS Forum not a usual place for movie reviews....but with my taking time off to help caretake an energetic 2.5 year old, we watched a lot of fun animated movies on Netflix over the Holidays, all suitable for kids. But especially fun and appropriate for adults too. Here's what we watched and all recommended: Finding Dory (birthed at Monterey Bay Aquarium); Secret Life of Pets (you'll never see your dog, cat, bird, or rabbit the same); Sing (good story, great songs); Rango; Winnie the Pooh; and perhaps the best of them all, Moana, a sailing/voyaging story conceived at Hanalei Bay/Napali Coast.

Moana1.jpg

As Synthia is want to say: Hippy Gnu Beer!
And Best Regards to The General in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, who loves this place:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evzfGbFTr0Q
 
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jamottep said:
Thanks for sharing ... The key thing I heard: one guy had his two tethers clipped ...
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Hi PJ,
You'll hear more than I about MOB's in this edition of the Clipper Race. The sad fatality on Leg 3 when two crew were swept over the lifelines while lowering the #3 was likely the result of a side loaded safety hook (carabiner) that caught on a deck cleat as Simon went over the lifelines and fractured his carabiner gate, leaving the tether useless.

We can all learn from that instance, especially regarding keeping tethers as short as possible, using a second tether as necessary, and being aware of sideloads.

Knowing this before hand, what the heck just happened on the most recent Clipper Race Leg 5, (Sydney-Hobart Race) when someone went over from INVICTUS GAMES DOWNUNDER (Sir Robin Knox-Johnson was aboard INVICTUS) and was fortunately rescued by the crew of Clipper racer HOTELPLANNER.com? That in itself was a meritorious act of seamanship. Then HOTELPLANNER returned the uninjured MOB to INVICTUS. Wow.

But another MOB off a Clipper boat? https://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/news

https://www.clipperroundtheworld.co...-uk-veterans-to-victory-in-ashes-on-the-water
 
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