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New Boat 4 Sled

Okay, I won't tell you that. Besides, technically a tryst is something you keep, not something you have.

Seeing the ladder up against the house, the next-door neighbor called over to ask if we were eloping. I said "No, I'm bringing her back" - which was true - she'd locked herself out of their house when we left on our date.

Perhaps Tad was aboard when the MATSONIA altered course to take pictures of RAGTIME! mid-Pacific on 3 July 2006. The e-mail with the photos (below) was signed by Reese Jones, Radio Officer and Capt. Norman Piianaia, Commanding.
 
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Matsonia1.jpg

Matsonia2.jpg
 
Yeah, that shot is a definite keeper. But back to the interesting part. A tryst is something you DON'T have? Really? How do you "keep" it if you don't "have" it?
 
My Virtual Vendee racer SLEDCAT crossed the Line on Thanksgiving and is now sailing in the SE Trades. The Virtual fleet has split, with some going east down the coast of Africa. Smart money looks to be on the traditional western route, down the coast of South America. SLEDCAT's current position of 159,554 is unrealistic, as the Great Circle based rankings heavily favor the eastern most boats. All will become clear when we transit the first "ice gate" south of Cape of Good Hope. http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/

On the water, Vincent Riou's Vendee race favorite PRB has hit a half submerged metal buoy. The collision caused a large gash in the bow, and damaged the starboard standing rigging. It is going to be a difficult repair. But if anyone can do it, 40 year old VR can. http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/news/...-damaged-after-collision-with-metal-buoy.html

I'll be sailing tomorrow with Synbad. This week we recut an old Moore 24 #1 to fit WILDFLOWER. I trialed it yesterday in its wind range, TWS 6-10, and things checked out. Synthia Petroka (EYRIE) is not only a great shipmate, but a true pro on the sail loft floor. I cannot recommend her highly enough for canvas creations and sail repair projects.
 
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30 years ago yesterday marked the anniversary of Hurricane Iwa. Iwa, south of Kauai, made an unforecast 90 degree turn, and went north directly over Kauai. Neighbor island, Oahu, on Thanksgiving, was blacked out without electrical power. Honolulu, in the right hand or dangerous semi-circle, had all its harbor buoys blown ashore.

Kauai was wiped out. Nawiliwili took major damage, with every boat, including the Coast Guard, either blown ashore or sunk. The top of yacht masts littered the harbor for weeks. Port Allen, on the south shore, took the brunt. The rock breakwater was destroyed and nothing was left of the harbor. The largest piece of any boat found the next day was my friend Chester's forehatch from his 26' sloop MO'A.

For unknown reasons, with hurricane warnings flying, Matson sent its little (346') inter island ship MAUNA KEA on its regularly scheduled run from Hono to Nawiliwili. In the best of conditions the underpowered MAUNA KEA could only make 10 knots, and that was downwind in the Trades. They hadn't even gotten mid-channel when the bridge anemometer was registering 80 knots. 30 foot seas broke the lashings on the container gantry, and the heavy steel structure threatened to go over the side.

The captain, asleep in his cabin, had left instructions with the bridge not to be woken until an hour before arrival in Nawiliwili. Luckily on watch were two real sailors/surfers and long time shipmates, Bob Buell and Al Thoma. Bob, harnessed in, went aft with chains and comealongs, and rodeoed the wayward gantry .

The anemometer pegged at 110 knots. The sea was white. The captain was awoken and sleepily took the bridge. There was only one thing to do. Bob and Al knew they had to jibe ship and run downwind back towards Oahu and suggested such to the now very much awake captain.

They waited for a lull in the seas, which were threatening to break through the bridge windows. They began their turn to jibe MAUNA KEA and run off. What happened next, I'll let Capt. Bob continue the story. I later received a handwritten letter from him describing how, at this moment, he “saw God.”
 
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Capt Bob

Yes, it was 30 years ago, and was reliving that Hurricane Iwa story with Sleddog by phone this am, he in Bekeley and I on the beach at Kahuku Point, Oahu.
This small inter-island ship the "Mauna Kea" was underpowered for such conditions, but we made weekly trips to Kauai, Maui, and Hilo on Big Island, reloading in Honolulu each trip.
The Captain, George, was a great ship handler and did his own piloting in/out of each port, but was not a sailor and surfer like myself who was chief mate, or Al Thoma 2/Mate...
So when the sun went down in Hurricane 100+ knot winds, I suggested to Capt George we jibe during a lull in these huge sets of waves breaking over the bridge, as we were basically hove to in those conditions even under full power on the twin screw Caterpillars. We decided to run off before it, and seek the "Lee of Oahu" about 30 miles to the NE of us.

She rode nice in that downwind mode, and a few hours later the 3/Mate called me to ask what the light was ashore, as I lived on the North Shore, and still do...It was the only light on
the island that night with the power all out, and I saw that it was the Comsat satellite dishes above my house at Sunset Beach, as they had a generator, that bearing and radar range gave us our position, as we made our way around a darkened windward coast to Makapuu at sunrise...When we entered Honolulu harbor around 0700, safe but beat up, we noted all the entrance buoys on the beach, that normally mark the reef. We called USCG station just inside harbor and told them, they were surprised we were inbound w/o buoys in place,
but we said the capt has lots of practice in/out of there daily.
 
The conclusion to the Hurricane IWA story is the Honolulu office of Matson Lines thought they had possibly lost the MAUNA KEA with all hands. They didn't know MAUNA KEA's radio gear/coms had been blown away.

The next morning after MAUNA KEA had circumnavigated OAHU seeking a lee from Hurricane Iwa, she steamed bravely backdoor into Hono Harbor approaches from the EAST (not the
West from whence she had departed the day before). The Matson office personnel and family members were not dry eyed and more than a bit thankful......
 
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A fun sail yesterday with Synthia. Initially the fog was thick and the wind light as we made our way out of Berkeley Marina. Somewhere outside we encountered a solo paddler in a yellow kayak. We came alongside and found it was Latitude 38's "Max Ebb." Max was detailed to start the Berkeley YC Chowder Race. But couldn't see the other end of the line. We offered him some persimmon cookies and drifted on.

The wind filled, and the fog cleared. Not much wind, but enough to hear the wake gurgling. Synthia told about her early sailing history when a student at Cal Poly SLO. At that time, they wanted her on the team, because for every three guys, you had to have one gal.

We set the recently repaired spinnaker, the one we blew out rounding the north end of Orcas Island a couple of months back. With Syn steering, we did reach to reach jibes back to Berkeley and sailed into the Harbor on a fine afternoon. There on the dock was BobJ (RAGTIME) and Jackie (DURA MATER). BobJ, a veritible used marine hardware store on wheels, was delivering Jackie her new spinnaker pole. We had a nice visit before I set sail down the 880 freeway to Capitola. I didn't want to again listen to Berkeley Marina's shrill diaphone that blows everry 10 seconds, all night, when the fog is in.
 
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I can't help it Sled - I like to accumulate and redistribute sailboat stuff!

The pole has some SSS history which Jackie has been charged to perpetuate. First used on Dan Benjamin's Olson 30 WHITE KNUCKLES, the pole went to Hawaii in 1992. Though fully rigged with bridles for spinnaker work, its almost unused condition suggests it was the second whisker pole for the pair of colorful twin headsails Dan also bought for the Olson.

Alan Hebert equipped his Santana 30-30 WISDOM for the 2004 SHTP, and he bought the pole and twins from Dan.

As I prepped RAGTIME! for the 2006 race, I kept hearing I needed twins so I bought the pole and twins from Alan.

After the 2008 race the pole and twins parted company. Scott Prusso was gearing up for the 2012 race and the twins would fit his Cal 29, so he bought them. I kept the pole to use as a whisker pole with my 125% genoa, but never did.

Then Jackie posted and now the pole, aboard DURA MATER, and the twins, aboard ROSALITA are destined for yet another run to Hanalei Bay.

Sled and 'Zia were looking good as they sailed WILDFLOWER at hot angles back into Berkeley yesterday. As expected, Sled backed the little cat into her just-wide-enough slip with precision.
 
Latitude 38 will not publish poems. Seems poetic. No restrictions here. Here's another from Ogden Nash, posted locally by "Blighbaum."

How pleasant to gaze on the sailors
As their sailboats they manfully sail
With the vigor of the vikings or whalers
In the days of the vikings and whales
They sport on the brink of the shad and the shark
If it's windy they sink, if it isn't they park
How pleasant to gaze on the sailors
To gaze, without having to sail!
 
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Later tonight, we are about to get our first real SE gale of the season on Monterey Bay. Though South Easterlies only blow 5-7% of the winter season November through March, they have played an overriding influence on discovery and development of the Monterey Bay area.

In Dec. 1602, the Spanish explorer Sebastian Vizcaino was attempting to navigate his three boat expeditionary fleet northward along the Pacific Coast. His objective was to survey and map potential ports of refuge for Manila galleons on their yearly voyages from the Phillipines to Acapulco.

Luckily for Vizcaino and his unweatherly fleet, a SE gale sprung up on Dec. 13, and they were able to sail from the Channel Islands northward along the usually rowdy Big Sur Coast. When they reached the latitude of Monterey, they took shelter in "an all weather port, sheltered from all winds" (Monterey.) Vizcaino's glowing descriptions of his find were reproduced on Spanish charts and spurred overland Spanish exploration.

In October, 1769, Gaspar Portola led an overland expedition northward from Baja in an attempt to find Vizcaino's all weather port of refuge. But Portola was not a sailor, and we can presume the Monterey Peninsula was hidden under its usual shroud of fog. Whatever, Portola did not recognize Vizcaino's perfect shelter, bypassed his elusive goal ("overstood the mark," I'd call it.) and continued north until they became the first non-natives to sight San Francisco Bay a month later.
 
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As the Monterey Bay area grew in population, its many resources needed to be exported. Because there were only a few dirt trails over the coast mountains, local redwood logs, tanbark, potatoes, smokeless gun powder, lime, sugar beets, tallow and hides all needed to be shipped by sea. Wharves sprang up from Watsonville clear up to Pigeon Point to accommodate small schooners and steam powered ships.

But SE gales created a major log jam. Most of Monterey Bay is a lee shore in a SE gale, with a long fetch of open water to windward. The wharves were regularly damaged or destroyed each winter, and venturesome ships driven ashore. Some wharves were rebuilt, others left to disappear.

Even today, the Capitola Wharf gets raked each winter by SE gales and swell, losing parts and piles. A clamor grew for a solution to fighting the SE gales that took away the coastal wharves.. The answer came in the mid-1880s in the form of railroads, linking both Santa Cruz and Monterey to inland destinations and markets, especially the growing Bay Area.

When you live on the coast, SE gales take on a very real personality. I suspect this one will shoal the Santa Cruz Harbor entrance with hundreds of cubic yards of sand deposited overnight. And that big catamaran, CRYSTAL BLUE PERSUASION, (55') still anchored off the Santa Cruz wharf, will likely be driven ashore, just like it was last year. Who are those guys and what aren't they thinking?
 
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Hi Sleddog,
I was reading a friend's Small Craft Advisor from 2010 and saw a picture of this cool small catamaran. Traced it to you and this forum so I joined. I have really enjoyed your postings and photos on the building of your catamaran. Looks like it is a lot of fun and it's given me some inspiration. I mainly sail on the coast of North Carolina and some in upstate NY.
 
BobJ said:
I can't help it Sled - I like to accumulate and redistribute sailboat stuff!

The pole has some SSS history which Jackie has been charged to perpetuate. First used on Dan Benjamin's Olson 30 WHITE KNUCKLES, the pole went to Hawaii in 1992. Though fully rigged with bridles for spinnaker work, its almost unused condition suggests it was the second whisker pole for the pair of colorful twin headsails Dan also bought for the Olson.

Alan Hebert equipped his Santana 30-30 WISDOM for the 2004 SHTP, and he bought the pole and twins from Dan.

As I prepped RAGTIME! for the 2006 race, I kept hearing I needed twins so I bought the pole and twins from Alan.

After the 2008 race the pole and twins parted company. Scott Prusso was gearing up for the 2012 race and the twins would fit his Cal 29, so he bought them. I kept the pole to use as a whisker pole with my 125% genoa, but never did.

Then Jackie posted and now the pole, aboard DURA MATER, and the twins, aboard ROSALITA are destined for yet another run to Hanalei Bay.

Sled and 'Zia were looking good as they sailed WILDFLOWER at hot angles back into Berkeley yesterday. As expected, Sled backed the little cat into her just-wide-enough slip with precision.
Click to expand...

Well, I take the charge seriously: hardware with a pedigree. It extends through my whole cabin. Bob says don't store it in deck, I'll trip over it and fall overboard. Any suggestions?
 
Philpott said:
Well, I take the charge seriously: hardware with a pedigree. It extends through my whole cabin. Bob says don't store it in deck, I'll trip over it and fall overboard. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

If it's short enough store it in a sleeve on the boom just like an Express 27 (or Laser 28) The foreguy and topping lift stay out of the way of jib sheets and such...
 
I would disagree with my friends, and say a 12' pole belongs on the foredeck, Off to one side (stbd), in chocks, with the aft end outside the chainplates as far aft as it can go and not overhang outside the rail. In this position, it is not a tripping menace. It does the opposite and provides a foot brace when working on the foredeck and heeled over on port tack.

The topping lift should be led to a cam cleat, chest high, on starboard side of mast. To raise pole, untie the pole from the chocks, affix topping lift, face forward standing on deck abeam the mast, and hoist the outer end of the pole with your left arm while grabbing the butt end with your right arm and swinging it to the mast slider.

This is likely a pretty beefy pole to be stowed on the boom. Not to say it can't. But I consider boom stowage a good around the buoys technique. Offshore, less so, with the pole likely longer than the boom and waiting to snag sheets and clew reef lines.

The new Commodore of SSS, if he is reading this, would likely recommend the pole be well secured to the boat when stowed on the foredeck. He may less than fondly remember, on one of his early races to Hawaii, waking up the first morning after a rough first night and finding TB's only pole had disappeared over the side during the night. To their credit, TB's crew turned around, sailed back to SF, found another pole, and continued on in the race.

For the SHTP, RUSHMOORE, like myself, would recommend two poles.

All this, and poetry too? Singlehanders untie.
 
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Jackie, there are pole brackets that you can attach halfway up the stanchions to get the pole off the deck. But they're kind of bulky and ugly.

I agree with Skip; I don't think a pole stowed on deck is a tripping hazard if it's close to the rail. I carried the spinnaker and whisker poles that way to Hawaii and back and didn't have a problem.

That reminds me: I need to get my whisker pole back from Scott Prusso someday. Scott, are you out there?
 
My (Virtual) Vendee Globe race continues as SLEDCAT beam reaches in the SE Trades down the South Atlantic at 14 knots. With over 360K, mostly French, racers, competition is fierce. The wind is freeing as we approach the St. Helena High, and I suspect tonight after the 11 pm wind update, I will have to switch my jib (sheeted outboard) for the spinny.

It is similar, weather wise, as racing around the Pacific High to get to Hawaii. Except the winds blow opposite direction around pressure systems in the Southern Hemisphere. I tried inverting my laptop screen, but that didn't work. It is kinda like learning to drive on the left when you visit UK or NZ.

Soon we will enter the sleighride of the Roaring 40's. That is except for the Virtual Boats, the "Vagabonds" the French Vendee website calls them. These boats, several hundred or more, have chosen to race through both the North West and North East Passages. I am guessing ice is not an issue for a virtual boat, as they seem to be progressing just fine over the top of the world, under virtual sail, with virtual wind.

There even appear to be some virtual boats going "cruising" into the Med. Leave it to the French seeking women, wine, and cheese instead of icebergs and freezing cabin temps.

To see a satellite view of this amazing fleet, go to http://vr-annexe.akroweb.fr/vagabond.php The leading purple boats are the paying "pros" with 10 sail options forward of the mast. The yellow is "sans options" (one jib, one spinny) sailing free, like me. And if you want to see SLEDCAT's position, type her name in at the bottom of that screen view under "Bateau," and click on "Chercher."
 
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