jamottep
Member
Cool stuff!
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New Boat 4 Sled
- Thread starter sleddog
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Cool stuff!
Fun day today.
Watching him coming in, he was so slow motoring with the electric outboard that I feared his battery might have died. But the unit still showed +/- 90% power when he turned it off.
We should all hope to look this well stepping off a boat (any d*** boat) after 46 days alone at sea. He was delightfully cheerful, gregarious, and gracious. I had never met him but have exchanged email with him over a variety of topics over the years. It was like meeting a friend you haven't seen in years.
At our little ol' yacht club that doesn't let things like reciprocity rules stand in the way of honoring a sailing achievement like this.
A distinctive visitor in town, anchored .5 miles offshore the Capitola Wharf, is the USCG Buoy Tender ASPEN.
ASPEN is 225' LOA, carries 49 officers and crew and is responsible for servicing more than 72 navigational aids from the CA/Oregon border south to San Diego.
Gotta have a substantial winch and crane aboard ASPEN to lift aboard steel buoys, their anchor and chain.
Not an everyday event. Some years ago we were racing off Monterey. Point Pinos buoy was our weather mark. ASPEN"S predecessor, the BUTTONWOOD, had just picked up the Point Pinos buoy before we arrived, and steamed 1/2 mile seaward to heave to while cleaning and maintaining the buoy.
We, and the rest of the fleet, gave chase and finally caught the BUTTONWOOD with the Pinos buoy clearly visible on their mid-deck. Much to the amusement of the BUTTONWOOD's crew, the fleet properly rounded the racing mark, leaving the buoy, and the buoy tender, to starboard.
Several months later the BUTTONWOOD returned to the Point Pinos buoy and unintentionally created havoc. At the time, the Pinos buoy sounded the soft sigh/moan of a whistle buoy. As a Coast Guard upgrade, the whistle buoy was replaced with the louder and more obnoxious sound of a diaphone.
Much to the distress of many homeowners on the Monterey Peninsula, their previous friendly buoy that could be heard moaning well inland in the right conditions now was keeping them awake with its new sound.
The homeowners' president and mayor both got an increasing number of complaints. On behalf of their constituents, they called the Coast Guard and gave them an ear full. Sure enough, a week later the BUTTONWOOD steamed back to Monterey Bay and put the old buoy back on position so that sleep was not interrupted on shore.
ASPEN is 225' LOA, carries 49 officers and crew and is responsible for servicing more than 72 navigational aids from the CA/Oregon border south to San Diego.
Gotta have a substantial winch and crane aboard ASPEN to lift aboard steel buoys, their anchor and chain.
Not an everyday event. Some years ago we were racing off Monterey. Point Pinos buoy was our weather mark. ASPEN"S predecessor, the BUTTONWOOD, had just picked up the Point Pinos buoy before we arrived, and steamed 1/2 mile seaward to heave to while cleaning and maintaining the buoy.
We, and the rest of the fleet, gave chase and finally caught the BUTTONWOOD with the Pinos buoy clearly visible on their mid-deck. Much to the amusement of the BUTTONWOOD's crew, the fleet properly rounded the racing mark, leaving the buoy, and the buoy tender, to starboard.
Several months later the BUTTONWOOD returned to the Point Pinos buoy and unintentionally created havoc. At the time, the Pinos buoy sounded the soft sigh/moan of a whistle buoy. As a Coast Guard upgrade, the whistle buoy was replaced with the louder and more obnoxious sound of a diaphone.
Much to the distress of many homeowners on the Monterey Peninsula, their previous friendly buoy that could be heard moaning well inland in the right conditions now was keeping them awake with its new sound.
The homeowners' president and mayor both got an increasing number of complaints. On behalf of their constituents, they called the Coast Guard and gave them an ear full. Sure enough, a week later the BUTTONWOOD steamed back to Monterey Bay and put the old buoy back on position so that sleep was not interrupted on shore.
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BobJ
Alerion 38 "Surprise!"
At least one SSS'er has been in contact with the Aspen:
https://www.h2oshots.com/2017-Sailing/2017-SSS-3-Bridge-Fiasco/i-bKw63nn
https://www.h2oshots.com/2017-Sailing/2017-SSS-3-Bridge-Fiasco/i-bKw63nn
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Roger, at least one SSS'er has made contact with the ASPEN, likely while ASPEN was tied in her berth at the Coast Guard Station Yerba Buena Island during a 3 Bridge Fiasco. How could anyone do that? Isn't that area restricted to SSS'ers by the S.I.'s? Bad Boy.
ASPEN figured in a mini-mystery in late-Dec./early January of 2009. As reported by the San Francisco Bar Pilots, the San Francisco Approach Buoy, AKA "Light Bucket," 12 miles west of the Golden Gate, mysteriously disappeared one night.
This was no minor matter, as the buoy was 32 feet long, 9 feet in diameter, and weighed 26 tons. It was crucial the missing buoy be found, as it is the rendezvous point for Bar Pilots with all incoming and departing ships. And would make a nasty free range obstruction to encounter at sea.
ASPEN laid a temporary buoy and went on the hunt.
Thankfully ASPEN solved the mystery. The missing buoy was on location, only resting on the bottom in 100' of water, WTF.
I'm sure someone knows who the culprit was who T-boned and sank the "Light Bucket" that night.
The ASPEN raised the missing buoy. "That'll buff right out."
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"At our little ol' yacht club that doesn't let things like reciprocity rules stand in the way of honoring a sailing achievement like this. "
Thanks, Lee, for your serendipitous story and pics of the arrival of GANNET and Webb Chiles!
Does anyone know if Webb ever connected with his Leap Frog Scotch Whiskey or whatever it is that boasts "tastes like dead fish, iodine, a campfire and dirt". ... "Tastes like a burning hospital."? There's a story there.
Thanks, Lee, for your serendipitous story and pics of the arrival of GANNET and Webb Chiles!
Does anyone know if Webb ever connected with his Leap Frog Scotch Whiskey or whatever it is that boasts "tastes like dead fish, iodine, a campfire and dirt". ... "Tastes like a burning hospital."? There's a story there.
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solosailor
Member
I know that stuff. "Laphroaig". No joke, an old friend of mine won their slogan contest a couple years ago. Can't remember the exact quote but something like "The best carburetor cleaner I ever drank". Laphroaig sent him all kinds of custom swag with the slogan, etc.
solosailor
Member
He corrected me that he didn't win but was first runner up.
This was not a problem. Shipments from well-wishers poured in. Before he left Silver Gate yesterday, he mentioned that he had so many bottles of Lafroaig on board Gannet he wasn't sure how to stow them all.
As a thank you to the club, he sat for an informal Q&A at the bar Wednesday night. Even though we only gave one day's notice to the members, we had a full bar, and he cheerfully held forth answering questions and talking of his many exploits for 2 solid hours.
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jamottep
Member
Envious!
Lee's photos of GANNET beg some questions. Maybe Webb Chiles will stop by the Forum and give us some first person explanations.
So what is the horizontal black strap on the corner by the transom?
More interesting perhaps is how was the sheet to tiller self steering arranged and in what windspeed and sail angle did it work best/worst? From reading Webb's blog, it sounded like there was shock cord pulling to leeward from the tiller. And somehow the jibsheet crossed the cockpit to the weather side, and then to the tiller. I only see one cam cleat on the tiller...
Of course Webb was a master at getting GANNET to balance by reefing combinations of the jib and main. Except for the mainsheet on its pedestal, everything led to 2 winches abeam the companionway, where he could reach them without fully coming on deck, even the mainsheet.
I like Webb's terminology of GANNET's "Great Cabin." I believe he is referring to the forepeak where he would sleep when conditions were right.
A colony of goose barnacles on GANNET's forward waterline above the bottom paint after 46 days? I've seen that before, even after a lesser time at sea. Goose barnacles are not small and were originally believed to be nests from which baby gosling geese hatched, thus their name.
Goose barnacles apparently are treasured by connoisseurs for their tasty eating, going for 100 Euros/plate in some Continental restaurants.
This begs a question, how the heck do goose barnacles swim alongside and attach themselves to a moving, glossy fiberglass Moore-24 hull.
So what is the horizontal black strap on the corner by the transom?
More interesting perhaps is how was the sheet to tiller self steering arranged and in what windspeed and sail angle did it work best/worst? From reading Webb's blog, it sounded like there was shock cord pulling to leeward from the tiller. And somehow the jibsheet crossed the cockpit to the weather side, and then to the tiller. I only see one cam cleat on the tiller...
Of course Webb was a master at getting GANNET to balance by reefing combinations of the jib and main. Except for the mainsheet on its pedestal, everything led to 2 winches abeam the companionway, where he could reach them without fully coming on deck, even the mainsheet.
I like Webb's terminology of GANNET's "Great Cabin." I believe he is referring to the forepeak where he would sleep when conditions were right.
A colony of goose barnacles on GANNET's forward waterline above the bottom paint after 46 days? I've seen that before, even after a lesser time at sea. Goose barnacles are not small and were originally believed to be nests from which baby gosling geese hatched, thus their name.
Goose barnacles apparently are treasured by connoisseurs for their tasty eating, going for 100 Euros/plate in some Continental restaurants.
This begs a question, how the heck do goose barnacles swim alongside and attach themselves to a moving, glossy fiberglass Moore-24 hull.
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OK. There is no prize for answering the following trivia except possibly coffee with Howard and myself at Santa Cruz Harbor's Java Junction:
Below is a photo of a new rudder recently delivered to one of our SSS stalwarts. The rudder will soon be mounted and tested, possibly in time for the Singlehanded Farallons, May 11th.
Whose rudder is this? Name the proud new owner, and/or boat's name, and/or class of boat. Bonus points (coffee refill) if you can name the builder of the rudder.
Below is a photo of a new rudder recently delivered to one of our SSS stalwarts. The rudder will soon be mounted and tested, possibly in time for the Singlehanded Farallons, May 11th.
Whose rudder is this? Name the proud new owner, and/or boat's name, and/or class of boat. Bonus points (coffee refill) if you can name the builder of the rudder.
BobJ thinks that might be Larry Tuttle's workbench. Might be, might not. Who is Larry Tuttle you might wonder?
Larry, aka Waterat, is one of those incredibly skilled Santa Cruz boat builders who flies under the radar unless you are familiar with his small shop on the grounds of the Monterey Bay Academy. Larry has been at his craft for longer than anyone I can remember.
Larry designs, builds and repairs boats (505's), rudders, foils, tillers, masts. Just about anything you want to be light, strong, and fast. This quiet master craftsman, no matter how busy (and he's been busy for 40 years), always has time to explain what it is he's developing.
Here's DOMINO's new Waterat rudder that helped DH win the 2016 SHTP after breaking off his old rudder on Day 2 of the 2014 SHTP.
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solosailor
Member
I'll recuse myself from the rudder contest......
Hi Jackie,
Is it my imagination, or has your font size become miniaturized? Despite the cross posting, and my laptop overheating, I read with my magnifying glass that your guess for the new rudder is Captain Hedgehog.
You are 100% correct. That is David's new Waterat rudder for his O-29 HEDGEHOG. Apparently David has sold DOMINO and she will be on the start line under new ownership. Congrats, all.
And Jackie, has Larry discovered you are stowing uncured epoxy paint in the fridge?