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New Boat 4 Sled

In the Virtual Vendee Globe Race, SLEDCAT continues her ascent of the S.Atlantic, a couple hundred miles south of Rio. We are just west of the Great Circle. And mounting a challenge to the vanguard of the "sans options" division (one jib, one spinny.) But there's gonna be decisions ahead, with land and a stationary low in the way. A tack east will be necessary to clear the NE corner of Brazil.

I received brief radio messages from a boat back near New Zealand. Propagation is difficult and the noise below requires earplugs. I think the boat and her support crew hails from Tahoe. If you are reading this, please identify more fully. SK? Renee?

Of greater surprise, another racer appeared out of the night, crossing jibes. I put the night vision binos on him. Holy Macaroni. It's DOGBARK. No kidding, Al Hughes, from SSS Singlehanded Transpac is also out here on the virtual sea. What are the chances. It looks like a match race between DOGBARK and SLEDCAT back to Les Sables. I got Al on VHF, and will say "hi" from you guys and gals.

Alan, your sail is too cool. Graphics on that should be a cinch with masking tape, spray paint and magic markers. I forget your clan plaid.
 
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The boat you heard from back in NZ is skippered by Renee, a friend of mine from the Tahoe area. She is new to ocean racing, has just finished her first season of boat ownership with her Santana 20 and is pluging away at it so I turned her on to Sledcat. SDK
 
My brother flew west from Annapolis, bringing with him a new carbon/Technora #1 his loft had built for a local client. Arriving at Oakland Airport after dark, he rented a car and drove to the nearby Airport Hilton restaurant for a meal. He parked in the restaurant lot, under a light and camera.

When he returned an hour later, his car and two others had been victims of a smash and grab. Though his duffle bag and clothes were gone, the boxed sail, which weighed 40 pounds, was still there. I can just see someone trying to fence a large black sail in E. Oakland.

He spent much of the rest of the weekend trying to verbally contact the police to file the report. The online report was returned, and he never could get that filed. The good news is the new sail fit to a "T".

On his return flight east, the pilot announced they had locked into a 200 mph tailwind, and their SOG was over 700 mph. Unusual for a commercial airline to go that speed.

On a slower bell, this evening on my walk to the cliff, an osprey flew by at eye level with a fresh fish dangling from his talons. The crescent moon looked cold in the sky. Windows around Monterey Bay were reflecting fire red in the sunset. I was glad I was wearing extra fleece.
 
Sled, on Saturday I sailed aboard FLICKER, Ed Ruszel's J/32. In ghosting conditions his very cruisy J coasted along pretty well. I'd never risked this but Ed has many times: We circumnavigated Brooks Island and the Richmond breakwater. It was high tide but starting to ebb, so a careful eye on chartplotter and depth sounder was the order of the day.

A nice afternoon - thanks Ed!
 
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It is full court press time in the Virtual Vendee. Not only are DOGBARK and SLEDCAT practically overlapped. But with 3944 straight line miles to go to the finish at Les Sables d'Olonne, if we average 11.7 knots or greater, we'll break the mythical 80 days Around the World.

Currently, DOGBARK, to leeward and ahead is close reaching at 12 knots with his Blast Reacher led outboard to the port side outrigger. SLEDCAT, going a little higher and slower, is under Code Zero genoa. Next up for both boats is crossing the Equator, and the ITCZ (Doldrums).

I see Al's cabin lights intermittently at night, and know he is fine tuning his course and trim, as am I. The decks are dry, the tradewinds are blowing at 15 knots from the east, and flying fish are becoming airborne in the lee side bow wave. Virtual sailing at its best.
 
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Our clear and cold weather high pressure weather has been good for green flash viewing at sunrise. Seven counted now since New Years. The mountain range south of Hollister, 30 miles distant, provides the necessary sharply delineated foreground.

The osprey has returned to his cliff side haunt. I've seen him/her three times in as many days, twice carrying a surf perch in his talons as he flew by at eye level. The third time, close up, about 20 feet away, on his favorite willow branch, where he perched for 20 minutes until a gangster crow drove him away.

The "Made in Santa Cruz" reunion in late May is picking up steam. How they are gonna fit every boat in our little Harbor is going to be interesting. Too bad MERLIN won't be attending. What a Santa Cruz icon. I calculated once that MERLIN gave more people more fun miles than about any boat I know.

Wednesday night races, MERLIN regularly had 30, 40, even 50 crew aboard. You never quite new how many, because they were scattered all over, above and below decks. It drove the Coast Guard wild.

Like clockwork, every Wednesday night, after MERLIN had returned to her slip, the Coasties would appear and ask Bill Lee to produce lifejackets for the horde of crew that had walked up the dock ramp. The Coasties would count each disembarking crew. And like clockwork, Bill Lee would produce six large sailbags filled with lifejackets, which he would dump on deck and count out the needed amount.
 
Listen up everyone. I just heard from my good friend, Capt. Jan Brewer, that she needs more volunteers for Race Deck at GGYC for the 3BF. She wouldn't ask if she didn't need you. So don't sit on your butts if you are not racing. Call Jan today in Alameda, 510.684.5555, and tell her you want to help. SSS is run by volunteers. No experience necessary. That''s you. Call today, operators are standing by.

Jan also wants everyone to know the Skipper's Meeting is gonna feature some really fun happenings. Knowing Jan's Southern penchant for flair, you'll want to be there to see what this is about.
 
SLEDCAT crossed the Equator last night at midnight. I toasted the passage with a glass of virtual champagne and went back to sleep. Al on DOGBARK has nabbed a slight advantage by cracking sheets and making for the NW corner of a split Azores High. In the real Vendee, we are both in the same water as Alex Thompson, the Brit on HUGO BOSS. Our speeds are in the 10 knot range as we transit the ITCZ, starboard tack, in TWS 9 knots.

I saw the osprey again this morning, and wasn't surprised to see he has a mate. The two of them were chirping at each other, pursed by a gang of crows, who haven't taken kindly to ospreys invading their turf. If there's two ospreys, can a nest be far behind?

I was sorry to hear my long time friend, yacht designer Doug Peterson, is recovering from a stroke in San Diego. For those who don't know, Doug is probably the most influential yacht designer of the latter half of the 20th century. His GANBARE set the IOR era on its heels. I've sailed on many of Doug's designs over the years, including SCARLETT O'HARA, CHECKMATE, BULLFROG and JURA. Upwind they go like a witch. And downwind, unlike other IOR lead dogs, they are well behaved, controllable, and don't leave a walloping stern wake . I wish you a speedy recovery, Douglas.
 
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Skip,

Happy New Year! We continue to enjoy your posts and encouragement to get outside and enjoy this great weather, sunrises, osprey and all.

My one time meeting Doug Peterson left a lasting impression of "what a great guy." It was in the mid 80's and I had Seraffyn hauled out at Anderson's in Sausalito. One of Doug's latest custom boats was also there hauled out. I don't remember the name of the boat; it might have been red. Doug was there to supervise the chain-sawing off of the bottom 8-10 inches of lead keel. Seems the keel needed some post construction custom modification. They used a power plan to shape the lead after the rather brutal first cut.

I was working away on the bottom of my boat and Doug made a point of coming over to talk. I was surprised in the interest he showed in a full keel non-race boat and that he would take the time to come talk with me. He seemed like a really nice guy with not sign of attitude. We had a great chat about boat design and particularly the trim-tab self steering on Seraffyn's transom hung rudder.

I was saddened to hear of Doug's stroke and wish him all the best.

Tom
 
Tom,
It does not surprise me Doug Peterson immediately recognized your SERRAFYN. Doug has a long affinity with wood boats, dating back to his early racing days aboard the historic Azorean whaleboat design, BUTCHER BOY II. Doug apprenticed with Skip Calkins, who drew beautiful and fast designs, often double-enders. Currently Doug owns at least one restored 8 meter.

I have not spoken with DAZZLER since they returned from a dive expedition to the remote and seldom visited Alijos Rocks, 180 miles west of southern Baja. Hope you had a good adventure, and might tell us something about a voyage to these rocky pinnacles that arise from the ocean depths in the middle of nowhere.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocas_Alijos
 
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Great to have you up here, Skip! The break-in of our brother's rental car (and 2 next to his as well!,) was at Francesco's restaurant actually. After he got the car replaced, he then went to the nearby Hilton that had a locked parking lot (and was safe). Apparently the Starbucks near the Oakland airport is also frequently hit for quick break-and-grabs (the car company said).

Ok - beautiful day, and warmer weekend!
--Sled's sis.
 
Skip,

Our dive trip is pretty far off-topic, but you asked... We had a great trip, everything we had hoped for. I need to clarify that we actually went to the Revillagigedo Islands (about 240 miles SS-W of Cabo San Lucas), one of the other Mexican island groups in the Pacific Ocean that are not on the continental shelf. There are three such groups; Rocas Alijos and Guadalupe Island are the other two. The Revillagigedo Islands include Roca Partida, Socorro, San Benedicto and Clarion. We dove at the first three; Clarion is much further west. These islands are very much related to Rocas Alijos as they are all volcanic and Roca Partida (split rock) is very similar to Rocas Alijos. In both cases they are out in the deep ocean (10,000 -12,000 feet deep). Roca Partida sticks up only about 100 feet above the swells. It is the leftover magma plug of a volcano. The vertical sides drop off to about 200 feet where there is a bit of a shoulder and then there is a rapid drop to the ocean floor. These islands are Mexico's Galapagos.

This is open ocean diving with strong currents and lots of pelagic animals. The diving there is particularly known for frequent encounters with the very friendly giant Pacific mantas. We had dive after dive with mantas, lots of sharks (hammer head, white-tip, Galapagos), dolphins, octopus, turtles, tuna, wahoo and too many other fish to mention here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revillagigedo_Islands

Since you thought we had gone to Rocas Alijos, I need to explain that, though we did not go there on this trip, in fact Sue has been diving there. Very few people visit Rocas Alijos since there are only rocky spires sticking out of the ocean. The Wikipedia link you included refers to a 1990 expedition to Rocas Alijos led by Robert (Bob) Schmieder of Cordell Expeditions and the "Literature" reference shows a single publication. Sue was on that scientific expedition, made several dives there and made significant contribution to that publication.

To be more on topic, I hope we see you out sailing soon. Are you doing the 3BF? Let me know when you want to talk about the Delta. The summer is not that far away.

Tom
 
Point San Pedro is a rocky outcrop below a prominent headland, just south of Rockaway Beach and Pacifica and adjacent and just to the north of Devil's Slide. Pedro Point headland has some nice hiking trails and wondrous views of the Gulf of the Farallones.

Pedro Point is now a park area. But few people visit, as there is limited parking and no signage. After some creative parking, I hiked Pedro Point on Saturday. At the bluff overlooking the ocean, the Farallones, 26 miles distant, looked close enough to pluck. Point Reyes, well up the coast, was equally visible.

600 feet below my perch, the long period storm swell from Japan was arriving in time to give the Mavericks contest its much anticipated surf. Riptides below Pedro Point looked significant. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near there in a small boat. Ravens soared nearby to the nearly vertical cliffs. Its rare having such a significant and beautiful headland so close to a major city (San Francisco) all to one's self.

Thankyou, Tom, for the report on your recent trip to the Revillagigedos. Swimming with mantas. Wow. I've seen a manta get tangled in an anchor line in Mexico, and tow a 40 foot boat at 4 knots, with no one aboard.
Were you able to hitch a ride?

Meanwhile, in a startling development, the third place boat in the Vendee Globe, Virbac-Paprec 3, has lost its keel. JP has stabilized things, filled his ballast tanks, and is sailing under reefed main and staysail to the Azores. Holy macaroni.
 
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Eyrie said:
Hey skip, are you close to finishing too? Or still hanging with Alex? Or slowing down to wait for the tide?
Click to expand...

SLEDCAT is 340 miles west of the Azores, and 1653 miles from the finish of the Virtual Vendee Globe. We are running at 17 knots. The final couple of days promises some heavy air downwind virtual sailing. HUGO BOSS and the crippled VIRBAC PAPREC 3 are nearby. But I'm not sure I can help JPD if he capsizes. Alex Thompson can, and is thoughtfully hanging back, until JPD makes his decision whether to retire to the Azores, or carry on to the finish, sans keel.

My friend Al on DOGBARK continues to maintain a lead of 85 miles over SLEDCAT. I compliment Al for sailing a smart race. It is becoming increasingly doubtful I will be able to catch him.

Good luck to all you Three Bridge Fiasco sailors! Look out: EYRIE has a new jib Syn made for herself.

(8 hours later) Woowee, can't sleep, SLEDCAT is averaging 23.1 knots and alternating between submarine and airborne. The motion and noise makes me imagine I'm in a washing machine... Jean Pierre Dick and Alex Thompson are over to the southeast in less boisterous conditions. I'm glad they are presently in convoy in lighter winds..it would be difficult to retrieve JP in these conditions should he capsize.
Hangin'on..... and hoping for the best for JPD
 
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In an "only in Santa Cruz" visual, I was down at the Harbor yesterday when a fleet of women on SUP (Stand Up Paddleboards) came drifting by in a Yoga class, in all manner of animal poses.....

I'd like to give a shout out to Dave Wahle on the occasion of his 70th Birthday today. Many of you know Dave from his Watsonville boat shop where he builds Wyliecats. Dave has built more boats and poured more lead keels than anyone I know. If you sail a Santa Cruz 27 or an America's Cup 80 footer, Dave probably made your keel.

Dave, in collaboration with Tom Wylie, began building boats back in the early '70's. MOONSHADOW, still racing SSS, was their first joint effort. Actually, Dave held two jobs. He was a Santa Cruz garbage man for over 30 years. You can always count on Dave for any heavy lifting. And when you ask him how work is, he'll reply "Picking Up." Happy Birthday my friend.

SLEDCAT, my Virtual Vendee Globe entry, is racing to the finish in a nasty Bay of Biscay gale. With 142 miles to go to the finish at Les Sables d'Olonne, SLEDCAT is catapulting off short, steep waves at a nearly 24 knot average. Her finish will come today about noon, after she and I spent 80 days at virtual sea. If any of you are in the vicinity, come by for a celebration!
 
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My greetings to those at The Dreaded Capitola Shorebreak (DCSB). And my compliments to SLEDCAT for retaining her virtual keel to bring you back to Les Sables d'Olonne. I had the pleasure of talking to Dave Wahle while #0 was in Watsonville. Fascinating describes the operation there as Dave continues building boats. Here in South Shore Tahoe a chill northwind as I repair some minor damage to Dianne's boom. Cheers, SDK
 
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