New Boat 4 Sled

[Philpott]

Uh oh! From today's Wall Street Journal: Stanford is Skip's alma mater! Where he learned to write so well. He already knew how to sail.

 

[sleddog]

NorthWest Maritime Center and Wooden Boat Foundation are holding a virtual Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival September 12. Looks like fun, especially a new documentary on the Race2Alaska.. https://virtualwbf.org/

 

[sleddog]

Uh oh! From today's Wall Street Journal: Stanford is Skip's alma mater! Where he learned to write so well. He already knew how to sail.

View attachment 5640

Speculation not fact based.

 

[AntsUiga]

This was all about selecting the fleet they want in the LA TransPac. It would embarrass those big-bucks programs when (not if) an Olson 30, Moore or Express 27 won it.

I looked into doing that race with Ragtime! (which had an inboard) and she wouldn't qualify. Once you studied the rules it became apparent what they were doing.

There used to be a couple of turbo'd Hobie 33's down there with well-connected skippers. The outboard rule was probably crafted to allow them into the fleet.
.

In 1999, VAPOR, a B 25 completed the race, albeit very slowly since the rudder was broken twice. Vapor was outboard powered and a daggerboard design. Maybe, the open transom made the outboard motor acceptable. It is beyond me to explain.

Ants

 

[sleddog]

Surprising wildlife can make their way aboard. You've likely had a bird's nest in your boom end or a wasp nest fall from the mast head when hoisting the main. In Friday Harbor Marina I had the local celebrity, Popeye the harbor seal, stick her head up in WILDFLOWER's cabin through the Aquarium hatch. Then their was the large flying fish flew into the cabin one starry night near the Equator.

Once an unidentified spider sailed all the way from New Zealand to Hawaii aboard WILDFLOWER, optimistically maintaining a web between the legs of the stern pulpit. In Hawaii, "Alice," a lovely praying mantis moved aboard after a Pacific Cup. And at Howlands Cove on Catalina, "Willard," a great blue heron, loved to hang out in the cockpit watching goings on.



Though I've had close encounters with marauding bears in the Sierra, wild boar and rattlesnakes on Catalina, and a 5 foot lizard on a deserted island beach in Malaysia, nothing was quite as frightful as what happened at Hanalei Bay after the 2008 SHTP.

I had borrowed a friend's rusty beater car to drive to Haena at the end of the road to visit exquisite Limahuli Gardens. The car had a plethora of rust holes and seen better days ...no worries, I was only going 10 miles.

Driving over the narrow, one way, white bridges at Wainiha, the car hit a bump in the middle of the first bridge. I didn't think much about it. Except out of the corner of my eye I saw a piece of rust fall from under the dashboard and land in my lap. What was disturbing was there was a cane spider attached to the rusty piece, and he was now in my lap.



Holy shit. I don't know who was more surprised. The cane spider was as big and hairy as a tarantula. I couldn't exactly take my eyes off driving....fortunately, the cane spider fled my lap and ascended the steering column back under the dash, where he probably had a nice nest and family.

 

[sleddog]

Hurricane Douglas is currently 700 miles SE of the Hawaiian chain, tracking WNW at 16 knots with 100 knot winds. Intensity will began to drop as he passes over cooler waters and may diminish to Tropical Storm category as it passes near or over Oahu, and just south of Kauai late on Sunday.



Capt. Bob is a vet of hurricanes at sea and at home near Haleiwa, especially Hurricane Iwa which slammed Kauai on Nov.23, 1982. Bob was then chief mate on the small, under powered, inter-island Matson freighter MAUNA KEA. As they approached Nawiliwili, the wind and seas turned ferocious, so much so that at full power, the MAUNA KEA was hove to. Bob called the captain and suggested gybing ship and running downwind.

Said the captain, "what's a gybe?"

Bob said, "here, I'll show you." They waited until there was a brief lull in the seas coming over the bows and Bob spun the wheel and around she came. A wise decision as the container gantry had broken its turnbuckles and was about to jump its tracks and go over the side. Bob then went out into the storm with 2 seamen armed with chain, and secured the gantry.

MAUNA KEA survived by running for the lee of KAENA Point, near Bob's home. Oahu had lost all power and was dark. So the only navigation tool was radar. MAUNA KEA's radio masts and antenna were blown away and they could not report to main office in Hono. Matson thought they had lost MAUNA KEA.. (a dumb decision by headquarters to send the ship to Kauai with the forecast of an approaching hurricane.)

Ultimately, to the main office surprise, MAUNA KEA, after rounding OAHU clockwise, appeared back at Hono Harbor from the west after her detour..Bob tells the story best.. "when we approached Hono Harbor, all the entrance buoys were blown on the reef."

I will always remember his letter from the ship: ..."saw God that night.." "Next day was Thanksgiving." " Cold turkey better than no turkey."

Things are a bit calmer at Capt. Buell's home just now. Bob has prepared in likely case of power outage. His prep has included:
"Both cars filled with gas. 3 gal jugs of Ethanol free gas for the Honda Gen. 1 gal to last 8 hrs, gives me 24 hrs of power for the Fridge, and TV as needed. Will turn Gen off at few hrs at nite due noise, and save fuel too. Got full propane tank for the BBQ and
$400 in cash in case of "cash only" during outage if it lasts awhile.
Foodland shopping today, filled Fridge with all stuff we like to eat, and some is frozen, so hope the Fridge stays cold with Gen on/off as needed. Filled several water containers, incl two 5 gal buckets for dog water and toilet flushing as need. Will also fill one of the bath tubs, as source for bathing or flushing...
Checked all batteries and flashlights, we also use candles. As the gen will not support the house lites or other stuff, just basics, Fridge and TV. But may lose the cable too, so we have some DVD's...
Wish us luck, that this one will miss us, as I "paid my dues" with IWA !!!!

 

[sleddog]

Hurricane Douglas, currently Category 2, is 36 hours from making landfall Sunday night, likely along the north shore of Oahu. By then his winds will have reduced to Cat. 1/Tropical Storm force.



Kauai is now under Tropical Storm watch, with the track of Douglas aimed for bullseye Monday morning. A report this morning from RB aboard Mull 32 ISIS anchored at Hanalei: "15 sailboats here at Hanalei with no consensus yet as to storm tactics. Some may put to sea and sail south, some may retreat to Nawiliwili, and I may sail around to Port Allen on the south side. It depends whether Douglas's track is forecast north or south of the Island."

RB's neighbor plans to stay put, and is laying out 600 feet of chain for the forecast 50-60 knots of N wind blowing into Hanalei Bay.

 

[sleddog]

Good news for Oahu and Kauai. Contrary to National Hurricane Center forecast tracks, Hurricane Douglas passed to the north, never made landfall, and little damage was reported.

As a kid I grew up fascinated with the story of Captain Bligh, Fletcher Christian, and Mutiny on the Bounty. I read and reread the Bounty Trilogy by Nordoff and Hall, written in the early 1930's. And gleaned for information about Pitcairn Island, where BOUNTY was burned and sunk by Fletcher Christian's mutineers.



In 1957 I was fascinated to learn Irving Johnson and the crew of the brigantine YANKEE had visited Pitcairn Island, located the remains of the BOUNTY, and raised her anchor. There was a feature article in National Geographic.



Now things have come full circle it seems, in the form of a wonderful, 36 minute tour of Pitcairn by drone. Though I will never sail to Pitcairn (not a place for single-handers, as there is no protected anchorage), this video by Tony Probst gives an amazing view of Pitcairn and its history, dating back to early Polynesians who discovered the island 700 or more years ago.

I recommend Exploring Pitcairn Island by Drone, and if you haven't read the Bounty Trilogy, that is a must read.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x2d_sJUAic&feature=youtu.be

 

[AlanH]

Reading back a bit...Stanford has axed ( pun intended!) Synchronized Swimming and field hockey. And Sailing...and Fencing. Are those "country club sports"? I take umbrage with that title, but they also axed Wrestling.

And Wrestling is hardly a "Country Club Sport".

===========

Funny, I watched the drone exploration of Pitcairn Island, just last week!

 

[sleddog]

Early this morning, under the radar, Brendan aboard the Santa Cruz 33 SIREN has slipped his mooring at MDR, got himself to Pt Dume, and embarked offshore on his 400 miler Qualifier for the 2021 SHTP. SIREN on AIS seen currently passing (10 pm, Saturday night) south of San Nicholas Island, making 6.7 knots in 10-12 knots of wind.

Brendan, vet of multiple Honolulu Transpacs, has been a student of the SHTP for many years and sails a taut ship ....with little fanfare SIREN has been upgraded, prepped, and beautified, and definitely someone to watch in coming months.


note the boarding ladder



All well here at Capitola Boat Club. Wishing all the best and perdurance we need during these lasting Covid days.

 

[MAGICdreamer]

"perdurance" -- had to go look that one up after I figured out that you didn't just mis-type. Well done, scholar.

 

[sleddog]

Early this morning, under the radar, Brendan aboard the Santa Cruz 33 SIREN has slipped his mooring at MDR, got himself to Pt Dume, and embarked offshore on his 400 miler Qualifier for the 2021 SHTP. SIREN on AIS seen currently passing (10 pm, Saturday night) south of San Nicholas Island, making 6.7 knots in 10-12 knots of wind.

Tho not in communication with SIREN and I don't know if he is running a tracker, here is what I know 24 hours after Brendan started his Qualifier by monitoring AIS: Unofficially, SIREN passed near Tanner Bank Buoy and currently is near 32-00 N x 119-35 W, sailing south at 2 knots in WNW winds of 2-4 knots. This position is abeam and offshore the CA/Mexican border, and is approximately 128 miles offshore from his start yesterday at Pt. Dume, 120 miles offshore Pt. Vincente, and 128 miles offshore Pt. Loma at San Diego.

SIREN averaged 5.3 knots for first 24 hours, good going in sub-12 knot winds. Looks like continued light winds for the next 36 hours, mostly WNW at 4-10 knots. Good thing SIREN is fast in these conditions. Carry on. Note to Brendan: your AIS worked to ~115 miles offshore using land based, mountain top, VHF receivers. This is generally what the LongPackers experienced with their AIS reception also.

 

[brianb]

Tho not in communication with SIREN and I don't know if he is running a tracker, here is what I know 24 hours after Brendan started his Qualifier by monitoring AIS: Unofficially, SIREN passed near Tanner Bank Buoy and currently is near 32-00 N x 119-35 W, sailing south at 2 knots in WNW winds of 2-4 knots. This position is abeam and offshore the CA/Mexican border, and is approximately 128 miles offshore from his start yesterday at Pt. Dume, 120 miles offshore Pt. Vincente, and 128 miles offshore Pt. Loma at San Diego.

SIREN averaged 5.3 knots for first 24 hours, good going in sub-12 knot winds. Looks like continued light winds for the next 36 hours, mostly WNW at 4-10 knots. Good thing SIREN is fast in these conditions. Carry on. Note to Brendan: your AIS worked to ~115 miles offshore using land based, mountain top, VHF receivers. This is generally what the LongPackers experienced with their AIS reception also.

Check Traffic around noon, and around 7 pm. A propagation mode COULD become active around these times that will let the shore stations pick up Siren well beyond the 100 miles .

 

[sleddog]

At 0800 this morning, Tuesday, 8/11, Brendan on SIREN is less than 20 miles from finishing his Qualifier. Currently reaching at 6.5 knots in 10 knots of wind, his time of 72 hours, or a little less, much in light to moderate breeze, is good stuff. Congrats to Brendan and SIREN!

 

[sleddog]

On July 8th a Coast Guard C-130 Hercules located the trimaran THIRD TRY, and the crew of Matson containership MAHI MAHI diverted and removed three sailors from the 50 foot trimaran 825 miles northeast of Oahu, Hawaii. Reportedly, THIRD TRY was either on a nonstop circumnavigation or headed to Japan when the rudder failed, the crossbeams began cracking, 2 crew "wanted off" instead of drifting aimlessly,and they rang their EPIRB...

The abandoned and disabled, all welded aluminum tri, was then broadcast by the CG as a "hazard to navigation" as it drifted southwest . A month later, THIRD TRY was found by a fisherman who towed it into Haleiwa Harbor. Owner/builder Dave Vann paid the fisherman $5,000, and THIRD TRY is now for sale at Haleiwa Harbor for $29,000. Guest slip is $34/day.



Thanks to Captain Bob on his SUP who took these pics this morning, and briefly interviewed the owner who had flown in and was aboard removing his personal belongings before returning to Napa rather than quarantining for 14 days.

Didn't we see this operation some years ago, (2008?) with resulting structural failure shortly after then named TIN CAN headed around the world without ever having been at sea? Wasn't Dave Vann writing an article for Esquire?

How'd you like to run into that puppy on an Express 27 on a dark night?

 

[everydaysailor]

Better t boning that than a boat made to go to sea anyway!
Glad all are OK.

 

[Philpott]

Didn't we see this operation some years ago, with similar results as soon as it got in the ocean off San Francisco? How'd you like to run into that puppy on an Express 27 on a dark night?

Seriously, it's the same boat? That is scary.

 

[AlanH]

At 0800 this morning, Tuesday, 8/11, Brendan on SIREN is less than 20 miles from finishing his Qualifier. Currently reaching at 6.5 knots in 10 knots of wind, his time of 72 hours, or a little less, much in light to moderate breeze, is good stuff. Congrats to Brendan and SIREN!

Nice. Congrats, Brendan!

 

[sleddog]

Another generation, grand nephew (1) and grand niece (3) take command.



Doublehanding in place as Leila sings "Row, row, row your boat...." Our Avon Redcrest, more than 40 years old, has no leaks and accompanied the original WILDFLOWER across many oceans as far as New Zealand, Hanalei Bay, and Glacier Bay...

Now this venerable raft is the new flagship of the CBC. Last week, after carefully packing WILDFLOWER, my 22' cruising cat launched in 2012, I set out to deliver her to her new owner in Alamitos Bay, 400 miles south.



As I drove the highway, memories of good times flooded my mind. Building WILDFLOWER here in the CBC driveway with Howard Spruit during 3,000 hours and 18 months. 3 round trips to British Columbia, Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festivals, Petaluma and Napa Rivers, Monterey Bay...



The first stop on my delivery was a visit with dear friends at the Magic Schooner and Cat House of Los Osos, located the south end of Morro Bay. There I was treated to a tour of MINI-MAGIC, the 7' radio controlled replica of MAGIC. Craig was caressing MINI-MAGIC's forward sheer, planing off a fraction of an inch to get the look exactly right to the original MAGIC, which Craig had also designed.



Inside MINI-MAGIC's hull was the radio control mechanism, featuring cool engineering that will not only steer, but trim the genoa, overlapping foresail, and the main in unison. I can't wait to see MINI-MAGIC lifting her skirts as she skims, rail down, across Morro Bay on a brisk afternoon seabreeze.

On the other end of the schooner spectrum, on his drafting board, Craig had drawings for a new, hollow, wood main mast for the 113 year old schooner MARTHA of Port Townsend. The mast when built will be 79 feet, or maybe more..When not sail training, MARTHA's afterguard loves to race local schooner races. And a little extra sail area can't hurt can it?

I asked why the new mast? It seems MARTHA's rigging was going slack as the old mast, going soft, compressed and grew shorter. Wood will do that... TBC

 

[Dazzler]

Mixed emotions no doubt, but as one chapter closes another adventure is just around the next corner.

All the best.