New Boat 4 Sled

[sleddog]

We go to sea in sieves, we do, in sieves we go to sea:
In spite of what our friends may say,
On a summer's morn, on a stormy day,
In sieves we go to sea.
And when our sieves turn round and round,
And every one cries 'You'll all be drowned!'
We call aloud, 'Our sieves ain't big, and we don't give an SSB.
We go to sea in sieves we do.

We sail away in sieves, we do, In sieves we sail so fast,
With only beautiful sea-blue chutes tied with a snuffer by way of a sail,
To a small aluminum mast;
And every one said, who saw us go,
'O won't they be seasick soon, you know!
For the sky is dark, and the voyage long.
And happen what may, it's extremely wrong
In a sieve to sail so fast.'

Then the water came in, it did. The water it soon came in;
And to keep us dry, we wrapped our feet in plotting sheets all folded neat,
And fastened them down with a pin.
Then we passed the nights in our crockery-jars,
And each of us said, 'How wise we are!
Though the sky be dark, and the voyage long,
We do not think we are rash or wrong,
While round in our sieves we spin.'

All night long we sail away; and when the sun goes down,
we whistle and warble a moony song
To the clacking of an autopilot gone wrong.
In the shade of our twins,
How happy we are,
When we live in our sieves and crockery-jars.
And all night long in the moonlight pale,
We sail away with a sea-blue sail,
To the shade of the Tree so cool.

Alone, we cross the Pacific, we do,
To an island all covered with palms.
And we bring an Owl, and a hopeful Heart,
And a pound of Rice, and a Cranberry Tart,
And a hive of silvery Bees.
And we've bought a Pig, and some green Jack-daws,
And a lovely Monkey with lollipop paws,
And forty bottles of Trader Joe's best,
For the Half Way party and Finish Line Fest.

And in two years we all come back,
And every one says, 'How round we've grown!
For we've been to the Lakes, and the Torrible Zone,
And the hills of Hanalei.
And we drink our health, and give a feast
With beer made of beautiful yeast;
And every one says, "If only I live,
I too will sail in a sieve,
To the Bay of Hanalei."

Our eyes are red, and our hands are blue,
And we go to sea in sieves, we do.

 

[chautauqua]

S'been a long time since I have enjoyed so much rhyme, meter and whimsey in one place...
Does this have a melody? It cries out to be sung by many voices,
in harmony,
tuned by TraderJoes' best.
Does give one pause to wonder at the truth in it as well as the fun.

 

[Philpott]

A tribe of jumblies.

 

[sleddog]

This week is the 50th Anniversary of the Congressional Cup Match Race Championships. Previous Crimson Blazer winners were invited back to a Jubilee Dinner aboard the QUEEN MARY in Long Beach. Much celebration of 50 years of Long Beach Yacht Club's ongoing sponsorship of this event. Founder Bill Delassi recalled the regatta was originally to be named the "President's Cup." But Lyndon Johnson sent a personal message that he "didn't do yachts." So the U.S. Congress, in an act of mutual support, agreed to sponsor the Congressional Cup.

After speeches and awards, tables were cleared and dancing to Jan and Dean, and "former members of the Beach Boys" commenced. I hadn't seen the Beach Boys live since we used to throw sand in their guitars at the Rendezvous Ball Room in Balboa. I asked fellow competitor Dave Perry, 12 time Congressional Cup skipper and two time winner, "where did they find these guys?" Dave replied, "Same place they found us ...

The next day we reassembled for the "Heritage Regatta." Previous winners Ted Turner, Dennis Conner, and Ed Baird were no shows. But if you think a bunch of old farts, including Dennis Durgan, Tommy Pickard, Scott Perry, Dave Perry, brother Scott Allan, and myself, would sail three races against each other in relaxed fashion aboard the identical Catalina 37's, you be wrong.

The only thing that kept us apart was the $2,500 damage deposit we all had to ante up, and the fact none of us carried protest flags.

It was close racing inside Long Beach Harbor in fine breezes, 10-15 knots from the SW. The start line was not five lengths upwind of the Belmont Pier, where they had a live annnouncer.

Tommy Pickard, age 79, won the first race. Dennis Durgan the next two. We managed to shake the cobwebs and my brother, and finished second for the Series, after winner Durgan. All in all a fun afternoon of sailing. But I doubt Lyndon Johnson would have understood. http://www.thecongressionalcup.com/content/315/50thAnniversaryVideo.aspx

 

[H Spruit]

One of the reasons I have been a long time advocate of single handed sailing and racing is my inability to organize, train, and feed a competent crew.
So I couldn't help but notice that there were six other guys on the Catalina 37 that you are steering in the attached thumbnail.
Getting that many people to work together is in my mind a major accomplishment all to its self.
Good on ya mate!
<H>

 

[sleddog]

The Lido 14 restoration (post 672) continues on El Dorado St. Despite his non-union status, Howard has applied 5 coats of blue bottom paint, and 3 coats of white topside paint, as well as replacing the rub rail, and repairing the centerboard.

Yesterday, we "did the Lido," and righted the hull back onto the trailer. Howard says Armor All should remove the gel coat oxidation of the green deck. Then it is on to painting the inside, and reinstalling hardware. Should be better than new.

Speaking of "better than new," I was up at Blue Pelican in Alameda the other day. Hauled out nearby was a beautiful bright hull I recognized immediately: one of the two identical 31' Gemini Twins we had built in 1976 at Tom Wylie Design, just down Clement Ave. Their construction was five diagonal layers of Western Red Cedar glued together with epoxy.

Even today, the Gemini Twins remain eye candy. http://www.wyliedesigngroup.com/wylie_design_group/wood/Pages/Gemini_Twins_-_31_Day_Racer.html

 

[sleddog]

As this year's tribe of Buglighters continues their prep for the upcoming Singlehanded Transpac, it is perhaps an appropriate time for an equipment review of previous competitors. Please note, that unlike other SSS threads, the following may contain material inappropriate for young children.

First, in the Improbable Category:

What was that Vega 27 doing carrying a lawnmower lashed to the mast? (I did ask, and the skipper logically replied he planned to use it to make money to supply his craft for the return trip.)

Another ULDB 27 footer tried to trick the the equipment requirements by carrying a miniature, 4 oz., anchor, the kind used in a display sandbox at marine hardware stores. I believe, upon inspection, he was DSQ'd.

A good friend carried a saddle and spurs in the cabin of his O-30. He figured there would be a rodeo somewhere along the line to enter. When last seen, post race, he had disappeared into the mud up the slopes of Mt.Waialale on a "Vision Quest."

One skipper's wife outfitted the bunk on her husband's Capo 26 with a seatbelt. She knew he was prone to sleepwalking, and felt this would make things safer. Even still, it did not work, as he awoke one night standing on the stern of his boat, waiting for the green light to cross the street, wondering where he was and how he got there.

One of the SHTP entrants, a Brit I believe, religiously put on his pajamas every evening before going to bed. And one well known Bay Area journalist had a heart shaped bucket as a head on his Merit 25 and presented a slide show on its proper use to a SHTP pre-race seminar.

With all the spying going on in the world these days, it is probably a good pre-race idea to "sweep" your boat for bugs. Two skippers didn't, and both somehow became convinced the US government was spying on them. Sure, you say, "sleep deprivation and all and they'll get over it." Wrong. One came back a few days later during roll call and still swore there were listening devices on his boat. The other skipper elegantly solved the government bugging problem by stepping into his life raft, releasing the towline, and letting his bugged boat sail on without him.

On the More Practical Equipment list, at least three skippers have carried anatomically correct or enhanced blow up dolls. How do we know this? One skipper had his blow up doll hiking on the weather lifelines as he cleared the GG. Another, a West Marine VP and Safety at Sea presenter, had his attached to the backstay of his Moore 24 at the start.

Even with it's limited range, we do recommend carrying a VHF radio in SHTP for safety reasons. One competitor used his VHF to talk with a UFO on collision course. Until he realized it was just the planet Venus rising.

One Overall Winner carried only a compass, sextant, and Etch-A-Sketch for navigational instrumentation.

Finally, we compliment the skipper of the Outbound 46 who crossed the finish line at Hanalei with enough Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream frozen solid in his fridge to treat the finish committee and fleet. That is class!

 

[brianb]

"Another, a West Marine VP and Safety at Sea presenter, had his attached to the backstay of his Moore 24 at the start. "

I always feared those WM adviser video's on various equipment had a subliminal message.

 

[sleddog]

We dream of Tree of Hanalei, some days around the clock,
But haven't set a sail yet, as we work here at the dock.
And with every dream that stalks our minds, we swear we'll soon let go,
And watch the Farallones sink astern from the warmth of down below.

All Spring, we’ve slaved aboard our sloops, doubted by knowing smiles,
The autopilot still won't work, and now its got frequent flyer miles.
We’ve patched our rents, and plugged the vents, dogged hatch and thruhulls down.
Put rigging up and down the mast, and inspected her around.

Our wives have long since wrote us off, not a nickel more to spend.
They gave us twenty years of patience, Boys, and now they're at their end.
But dreams are hard to sink, just ask Dwight and Beetle and Lou.
Then our loves laughed with us and said we'd just have to go.

Alone aboard our little ships in a gale off the Coast.
We work like hell to reef the main before it goes to toast.
And the groan we give as it comes down, it caused us to proclaim.
Halleluja! We'll get to Hanalei and that Tree that caused this pain.

We surf down Pacific rollers, a squall hot on our tail.
Have to get the spinny down, before it blows the sail.
But Roll Call's on the SSB, better check in pretty soon.
SPARKY's talkin' to Robbie, Boys, and singing a woeful tune.
The mast is down, Ruben says, but the jig is not yet done.
He'll jury up that sucker soon and continue on his run.

And you, to whom adversity has dealt a heavy blow,
With smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go.
Though your rig may be be broken and your race about to end
No matter what you've lost, be it a boat, a love, a friend
Turn to like Ruben and rally strength of arm and heart and brain.
And like the Singlehanded Sailors, Rise Again!

In Memory of Jim Tallet, Vagabond Sailor

 

[Philpott]

We dream of Tree of Hanalei, some days around the clock,
But haven't set a sail yet, as we work here at the dock.
And with every dream that stalks our minds, we swear we'll soon let go,
And watch the Farallones sink astern from the warmth of down below.

All Spring, we’ve slaved aboard our sloops, doubted by knowing smiles,
The autopilot still won't work, and now its got frequent flyer miles.
We’ve patched our rents, and plugged the vents, dogged hatch and thruhulls down.
Put rigging up and down the mast, and inspected her around.

Our wives have long since wrote us off, not a nickel more to spend.
They gave us twenty years of patience, Boys, and now they're at their end.
But dreams are hard to sink, just ask Dwight and Beetle and Lou.
Then our loves laughed with us and said we'd just have to go.

Alone aboard our little ships in a gale off the Coast.
We work like hell to reef the main before it goes to toast.
And the groan we give as it comes down, it caused us to proclaim.
Halleluja! We'll get to Hanalei and that Tree that caused this pain.

We surf down Pacific rollers, a squall hot on our tail.
Have to get the spinny down, before it blows the sail.
But Roll Call's on the SSB, better check in pretty soon.
SPARKY's talkin' to Robbie, Boys, and singing a woeful tune.
The mast is down, Ruben says, but the jig is not yet done.
He'll jury up that sucker soon and continue on his run.

And you, to whom adversity has dealt a heavy blow,
With smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go.
Though your rig may be be broken and your race about to end
No matter what you've lost, be it a boat, a love, a friend
Turn to like Ruben and rally strength of arm and heart and brain.
And like the Singlehanded Sailors, Rise Again!

In Memory of Jim Tallet, Vagabond Sailor

fabulous fun, sir!

 

[sleddog]

A subject we all should be concerned about is what to do if the steering goes away. An excellent summation of why and how to use a drogue for emergency steering is found here: http://watersportnews.com/news/stor...r-methods-and-equipment-teste/full_story.html

Kudos to Michael Keyworth for actually removing the rudder from his Swan 44 to test steering with a drogue. What he found is a 30" drogue, sheeted to the keel axis on both sides, provides the means to steer, turn, even tack. Though I might argue that such means only slows the boat 1 knot and his video only shows calm conditions, Keyworth's description is clear and concise and provides a benchmark for dealing with rudder loss.

Keyworth uses expensive Gale Rider drogues for his tests. I would like to point out there are other drogues that work equally well and don't cost anything: plastic milkcrates, and a small car tire are just two.

I do support the concept of carrying an emergency rudder for racing across the Pacific. But for near shore, and as a backup to the emergency rudder, the drogue makes sense, is compact and light weight, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

 

[BobJ]

After watching a test of several drogues on YouTube (ironically sponsored by a competitor), I bought a Sea Brake drogue from Australia. It was very reasonably priced (the price shown is in $AUS - it's less in $USD).

http://www.yachtworks.com.au/products/Sea-Brake-%252d-Burke.html

Here's the YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4l3CbgUCU8

 

[Philpott]

But for near shore, and as a backup to the emergency rudder, the drogue makes sense, is compact and light weight, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

So, Skip, say a person with a 27' fat boat were to attach an old Cal 20 jib to the back of her boat as a drogue: how does this sound? tie the head, the clew and tack together, then attach two long lines to that single point and attach the two long lines to each of the horn cleats at the port and starboard sides of the stern. What then? Is the idea with a drogue to pull in either the starboard or port lines to effect some kind of steerage?

 

[sleddog]

The gathered Cal 20 jib sounds plausible. Likely a chain leader required to keep it submerged. The control lines don't have to be real long. 50 feet is probably plenty, with say 15-25 feet of chain.

The idea, as demonstrated in the video, is to tow the drogue astern, on centerline. If you pull the drogue off center to starboard, the boat should turn to starboard. The more the drogue is pulled off centerline, the faster and sharper the turn. Thus the reasoning behind attaching the trim lines further forward, even at max beam and/or keel axis.

If you are not worried about turning much, leading the trim lines to the horn cleats on the stern is fine. One line can be secured, the other should be adjustable in length, likely led to a winch. So you really only need one trim line adjustable. Be alert to chafe.

The proof in the pudding is to go out and experiment. Initial trials can be done under power. But if you lead the trim lines forward, be careful not to wrap them in the prop.

One shouldn't rely solely on a drogue or other means for emergency steering. Learning to balance and steer with sails is equally, if not more important. For example, to get downwind without a rudder, twin jibs is your best bet, with or w/out a drogue astern.

 

[Philpott]

The gathered Cal 20 jib sounds plausible. Likely a chain leader required to keep it submerged. The control lines don't have to be real long. 50 feet is probably plenty, with say 15-25 feet of chain.

The idea, as demonstrated in the video, is to tow the drogue astern, on centerline. If you pull the drogue off center to starboard, the boat should turn to starboard. The more the drogue is pulled off centerline, the faster and sharper the turn. Thus the reasoning behind attaching the trim lines further forward, even at max beam and/or keel axis.

If you are not worried about turning much, leading the trim lines to the horn cleats on the stern is fine. One line can be secured, the other should be adjustable in length, likely led to a winch. So you really only need one trim line adjustable. Be alert to chafe.

The proof in the pudding is to go out and experiment. Initial trials can be done under power. But if you lead the trim lines forward, be careful not to wrap them in the prop.

One shouldn't rely solely on a drogue or other means for emergency steering. Learning to balance and steer with sails is equally, if not more important. For example, to get downwind without a rudder, twin jibs is your best bet, with or w/out a drogue astern.

Okeedokee. I'll try it on the Olympic Circle, thus illustrating use of a drogue in shallow water. We'll see how many lost rigs I will scoop up from Cal Sailing bahias.

 

[sleddog]

If you scoop up my rudder (white) would you let me know? It broke off and sank 1/4 mile west of Berkeley Entrance. My guest driver says to me that afternoon, "Skip. I can't steer!" I says, "Wadda you mean can't steer? You're doing 13 and heading for the barn.."

 

[sleddog]

Yesterday's Lightship Race was held in sterling conditions: clear, sunny, consistent winds of 16-25 knots, with 18 knots at the Lightship buoy and more as the fleet approached the Golden Gate. Fun and fast sailing. Many in the fleet finished the 25.2 mile course in 4 hours or less, with First-to-Finish INVISIBLE HAND finishing in 2 hours, 34 minutes, averaging nearly 10 knots on the upwind/downwind course.

An extra and unexpected treat yesterday was a head on meeting with the 12 strong Round-the-World Clipper Fleet exiting SF Bay, bound for Panama.

Another treat was having the Hobie 33 AERO blow by on a full on plane, shortly before the finish. AERO, on a Pacific Cup practice mission as well as racing in the Lightship Race, looked to be averaging 15 knots with SSS sailmaker Synthia at the helm.

For the uninitiated, one might ask "did you really round a lightship?" I can say for certain the ghost of the old San Francisco Lightship, on station 10 miles southwest of the Golden Gate, from 1952 until 1969, lives on. I once saw her "out there", pitching and rolling. It looked like a most uncomfortable life being one of her crew, for weeks on end, winter and summer. Her official number was WLV-612 and her history can be found here: http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=470

 

[brianb]

It was very nice outside once clear of the usual bumpy first few miles. A quick blast into the Bay on favorable tide in both directions.

Pictures are great.

Yesterday's Lightship Race was held in sterling conditions: clear, sunny, consistent winds of 16-25 knots, with 18 knots at the Lightship buoy and more as the fleet approached the Golden Gate. Fun and fast sailing. Many in the fleet finished the 25.2 mile course in 4 hours or less, with First-to-Finish INVISIBLE HAND finishing in 2 hours, 34 minutes, averaging nearly 10 knots on the upwind/downwind course.

An extra and unexpected treat yesterday was a head on meeting with the 12 strong Round-the-World Clipper Fleet exiting SF Bay, bound for Panama.

Another treat was having the Hobie 33 AERO blow by on a full on plane, shortly before the finish. AERO, on a Pacific Cup practice mission as well as racing in the Lightship Race, looked to be averaging 15 knots with SSS sailmaker Synthia at the helm.

For the uninitiated, one might ask "did you really round a lightship?" I can say for certain the ghost of the old San Francisco Lightship, on station 10 miles southwest of the Golden Gate, from 1952 until 1969, lives on. I once saw her on station, pitching and rolling, and it looked like a most uncomfortable life being stationed in her crew. Her official number was WLV-612 and her history can be found here: http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=470

 

[Philpott]

If you scoop up my rudder (white) would you let me know? It broke off and sank 1/4 mile west of Berkeley Entrance. My guest driver says to me that afternoon, "Skip. I can't steer!" I says, "Wadda you mean can't steer? You're doing 13 and heading for the barn.."

Carliane is a diver and says that rudder is under 8 feet of mud by now. Awwww. Sorry, but that might not happen.

 

[sleddog]

Happy Earth Day

A fast moving cold front blew through late last night, and with it a few drops of rain. The wind went from calm, to NW 25-30 knots in a matter of minutes.

The Express 27 ELISE, having completed the required 400 miles for her SHTP qualifier, was enroute home to SF Bay. For Natalie, the wind came on strong, and on the nose. Natalie exhibited good sea sense, and rather than beat herself and ELISE up, she diverted downwind to Santa Cruz, 70 miles from her original destination. ELISE is now safely moored at Santa Cruz, while Nat unloads her gear. Brian of RED SKY is also here to welcome, having tracked ELISE with his magic mountain top methods.

It's may seem a small thing. But to finish the SHTP Qualifying passage is a big step in prep for this June's Race to Hanalei. Congrats to Natalie. I have to rank ELISE high on my list of pre-race favorites.