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New Boat 4 Sled
- Thread starter sleddog
- Start date
Whoah.
I was thinking exactly this, last weekend. "I wonder what the Potato Patch looks like today? Man, I'm glad i'm not a San Francisco Bar Pilot".
On the subject of antique boat show, I learned a while ago that you can still buy tufnol blocks. These were standard issue on about a bazillion boats built during the early 60's. I kind of like the look.
https://marinestore.co.uk/Tufnol_Blocks.html
https://marinestore.co.uk/Tufnol_Blocks.html
Tchoupitoulas
New member
I ran into my bar pilot neighbor yesterday who was grinning ear to ear because he knew I was going to ask him how it's been out there. Insane, he said. He was also glad to be off on Saturday when informed of the multi hundred short handed sailboat race that would be taking place.
WBChristie
New member
The above short video was taken last Saturday morning from the Pilot Boat DRAKE, 105 feet LOA, steel construction. The DRAKE was in the San Francisco Bar Entrance Channel (Main Ship Channel) dredged to a depth of 54 feet, or 20-30 feet deeper than the rest of the Bar.
The tide was near max ebb, and there was additional fresh water runoff, something to consider for this
weekend's 3BF.
In addition, Saturday's swells were coming from the west southwest, right down the maw of the Main Ship Channel. Their 20 second period meant the waves were well spread apart, and not every wave was breaking.
If, in rough figures, the 54 foot deep dredged channel was breaking, as filmed from aboard the DRAKE, the formula for wave height is Depth= 1.3 x Wave Height. 54/1.3 = 42 feet. Confirmed by the nearby Scripps Wave Rider Buoy, which showed a 50 foot wave about that time.
Interesting, the Scripps Wave Buoy is anchored with a giant rubber band, and is set up to survive radical wave heights.
A fellow SF Bar pilot, in his 30th year of service, can only remember ~ 8 times when the SF Bar Entrance Channel was similarly breaking and had to be closed, as it was last Saturday morning (Jan.21, 2017).
The DRAKE, after cresting the filmed "35 foot wave," did not attempt to return to San Francisco until the next morning. They remained hove-to in deep water offshore all day Saturday and Saturday night.
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A low tide walk at local Seacliff State Beach revealed some unusual sights. A massive amount of timber had washed down the San Lorenzo River, out to sea, and down the coast.
Two hapless kayakers attempted to launch through crashing 8 foot surf. "Why?" we asked. "We think we can make it out" was their reply, before being repulsed with broken boats. A reminder of the saying "fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
It was open season on the Green Flash, viewed between broken parts of the Cement Ship, the old SS PALO ALTO.
Two hapless kayakers attempted to launch through crashing 8 foot surf. "Why?" we asked. "We think we can make it out" was their reply, before being repulsed with broken boats. A reminder of the saying "fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
It was open season on the Green Flash, viewed between broken parts of the Cement Ship, the old SS PALO ALTO.
mike cunningham
Freedom 30 "Jacqueline"
I motored 50 NM to the Bay down the San Joaquin river, etc. on Thursday 26th. I anticipated a fairly quick trip and was amply rewarded. My boat motors over the water at about 5.8 Kts. I hit 10.3 Kts SOG under the Carquinez bridge. Avoided a LOT of logs, boards, goodness knows what, on the way down. I usually push on after dark, but had I not made it into San Pablo Bay by 6:00 PM I would have stopped due to all the dangerous debris in the rivers.
It was slow going on the way back but, surprisingly, things picked up nicely with the flood after the weapons station and I had a pretty fast trip home too.
It was slow going on the way back but, surprisingly, things picked up nicely with the flood after the weapons station and I had a pretty fast trip home too.
Hi Mike,
Always good to hear from you and the good ship JACQUELINE. Glad you had a safe trip down and back, and enjoyed the 3BF!
For a small harbor, Santa Cruz gets its share of excitement. Two nights ago a boat caught fire, spreading to neighbors. Final tally: two boats (one a sailboat) destroyed (melted), a third sunk, and fourth heavily damaged, as were the docks. All the boats were apparently live-aboards. (Housing is tight in these parts.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_nwYbpUBv0
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mike cunningham
Freedom 30 "Jacqueline"
Yikes, that looks bad. A few folks are now homeless. A fire on a boat is one of those risks you don't think about so much but it can be really really dangerous. Even more so at sea.
Many of you know my feelings about the danger of handling emergency flares in time of maritime distress. I won't get into that at present.
Unless you shell out $99 for the CG approved nighttime electric distress signal, you may likely soon be purchasing the 4-pack Orion Handheld Red Locator day/night flares to satisfy a Coast Guard safety inspection (only 3 flares required).
I recently did so at a cost of about $34 plus tax. Heads up if you are doing so, with these, or any other flares. The Orions, and other flares, are generally good for 42 months from date of manufacture to expiration. The freshest flares I could find at our local marine hardware store only had 27 months left to expiration. Most were months older than that.
The idea of selling something for full price that is half used up does not sit well. However, the vendor pointed out
flares are constantly "getting old" in inventory. Six months is allocated to getting flares to the consumer, and "three years should be the useful life in your possession."
Because vendors try to sell oldest inventory first, unless one looks closely at purchase time, you'll likely get older flares that have sat all winter and been moved to the front of the display. My suggestion is look at the back of the rack for the newest flares.
What really should happen is the vendor should discount older flares. Fat chance.
Unless you shell out $99 for the CG approved nighttime electric distress signal, you may likely soon be purchasing the 4-pack Orion Handheld Red Locator day/night flares to satisfy a Coast Guard safety inspection (only 3 flares required).
I recently did so at a cost of about $34 plus tax. Heads up if you are doing so, with these, or any other flares. The Orions, and other flares, are generally good for 42 months from date of manufacture to expiration. The freshest flares I could find at our local marine hardware store only had 27 months left to expiration. Most were months older than that.
The idea of selling something for full price that is half used up does not sit well. However, the vendor pointed out
flares are constantly "getting old" in inventory. Six months is allocated to getting flares to the consumer, and "three years should be the useful life in your possession."
Because vendors try to sell oldest inventory first, unless one looks closely at purchase time, you'll likely get older flares that have sat all winter and been moved to the front of the display. My suggestion is look at the back of the rack for the newest flares.
What really should happen is the vendor should discount older flares. Fat chance.
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Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
When Kelly still worked at Svendsen's she would go over to the warehouse and find me the most recent flares. Alas, Kelly doesn't work there anymore. In fact, does anybody work there any more? I haven't been there in ... gee, two weeks, and the place was pretty low stocked. My understanding is that Matt and Alex bought Blue Pelican and are its owners as of ... yesterday. Skip, I'm sorry you are sad and mad. Why do you buy flares if Wildflower is resting in your driveway? Maybe the carnage on Highway 17 is so widespread that the Highway Patrol requires them in your car now?
BobJ
Alerion 38 "Surprise!"
Same with batteries. You need to know how to read the date code stickers to make sure you're getting the newest one(s) on the shelf. Shall we make another contest out of it?
Neither sad nor mad...Cheryl will be doing my yearly CG Courtesy Inspection which gives me the sticker and piece of official paper to ward off those Coasties wanting to come aboard and risk getting wedged in the companionway hatch with their weapons, radio,and PFD. This has happened, and the young Coasty was firmly stuck, until I offered to assist by pushing on his back with my foot until he was dislodged onto the cabin floor.
As you know, Cheryl plays by the book, flare expiration dates included.
WF has been back in the water, and is now loaded for imminent departure via the I-5 Yacht Club to a big river/lake in AZ. Gotta shake down that new HS rudder, fir bowsprit, and composting C-Head, hihi.
Good going on finishing the 3BF! Syn and Rreveur were here last night, and laughed when I mentioned you channeling the inner Synthia and "deploying," as the Euros like to say.
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Hmmm. I see some potential Scottish Throwing Toys in that lot. I might have to bop down to the beach.
If you're on the fence about the SHTP, 2017 or beyond, here's a photo of the Hanalei SHTP Finish rendezvous area taken this morning by Capt. Bob, 2/3/17.
Capt. Bob's father, a sailor himself, came to Hanalei in '57 to film SOUTH PACIFIC. It was Capt. Bob's father's slideshow of Hanalei and Bali Hai that convinced Capt. Bob to sail to Hanalei. Capt. Bob, now retired from Matson after several hundred Pacific passages, first sailed to Hanalei in '63 on the Frers 49 FJORD III and has been coming back ever since.
And here's Hanalei, looking northwest, towards Bali Hai, at sunset.
Capt. Bob's father, a sailor himself, came to Hanalei in '57 to film SOUTH PACIFIC. It was Capt. Bob's father's slideshow of Hanalei and Bali Hai that convinced Capt. Bob to sail to Hanalei. Capt. Bob, now retired from Matson after several hundred Pacific passages, first sailed to Hanalei in '63 on the Frers 49 FJORD III and has been coming back ever since.
And here's Hanalei, looking northwest, towards Bali Hai, at sunset.
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Just beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
And thanks for keeping up our cultural literacy along with our geographical knowledge.
And thanks for keeping up our cultural literacy along with our geographical knowledge.
Lest my last comment be mistaken for sarcasm: I didn’t understand what Sled meant by ‘looking northwest, towards Bali Hai.’ I figured it was a trick question sort of remark, somehow tied into the South Pacific musical, or maybe the Michener book it was based on. A little bit of research and I found this on Wikipedia:
“Makana is a mountain located on northern shore of the island of Kauaʻi, where it rises 1,115 feet (340 m) above Limahuli Valley.[1] Makana is a Hawaiian language term meaning gift or reward.[2] It is often used as a person's name or as part of a name. Limahuli Garden and Preserve preserves the valley below.[3] It was featured in the 1958 film adaptation of the musical South Pacific as Bali Haʻi, a name that is still used to this day.”
So, again, genuine thanks for prodding me to learn a little something interesting.
“Makana is a mountain located on northern shore of the island of Kauaʻi, where it rises 1,115 feet (340 m) above Limahuli Valley.[1] Makana is a Hawaiian language term meaning gift or reward.[2] It is often used as a person's name or as part of a name. Limahuli Garden and Preserve preserves the valley below.[3] It was featured in the 1958 film adaptation of the musical South Pacific as Bali Haʻi, a name that is still used to this day.”
So, again, genuine thanks for prodding me to learn a little something interesting.