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Sailing Tomorrow

Sailing Today: USCG boards Red-Sky . Another quiet day in the South Bay, with the exception of the SFO aircraft ascending. I was out sailing in circles, no vessels in sight. A USCG rib, suddenly appearing from the south, made a sharp turn to port to intercept my vessel. They asked when the last time I was boarded, I couldn't recall ever having been boarded. I invited them to join me. They tied the rib alongside, nearly as effortless as Synthia's or Greg's efforts at greeting SHTP boats in Hanalei Bay. They came equipped with a detailed check list. I was tossing flare kits, registration papers, fire extinguishers, SOLAS flares, EPIRBS, radios, ..... into their hands. I was amazed Red-Sky passed with no violations ! As they untied the rib I thanked them for the great services they provide, and was oddly excited to have passed.
 
What I think? The Hawaii attorney general has been tracking you, called up the Coasties and asked them to pounce.

"That's the guy failed to herd all those renegade singlehanders."
 
Still waiting for the Wildcat's mast to get stepped. The crash and burn happened on April 24th. I got the boat to Berkeley on May 2nd. It's now July 27th, and pretty much for sure the mast won't get stepped for another week or two. It'll be 3 months-plus to get this done. I knew I had to be patient, that I'd have to get "fit in" between other jobs, but wow.

Let's see if I'm sailing by the time the Silver Eagle comes around at the end of August....assuming the IYC opens up registrations for the race. Last I checked, the race was listed but not open for registration. The plan was to have the boat up for sale on Sept. 1. Fingers crossed.
 
BobJ said:
Silver Eagle registrations are now open.
Click to expand...

YAY!...Now if I just have a boat with a mast, in time. I just need to be patient.

I think I'll go use my almost new cheapo pressure washer to blast the underside of the Pipers decks on Sunday. The finish is rough on the underside and the flaking paint is really tough to get off.
 
Wildcat of Loch Awe is back in her berth in Coyote Point. I took Highland Games buddy, Brendan for a sail. He's pretty burly but handling the tiller all day in the 20-25 knot breeze that was blasting over the South Bay tired him out!
 
Actually, sailing this weekend!
We'll head out Friday and launch at Marina Bay in Richmond.
Might get to see some of you heading to Vallejo Saturday.

No particular destinations. Maybe Scott's for dinner Saturday evening.

If anyone is going to be around RYC during the weekend, maybe we can stop by to say hello.
 
I'll be at the boat this weekend, likely Sat, up the mast mounting a new wind indicator. Please drop by if you have the time and say hello!
Chris
 
To Bodega Bay

Competitors will be relieved to read ( ;-) ) that after Drakes Bay 1 Dura Mater and I will head north to Bodega Bay. Drove up there with the Voice of Reason a couple of weeks ago, made this video of the entrance.

https://vimeo.com/582730256

Of course I will report back here. Waiting for Greg Ashby to reveal all about his Cruise Down with his new B 25 and Titia.
 
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brianb said:
Sailing Today: USCG boards Red-Sky . Another quiet day in the South Bay, with the exception of the SFO aircraft ascending. I was out sailing in circles, no vessels in sight. A USCG rib, suddenly appearing from the south, made a sharp turn to port to intercept my vessel. They asked when the last time I was boarded, I couldn't recall ever having been boarded. I invited them to join me. They tied the rib alongside, nearly as effortless as Synthia's or Greg's efforts at greeting SHTP boats in Hanalei Bay. They came equipped with a detailed check list. I was tossing flare kits, registration papers, fire extinguishers, SOLAS flares, EPIRBS, radios, ..... into their hands. I was amazed Red-Sky passed with no violations ! As they untied the rib I thanked them for the great services they provide, and was oddly excited to have passed.
Click to expand...

Well, now I am looking over my shoulder. This is the second or third boarding report. I see CG buzzing by all the time on my Delta runs so, sooner or later, I am going to get inspected. The only saving grace is there are usually plenty of crazy motor boaters to keep them busy.

Anyway, I downloaded the checklist https://www.usps.org/national/vsc/formtool_files/a7012.pdf
and found that I am in pretty good shape...Thank You SSS! All those SERs are helpful.

But I do have a few deficiencies, most importantly my stash of pyros is expired although, given they are SOLAS certed I imagine they would work just dandy for a while yet. The CG would probably not agree I am afraid. Thee real question is where in the hell did those three years go...but I digress.

I do have a question Brian. How did they handle CL item #14 "State and of Local Requirements"? Did they blow by that or did they pull out another checklist?
 
About 3 flares. For about $80 bucks you can buy one of the CG approved electronic "flares" -- and at the cost of 2 or 3 "D" or "C" cells per year meet the requirement. Okay, I agree they don't really replace a flare for getting rescued, but they meet the requirement; we all know that expired flares continue to blaze for years past their deadlines, so keep keeping those in the flare/ditch bag for "real use." I'll bet a quick survey of nearby berth holders would net an armful of recently expired flares since no one knows how to legally dispose of them, even though they'll fire off for a long time. I know that for us offshore racers the electronic devices don't meet OYRA's requirement.
 
I’ve gotten rid of expired flares at Waste Management hazardous waste drop off sites in Alameda County - no charge.

Sam
 
Cliff Shaw is leaving the Bay aboard s/v Rainbow on Saturday, under the Bridge at approximately noon as the ebb starts.

Rainbow finishes the 2019 LongPac: https://vimeo.com/346774036

Where is he going? To French Polynesia. Again. And to the Cook Islands. In case anyone would like to accompany him out. I'm sailing over to Emeryville Friday to say goodbye. Maybe take some cookies.
 
Ha! But knowing Cliff, I'll bet he filed in February.

I used to file in February. Then I retired. Now ours aren't done yet and we're going camping over the 15th. I should call my former boss and ask how tax season is going.
 
Here's Cliff's tracker: share.garmin.com\CliffordShaw
Case sensitive; click on "View all Tracks" at the upper right hand corner
Last time he was in Moorea he bought a sim card and it worked in his flip phone. Which he still uses.
Taxes paid February 20
Yes on the cookies. Chocolate chip.
 
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Yep, heading South again

Philpott said:
Cliff Shaw is leaving the Bay aboard s/v Rainbow on Saturday, under the Bridge at approximately noon as the ebb starts.

Rainbow finishes the 2019 LongPac: https://vimeo.com/346774036

Where is he going? To French Polynesia. Again. And to the Cook Islands. In case anyone would like to accompany him out. I'm sailing over to Emeryville Friday to say goodbye. Maybe take some cookies.
Click to expand...

Almost ready to go! Two little corrections: -My InReach tracker is at share.garmin.com/CliffordShaw ( the slash was shown backwards).
-I'll depart Emeryville at noon this Saturday, reaching the Bridge at about 1:30pm for slack water then ebb.

Taxes?? New sails, two new Pelagic APs and a custom 16' x 4' carbon/foam aft deck -- I got no money left for stinking taxes!! That's why I'm heading South -- they'll never catch me!

Regarding the sails though: Has anyone heard of deliberately increasing the main roach to a point it will overlap the backstay by several inches? North wanted to give me some roach instead of the straight leech all three prior mains had. The first time I jibed, the top two battens hit so hard it shook the whole rig, and they dragged and hung up tacking also. I had it cut down twice on the assumption one never wants to have the sail slap the backstay, but it still overlaps by an inch unless the main is strapped down hard. As the boom lifts during a tack or jibe, and when trimmed easy in light air up wind, the battens still hang up. Slapping is reduced now though with less overlap. At this point I was told told the slapping never was a problem, the sail is designed and built to take that abuse (and indeed there is what appears to be a very durable and slippery extra patch over the end of the full battens), and the rig won't be hurt by the really significant sudden bang/shaking. Am I as out of date about mainsails and backstays as my trusty flip phone is about modern communications?
 
Rainbow said:
Has anyone heard of deliberately increasing the main roach to a point it will overlap the backstay by several inches? North wanted to give me some roach instead of the straight leech all three prior mains had. The first time I jibed, the top two battens hit so hard it shook the whole rig, and they dragged and hung up tacking also. I had it cut down twice on the assumption one never wants to have the sail slap the backstay, but it still overlaps by an inch unless the main is strapped down hard. As the boom lifts during a tack or jibe, and when trimmed easy in light air up wind, the battens still hang up. Slapping is reduced now though with less overlap. At this point I was told told the slapping never was a problem, the sail is designed and built to take that abuse (and indeed there is what appears to be a very durable and slippery extra patch over the end of the full battens), and the rig won't be hurt by the really significant sudden bang/shaking. Am I as out of date about mainsails and backstays as my trusty flip phone is about modern communications?
Click to expand...

Increasing the roach deliberately is common on racing boats, and doing something like putting a fiberglass strut at the mast head that pulls the back stay away from the sail when you ease back stay tension is common (the Aussie's likely has assigned a name to this device, like "golly-slapper", Glenn likely knows). Your boat doesn't have the luxury of doing that . I had a sail on a previous boat that was increased a touch in roach, the result was you had to pull the backstay back a bit in lighter air to get a tack to complete properly. The Figaro II has just such an issue with it's mainsail. I would watch those batten tips for wear and tear.


Brian
 
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brianb said:
Increasing the roach deliberately is common on racing boats, and doing something like putting a fiberglass strut at the mast head that pulls the back stay away from the sail when you ease back stay tension is common (the Aussie's likely has assigned a name to this device, like "golly-slapper", Glenn likely knows). Your boat doesn't have the luxury of doing that . I had a sail on a previous boat that was increased a touch in roach, the result was you had to pull the backstay back a bit in lighter air to get a tack to complete properly. The Figaro II has just such an issue with it's mainsail. I would watch those batten tips for wear and tear.


Brian
Click to expand...

Thanks Brian. I wondered if it might be a racing innovation. Not really what I want on a short handed cruiser, though I did like the feel of a little more power in the main. It's too late to fix now so I'll sail with the cunningham set to reduce the luff 2" to keep the battens clear and get it re-cut again when I get back. Fair winds to all and have a good season on the Bay and offshore. Cliff
 
Hi Cliff,

All the best to you on your offshore adventure to the South Pacific on Rainbow. I would see you off under the Gate but it's kind of a long way from San Diego. I look forward to following your tracker. Fair winds.

DolfinBill
 
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