From Sea Scouts to HarmonyBy Dale Mack
FLEET 20 NEWSLETTER
February 2000
Catalina 22 - Fleet 20, Portland, OR
From Sea Scouts to HarmonyWith a combined experience of over thirty-one years as both youth members and adult leaders in Sea Scouts, Laura and I decided to buy our sailboat in 1987 after viewing a Catalina 22 at the Sacramento Sports and Boat Show. Although I'd had some prior dinghy sailing experience and had crewed aboard some larger sailboats from time to time, the bulk of Laura's and my boating experience had been aboard large power vessels (34-63 foot) that we had operated in Sea Scouts (Laura is a former U.S. Coast Guard licensed operator for passenger vessels).
Picking a name for #14286 had a lot to do with the desired state of mind we wanted while sailing. Free from the noise of a powerboat, and the challenge of watching over other folk's teenagers (Sea Scouts), the name Harmony seemed perfect for us. We sailed Harmony a lot its first two years due in part to Catalina 22 Fleet 4 being located in Sacramento, CA. Until my job took us to Singapore in December, 1989, Laura and I had been the Fleet 4 Newsletter Editor, and the Cruising Chairman. Fleet 4's active cruising schedule had taken us to places like Lake Tahoe, San Francisco Bay, Monterey Bay for whale watching, and the California Delta.
We settled in Boise, Idaho after our return to the United States, and found getting out on the boat just a little harder because water was further away. When Laura wasn't totally consumed with the affairs of the cafe/bistro and catering business she owned and operated, we did manage to get out occasionally to Lucky Peak Reservoir just outside of Boise, and to Payette Lake in McCall, Idaho. Prior to relocating to Vancouver, WA in the summer of 1997, we trailered Harmony from Boise to South Lake Tahoe to participate in the 1997 Catalina 22 National Regatta. The week of racing and socializing was wonderful. While not hardcore racers, Laura and I enjoyed the sailing and the opportunity to renew old Fleet 4 acquaintances and to make new Fleet 20 friends.
For Harmony, 1999 was a milestone year. It was the first time we had left the boat in the water during the sailing season, and we finally accomplished a twelve year goal of taking the boat to the San Juan Islands. The San Juan and Canadian Gulf islands were spectacular. Fellow Fleet 20 members were so helpful before and during the cruise, that it really helped make this one of our best family vacations ever.
Laura and I enjoy cruising a great deal, particularly in the company of others where you can raft-up at the end of the day and share snacks and stories. I spent forty-three (43) days on Harmony in 1999, and of that, less than a quarter of it was spent racing. Some of my most enjoyable sails were spent just outside of Tomahawk Bay Moorage tacking from shore to shore while sharing the day's events with Laura. It doesn't get much better than that.
Portland Boat ShowRendezvousing at Elmers kicked off the day for the Annis',, the Higgins, and the Macks. It was great getting together over breakfast and talking about the Louis Vuitton Cup racing in New Zealand, and about our own cruising and racing plans for the coming year.
After breakfast we went to West Marine where several Fleet 20 members took
advantage of the after Christmas sales, particularly on clothing. We found
out later that the West Marine
booth at the boat show was was handing out $5 discount coupons for use at the
store.
Once at the boat show, we wandered through the various halls, climbed aboard several 30+ foot powerboats, and viewed the wares on display at several booths. Eleven year old Sean Mack and his friend Ian, particularly enjoyed climbing through the Marine Corps' amphibious assault vehicle and viewing the fifty-foot fish tank. I spent sometime talking with the Harbormaster from Elochoman Slough Marina in Cathlamet about their facilities. It might be interesting to consider launching our boats in Cathlamet for a weekend of sailing.
We saved
the sailboat displays for the last part of our visit. The local sailboat dealers,
boatyards, and brokerages put together a very nice
display of sailing opportunities in the Portland/Vancouver area. Several
local sailing fleets like the Cal 20's, Santana 20's, and J/24's had boats and
fleet members present. Both local custom boat builders Legendary Yachts and Schooner
Creek Boat Works had beautiful examples of their workmanship on display. 
The
all wood 33-foot Araminta by Legendary Yachts was like looking at a piece of fine
furniture, and the 40-foot Amati by Schooner Creek Boat Works had so many interesting
details related to the musical professional of its owner. For those
interested in dinghies, several boat dealers were on hand with everything from
Optimists to Lasers.
I thought that those who cater to the sailing public did a very nice job of presenting themselves at the show. From chandleries to sail makers, and boatyards to boat builders, the sailing resources in the Portland area were well represented at the show. We had a great time at the boat show. It was nice to get out of the house and walk around some boats for awhile.
Seattle Boat ShowThis was my first trip to the Seattle Boat Show. Laura and I decided to make a mini family vacation out of it, so we invited Sean's friend Ian along, and the four of us spent Friday through Sunday at the boat show and the Pacific Science Center near the Seattle Space Needle.
The Seattle Boat Show was held in the new
Washington State Stadium Exhibition Center across the street
from the new Safeco Field near the Kingdom. If I were to compare the show
against the Portland Boat Show, the Seattle show had a lot fewer sailboats, in
fact there were almost no sailboats except for three McGregor 26's and a
half-dozen dinghies. What the Seattle Boat Show lacked in sailboats it made up
for in booths. Unlike the Portland Boat Show were there were only a few booths dedicated
to boating equipment and accessories, the Seattle show had lots. Several booths
were sponsored by corporations like Raytheon, Magellan, Garmin, International
Paints, Lewmar, and Lowrance. It was great sitting down with the Magellan
factory rep and discussing my new hand-held GPS Santa left under the tree.
To see sailboats, you had to go to the Lake Union Boats Afloat Show.
Although we drove to the show, a free bus shuttle was operating
between the Seattle Boat Show and the Boats Afloat Show. Admission to the Boats
Afloat Show was free if you had a ticket from the Seattle Boat Show.
The Boats Afloat Show had sailboats, trawlers, and really large yachts for sale. Located in Chandler's Cove next to The Center for Wooden Boats, we found it easy to spend most of the day just climbing through the boats and dining ashore (Chandler's Cove has many fine restaurants).
The weather was incredible on
Saturday. Under clear skies we went through
probably forty sailboats and trawlers before we wore ourselves out, and there
were
still more boats to see.
While sitting in the cockpit of a Catalina 36, we were surprised to look up and see fellow Fleet 20 members Kathie and Terry Annis. Along with the Annis' we enjoyed having the opportunity to browse through a Catalina 320 and a Catalina 36 brought to the show by a Seattle dealer.
It was a great weekend in Seattle and I'd encourage others to think about combining the Seattle Boat Show with some other points of interest in Seattle. I'm sure this will become an annual land cruise for the Macks.
I'd like to welcome the following new members to Fleet 20:
Membership Renewal. For those who haven't yet renewed their membership to Fleet 20 or for those contemplating joining, please consider filling out the Fleet 20 Membership Application and sending it along with $10 to the Fleet Captain's address listed on the application. The application form is available online here.
Are You Going to Race? If you are planning to race your boat in the SYSCO Spring and Summer Series (you don't have to be a member of SYSCO to race) please drop me a line so I can get an idea of how many boats will be racing on Thursday nights. If you won't be racing your boat, but you'd like to crew aboard someone else's boat either regularly or just from time to time let me know.
Spinnakers. There was some interest in racing with spinnakers voiced at the Fleet's Holiday party in December. I'd like to recommend we use an idea Laura Mack suggested. Instead of creating yet another hurdle for novice racers to overcome in order to participate in the SYSCO Spring & Summer Series and the One-Design Regatta, why don't we make use of a couple of the Friday Night Beer Can Races to gain some experience racing with spinnakers. Laura's idea allows us to maintain a low entry cost for getting into racing, while providing a venue for experimentation. Let me know what you think.
San Juan Islands. If you're thinking about cruising the San Juan/Gulf Islands this summer, perhaps you'd like to do it in the company of other Catalina 22's. Laura and I are planning our cruise for July 29 - August 6, and I've heard that Debra and Mike Hibbs are looking at the third week in July for their cruise. Now is the time to start planning for this cruise.
Trailering Adventures. If you already have plans to trailer or cruise your boat somewhere, how about inviting other Fleet 20 boats along? I'd be happy to reflect the event on the schedule.
Lemon Island Rendezvous. I'm starting to make plans for a Fleet 20 day cruise and raft-up at Lemon Island in mid-May. If the weather cooperates, we'll raft-up at Lemon Island around one o'clock and share snacks and conversation. For those also interested in breakfast we'll meet at Waddles or Elmer's. I'm look at Saturday May 13th or 20th, so let me know if you have a preference.
March 29/30. Starting on Wednesday March 29 is a two-night Race Management Clinic being taught by the Oregon Corinthian Sailing Association (OCSA), at the the Portland Yacht Club (PYC). I attended this course last year when it was taught at North Sails, and it was great. While learning the duties of a race committee, I found the class helped remove some of the mysteries of racing for me.
April 6/7. SYSCO Race Clinic
April 15/16. Opening Day Regatta (SYSCO)
April 20. Spring Series, Race #1 (SYSCO)
April 27. Spring Series, Race #2 (SYSCO)
April 29/30. Spring Regatta (SYSCO)
The Fleet 20 newsletter is published online once a month. Articles are the opinions of the authors and don't necessarily represent the consensus of Fleet 20.