FLEET 20 NEWSLETTER
April 2001

Catalina 22 - Fleet 20, Portland, OR

From the Captain
By Dennis Thomas

I'd like to acknowledge some March and April birthdays of various fleet members.

March

• Laura Mack celebrated her birthday on 3/23.
• Chris Mountord celebrated his birthday on 3/28. (I think it was a celebration?)

April

• Deb Hibbs celebrated her birthday on April 1.
• Nate Hanson will celebrate his birthday coming up on April 23.

Ready for Spring?
By Dale Mack

By now, most of us have our boats ready for Spring sailing.  Like always, I waited until the last minute to try and finish up my projects.  Oh well, better luck next year.

Dennis and I just got our boats back into the water, so the first Spring Series Race should be interesting as we try to remember which is the pointy end of the boat.  It sure feels good to be on the water again.

You might be asking what is the story behind the picture of the Catalina 22 frozen in the ice.  I participate in a couple of Catalina 22 email discussion groups, and every once in awhile someone will post an interesting picture or story.  The picture is of hull number 3576 in Indianapolis, Indiana.  By March, the owners were able to save the C22 from sinking and get it onto a trailer for clean up.  Makes me glad the rivers and lakes around here don't freeze up.

Fleet 20 Spring Meeting was Great
By Dennis Thomas

We had fifteen members attend the potluck on Sunday, March 18^th.  Chris & Ebie Mountford hosted the affair at their Daycare facility in Brush Prairie, Washington. Of course the food was great and there was exchanging of recipes.

Those that attended were:

• Chris & Ebie Mountford
• Terry & Kathy Annis
• Mike, Deb, & Rachel Hibbs (Rachel was in heaven with all the toys in the Daycare)
• Dale Mack (Laura was at home feeling under the weather)
• Russ & Maureen Lippert
• Bill & Sandy Hayden
• Nate & Margaret Hanson
• Dennis & Sandy Thomas

The main purpose and subject matter of the potluck meeting was to discuss and plan the annual Fleet 20 San Juan Islands Summer Cruise.  At this point, eight couples have said they are planning to go.

San Juan Island Cruise Planning

There may be a few other boats that may join up with us in Anacortes as well, so we should have a pretty good group again this year.  Here's a list of others who have expressed an interest in the trip:

• Herb Kateley, C22 Misty Morning, Oceanside, Oregon
• Patrick Petracca, C22 Katie Mae, Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Ted Burton, C22 Nancila, Bend, Oregon
• Terry Dishongh, Capri 25 River Bee, Hillsboro, Oregon

We have put together an early draft of the itinerary showing who's going where and when.  It is just the first draft of many before the trip but this will give you and idea of what folks are thinking.  Last year the group pretty much stayed together for the trip. For a few us, last year was our first trip with our boats in the San Juan Islands so we kept close to the pack.  This year some of the boats are planning to explore further north in the Canadian Gulf Islands, (where no civilized man have gone before), while others wish to cover less water (and hopefully sail more) and are staying closer to the San Juan Islands.  As a group were are planning a number of rendezvous points throughout the first week.  Please check the Calendar link for the cruise periodically. There are already some proposed changes.  I will be sending out monthly updates on it, and we'll incorporate the changes into the website.

I would like to extend an open invitation to anyone else who may be interested in going. If you are interested but are hesitant because of your limited sailing experience keep in mind that the group has veterans on the cruise that you can tag along with. Please consider going, it is a great experience.

Recruiting New Members
By Dale Mack

I want to encourage everyone to keep an eye out for C22 owners we could recruit to Fleet 20.  The fleet's application form/brochure is available online, and can easily be printed on any home printer.  I also have brochures leftover from the Portland boat show we could handout to prospects.

Why recruit more people?  Larger fleets are more fun, not because everyone shows up to everything, but because there are more people available to plan and lead activities.  With more activities available, individual members are more likely to attend an activity that matches up well with their own personal schedule.

Parking Lot Swap Meet
By Dale Mack

April 21, 7am - 2pm at West Marine.  The notice board at West Marine is announcing a marine swap meet on Saturday the 21st if anyone is interested.

Get Your 10% Discount
By Dale Mack

April 25, 7pm at West Marine.  The Columbia River All Catalina Association has arranged to have their meeting at West Marine (1176 N. Hayden Meadows Drive, Portland, OR) on April 25th.  West Marine will provide a 10% discount on all purchases made during the meeting (5% discount on electronics).  The store will be open exclusively for the CRACA meeting.  CRACA will hold a short business meeting to elect their new officers, and then the rest of the meeting is shopping and socializing.

Hope to see you there.

Astoria-Warrenton Crab & Seafood Festival
By Dale Mack

April 27-29.  Fresh crab, seafood and fine Oregon wines in a beautiful, green park on the Columbia River. The roar of the Pacific in the distance provides the backdrop to the 40 wineries, 30 eateries, and 80 booths of arts and crafts.

No plans for the last weekend in April?  How about considering the Astoria-Warrenton Crab & Seafood Festival.  The festival takes place at the Hammond Mooring Basin.

Admission to the festival is $5 general, $3 for those over 62 and $1 for kids 12 and under.

The Astoria-Warrenton Crab & Seafood Festival
April 27, 28, 29, 2001
4pm­9pm Friday
10am­8pm Saturday
11am­4pm Sunday

Opening Day Parade - Columbia River
By Dale Mack

May 5.  Portland's 2001 boating season begins May 5 with a colorful opening day parade on the Columbia River.  More than 500 boats from 15 local yacht clubs will parade through the review area starting at 12:30 p.m.  Boats, in formation, will stretch out for more than two miles as they pass the review vessels anchored at the 42nd street boat ramp.

Lemon Island Rendezvous
By Dale Mack

May 6.  Chris Mountford has volunteered to lead the Lemon Island Rendezvous on Sunday, May 6th.  We bounced around several dates at the Fleet meeting in March, and May 6th emerged as date that worked for most folks.  We'll email everyone details about the event in the next couple of weeks.

Here's what the weekends look like in May:

Planning for the San Juan Islands Cruise
By Dale Mack

The fleet's March 18th planning meeting generated lots of ideas for itineraries.  While adjustments will continue to be made all the way up until launch, the following table shows that several itineraries will be in use between July 27 and August 13th.

To those still contemplating whether they are ready for a San Juan Islands cruise, I want to encourage you to come.  Several members of Fleet 20 have made the trip more than once, so there is a lot of cruising experience to draw upon.

Watch the fleet's calendar link regarding the cruise and future emails for itinerary updates as they evolve.

Terry Annis found out that slips at Rosario Resort are $40/night, so others may decide to go to West Sound Resort instead like Terry and Kathie have.

Racing Starts Thursday, April 19th
By Dennis Thomas

For Fleet 20 the racing season begins Thursday, April 19th (this coming Thursday!). It looks like we'll have six boats racing, great!

1. Jim Martin & Matt Thierfelder, <no name>, #2522
2. Chris Mountford, Little Hector, #5720
3. Mike McGrath, Lematike, #6800
4. Bill Hayden, Imagine, #13501
5. Dale Mack, Harmony, #14286
6. Dennis Thomas, WindChaser, #14306

If you plan on racing, you must register in order to race. Make sure you get it done ASAP if you have not already. See the racing page for the form. If you cannot get the form in before Thursday you may be able to call the Race Committee Chair for SYSCO, Alan Schamp and get it approved for the first race. His number is (503) 292-0511.

As a reminder, the SYSCO Spring Evening Race Series runs from April 17th through May 24th (five races). The Catalina 22's (known as fleet J1 in SYSCO) race on Thursday nights. The First Warning Signal for all races is 6:30 p.m. (1830 hrs). Registration entries will not be accepted after Friday, April 13, 2001, unless accompanied by a $10. late fee.

The Fleet 20 racing page has a copy of the OCSA Race Entry Form which should be filled out for the SYSCO races.  Mail the form to:

Alan Schamp
8475 S.W. Brentwood
Portland, OR 97225

If you belong to SYSCO (Small Yachts Sailing Club Of Oregon) there is no cost to SYSCO members. If you are not a member it is $30 for the five race Spring Series.

Knowing Race Committee Procedures
Helps You as a Racer
By Dale Mack

I've found that the more I've learned about what the race committee is doing, the more comfortable I've become with the race starting procedure and the flags used to manage a race.  Here is a document on the Fleet 20 website you may find useful.

• OCSA/SYSCO Race Committee Checklist

SYSCO Races will use the 1997-2000 Rules
By Dennis Thomas

OCSA (Oregon Corinthian Sailing Association) held their Race Management Clinic on March 28th & 29th and SYSCO held their Race Clinic on April 5th & 6th. I attended the all sessions except the April 6th on the water, my boat was not in the water at the time. The major item of discussion at both clinics was the changes to the racing rules. There have been some changes made to the International Sailing Federation and subsequently to the Racing Rules published by the United States Sailing Association (US Sailing). US Sailing is the national authority for sailboat racing in the USA. The major changes are to do with the flags that are to be used in officiating a race. There are a number of problems with some of the rule changes, one being that the Racing Rules for 1997-2000 have expired. US Sailing has adopted the changes but the new Racing Rules will not be published until possibly mid-April 2001. Because of the delay in the publication of the rules and the confusion that this would cause for the racing session this year, OCSA has determined that for this racing session, 2001, on the Columbia River we will be abiding by the old rules not the new ones. SYSCO and the other clubs are in full agreement with this decision. Keep in mind though if you race somewhere else, maybe in Washington they may be complying with the new rules. So this racing season it will be business as usual, that is except for the low water.

The Bottom Line.  SYSCO has decided that until these new rules are better understood, and they've had a chance to train everyone on the changes and purchased the required flags and sound devices, they will continue to sail under the 1997-2000 rules. That means the old Rule 26, system 2 flag sequence (Yellow, Blue, and Red) and the 5-minute interval will be used for the Spring Series.

Save Money by Joining SYSCO
By Dale Mack

Fleet 20's racing program makes use of the SYSCO Spring Series, Summer Series, and One-Design Regatta.  For non-SYSCO members this represents $90 in entry fees ($30 per event).  SYSCO members pay no entry fee to race in SYSCO events, so your $75 SYSCO membership fee actually saves you $15 when compared to non-members.

To join SYSCO visit their website at: http://www.leftblank.com/sailpdx/sysco.html

Need Crew?
By Dale Mack

Several skippers planning to race this season still have room aboard for additional crew.

Why would you want to crew?  For those thinking about racing in the future, this is a great way to learn.  For those more interested in day sailing and cruising, you'll accelerate your understanding of how sail shape and all the associated controls not only affects your speed but also your comfort level in varying conditions.

I like having myself and two others aboard Harmony when I race, but frequently I have to settle for just myself and one other person because I can't find additional crew.  If you don't want to commit yourself to the whole series (5 Thursday evening races), consider crewing for just one race.  Worried about your skills?  Don't worry, I'm more interested in going out and enjoying ourselves and learning to sail the boat than I am with making sure I've loaded the boat up with a bunch of sailing rock stars.  Contact me or Dennis Thomas if you are interested.

Adding a Mast Step Plate
By Dale Mack

One of my many Spring boating projects was the addition of a mast step plate to Harmony.  The mast plate provides me a means for attaching additional blocks, so I can run more of my lines back to the cockpit.  Examples include: Jiffy reefing Cummingham Spinnaker halyard I purchased the plate from Catalina Direct.  After removing my existing mast step and cleaning up all the old caulking on the boat and step, I laid the step on the plate to mark where the new holes for the bolts needed to be drilled (the existing holes were in the wrong place).  On old-style boats, I understand that the mast step is actually held in place with a bolt and a lag screw.
The hardest part of this project was dealing with the wiring running to the mast.  When I originally ran the antenna cable, I decided for, cosmetic reasons, to run it inside the pipe the serves as the compression post for the mast (huge undertaking that I wouldn't do again, although the result looks great).  The antenna cable and mast plug wiring all use the same hole to pass through the headliner.  As you can see in the photo on the right, the wiring and the structure of the post make it nearly impossible to get at the two nuts and lock washers that help hold the mast step in place.  Once I gave up trying to not disassemble the deck plug, the project moved along quickly.
With the mast plate drilled, and all the old caulking removed from the step and boat, the assembly process involves placing caulking between the boat and the plate, and caulking between the plate and the mast step.  I also placed caulking between the washers and the mast step.  The goal here is to prevent any water from being able to seep into the bolt holes and then into the wooden core that makes up the boat's cabin roof.  The caulking/adhesive also helps hold the plate and step in place.  For simpler cleanup, I'd recommend putting down masking tape to protect any surfaces you don't want to spend time cleaning up after the excess caulking squeezes out when you tighten the bolts and nuts.  After the caulking cures, you can use a utility knife to cut away any excess.  To finish up, I rewiring the mast plug and antenna fitting.

April 19.  SYSCO Spring Series Race #1

April 21.  Marine Swap Meet.  West Marine parking lot.

April 25.  CRACA meeting and %10 Discount at West Marine.

April 26.  SYSCO Spring Series Race #2

April 27-29.  Astoria-Warrenton Seafood Festival

May 3.  Spring Series, Race #3

May 5.  Opening Day Parade, Columbia River

May 6. Lemon Island Rendezvous.  Chris Mountford, cruise leader.

May 13.  Mother's Day

May 17.  Spring Series, Race #4

May 24.  Spring Series, Race #5

more...

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.