 |
 |
| Newsletter |
February 2002 |
From
the Captain
By Mike Hibbs
As I mentioned in last months newsletter, I would like to call a meeting in March for the fleet to get together and talk about the upcoming racing season, the cruising itinerary and also about when and where we plan to go while in the Puget sound this summer. Other topics include the upcoming swap meets and Fleet 20 having a table there to sell some of the excess boating supplies we all have and would like someone else to have.
March 23rd Meeting. Bob Gales and Gail O'Neill have graciously offered to host this event. We are planning on Saturday, March 23rd. We thought it would be nice to make a potluck Brunch out of it to start around 11:00am at their house in Beaverton. Directions to their house will be forthcoming.
Mike McGrath has offered to be the SYSCO captain for Fleet 20 during this summers racing season. I will not be racing my boat this season, but will be crewing on Dennis Thomas' boat. Thanks Mike for stepping up. Also, He will be attending the captains course with other SYSCO captains to learn the new rules/Flags that will be used in this years races. He will then let us know about them, Hopefully in the April newsletter (hint, hint). There will also be a course for the racers around the first of April to go over these new rules. More to come later on.
I will be taking a Coast Guard course for General Navigation and boating safety in February. Also the Portland Power Squadron is offering a similar class at the Tyee Yacht Club in April and will run for 4 weeks and cost is $25. It might be something to think about if you haven't done any classes before. Sometime in the next few years, Oregon will be requiring a license to operate a boat in Oregon waters. This class will help you get that license. Certainly if you want to be moving up in boat size in the future or want to consider Chartering a boat in the future, this course will help you.
May the wind always fill your sails and your days be long.
Be
a Part of It, Join Fleet 20
By Dale Mack
Wow! It's February already and 2002 is shaping up to look like a great sailing year if all the rain and snow is any indication. Along with that list of Spring boating projects, don't forget to add renewing your Fleet 20 membership. At $10/yr, it's the best value in boating around. You can print off the application by clicking here, and then sending your $10 dues to the address on the form.
I know from the number of hits to the website, that Fleet 20's newsletter readership extends beyond just our local members. To Catalina 22 owners who don't belong to a fleet, I'd like to extend you an invitation to participate in any Fleet 20 activity that interests you. Fleet 20 is always looking to connect with other Northwest C22 owners whether they join Fleet 20 or not.
Thanks to those who have already sent in their membership renewal.
Catalina 22 National Sailing Association Membership
By Dale Mack
While
most folks in Fleet 20 are aware of the C22NSA (about 25% of us are members),
I'm always surprised to come across someone who doesn't know that there is a
Catalina 22 owners association available at the national level.
For $25 a year, C22NSA members receive the MainBrace magazine and become eligible to participate in C22NSA sanctioned events around the country. Also available to members only, is a $10 CD-ROM containing thirty years of Catalina 22 technical articles, many with drawings and photos. As the Editor of the Catalina 22 Technical Manual contained on the CD, I may be a little bias in saying that it's well worth a one year membership in the C22NSA.
MainBrace is mailed to members six times a year (January, March, May, July, September, and November). The magazine contains articles about Cruising, Technical Tips, Family activities aboard C22's, Racing results, Regatta Notice of Races, and news from the more than sixty Catalina 22 Fleets spread across the country who conduct many local activities. You can find out more about the C22NSA by clicking here.
A
Blast from the Past
By Dale Mack
One of the joys of maintaining a website for Fleet 20 and producing a newsletter, is that I connect with lots of Catalina 22 owners past and present from around the world (yes I said the world). Whether it's answering someone's question or just listening to them share their adventures, I've meet a lot of wonderful people through my association with this little boat.
There is no Fleet 20 scrapbook nor a box full of fleet history, so when you join, and particularly when you accept to be an officer for Fleet 20, you really don't have much of a sense of the history behind the organization. Fleet 20 has been active and chartered with the Catalina 22 National Sailing Association since 1973, so it's always great to hear from a Fleet 20 alumni who can put some stories behind the names we see listed on the award plaques. Here's a recent example from a Fleet 20 Alumni:
From: Pihlaja, Doug
Sent: Friday, February 08, 2002 5:05 PM
Subject: Catalina 22 historyI was doing a little "google" searching and thought I would look for our old boat. As I hit the go button with "Catalina 22 7978" in the search field, I was delighted to see our little boat sailing across the pages of your July 2000 newsletter.
#7978 (LaToy) has a long history with the local Fleet 20. It was owned by Tom English who raced and cruised it quite successfully from 1986 to 1989 when my then girl friend Gail Taylor purchased it. We raced and cruised it until 1994. If you look at the Fleet Champion roster you will see that little "LaToy" won almost every year from 1986 to 1994. (It's hard to argue that it wasn't the boat winning) The only exception is in 1988 when Bill Sanborn beat out Tom English sailing "Windmill".
My best memory of "LaToy" was when Gail and I were married on it.
Cat 22's will always be special to me. Mostly, #7978.
Keep up the wonderful fleet,
Doug Pihlaja
Fleet 20 didn't have a list of past Fleet Captains, so digging through my back issues of Mainsheet magazine and MainBrace magazine, I learned that Gail Pihlaja was Fleet 20 Captain in 1992. I want to thank Gail and Doug for keeping the the fleet going ten years ago.
Although incomplete, I've constructed a list of past Fleet 20 Captains and have published it to the web.
Northwest C22 Scuttlebutt
By Dale Mack
2003 National Regatta. The scuttlebutt on the Internet is that Fleet 64 in Boise, Idaho may host the 2003 Catalina 22 National Regatta. If the rumor is true, this would be a great opportunity to participate in a truly wonderful event.
Northwest Fleets Reactivating. Although still on the books with the C22NSA, Fleet 6 in Seattle had virtually ceased to exist after its absorption into the Catalina Association of Puget Sound (CAPS). Combined with members moving up to larger boats, the fleet lost momentum and stopped planning Catalina 22-sized activities. The good news is that Skip Meisch, Slow Flight, #6850, who some of us met on the 1999 San Juan Islands cruise, and Steve Munter, #5214, are actively recruiting new members and hope to have Fleet 6 running this year.
Another previously active Catalina 22 fleet is Fleet 93 in Eugene, Oregon. Dropped from the C22NSA roster in 1995, Fleet 93 tended to draw members calling Fern Ridge Lake their home waters. I was contacted by Joe Nelson several months back, after he had just acquired Wind Sheer, #4570. Joe has since talked with several Catalina 22 owners in the area who are interested in starting Fleet 93 up again.
Catalina 22 Fleets in the Northwest are part of what the C22NSA refers to as Region 9. One of the things some regions do is host an annual regatta where C22NSA members are encouraged to participate. I mentioned earlier that joining a twenty-nine year old fleet that has no scrapbook or archives meant having no sense of the fleet's earlier history. While digging through my back issues of the C22NSA's magazine (I joined in 1987) for past fleet captains, I found a few articles written by former Fleet 20 members. Here's just a sample of some of the organized Region 9 activities that took place over the last fourteen years
- 1988, Region 9 Regatta hosted by Fleet 20 on the Columbia River (coincided with the SYSCO One-Design Regatta in August).
- 1989, Region 9 Regatta hosted by Fleet 6 at Shilshole Bay in Seattle (coincided with the CAPS Catalina Days event in June).
- 1990, Region 9 Regatta hosted by Fleet 64 in June on Cascade Lake, Cascade, Idaho (coincided with Southern Idaho Sailing Association Regatta).
- 1991, Region 9 Regatta hosted by Fleet 20 on the Columbia River (coincided with the SYSCO One-Design Regatta in August).
- 1992, West Coast National Cruise on the Columbia River hosted by Fleet 20 (coincided with the SYSCO Delta Cruise in July/August).
- 1992, Region 9 Regatta hosted by Fleet 20on the Columbia River (coincided with the SYSCO One-Design Regatta in August).
- 1993, West Coast National Cruise on the Columbia River hosted by Fleet 20 (coincided with the SYSCO Delta Cruise in July/August).
- 1993, Region 9 Regatta hosted by Fleet 6 at Shilshole Bay in Seattle (coincided with the CAPS Catalina Days event in June).
- 1997, Several Northwest boats trailered to the C22NSA National Regatta on Lake Tahoe to compete (boats from Fleet 20 and Fleet 64 attended).
- 1998, San Juan Island's Cruise hosted by Fleet 20 in July.
- 1999, San Juan Island's Cruise hosted by Fleet 20 in July/August.
- 2000, San Juan Island's Cruise hosted by Fleet 20 in July/August.
- 2001, San Juan Island's Cruise hosted by Fleet 20 in July/August.
My history of the demise of the Region 9 Regatta may be incomplete, because I was relying on Region 9 Commodore reports in the magazine and articles seemed to stop being submitted after 1992, which is five years before I joined Fleet 20.
Today, the events hosted by SYSCO, Southern Idaho Sailing Association, and CAPS are still in operation and would provide a great opportunity to revive the annual Region 9 Regatta. In additional, Fern Ridge Lake has two very active sailing clubs (Eugene Yacht Club and Triton Yacht Club) that host regattas, in fact EYC has hosted several one-design national regattas for various classes. Many of these regattas will provide a one-design start if 3-5 boats register for the event, so it wouldn't take a large showing of C22's to restart this regional regatta.
With a little promotion, we could take advantage of the SYSCO One-Design Regatta, and invite C22 sailors from Puget Sound, Idaho, and Southern Oregon to join us August 10-11 on the Columbia River. So what do you think?
| Cruising |
Charmed - A Visit to the Seattle Boat
Shows
By Dale Mack
Charmed is that best word I could come up with to explain my good fortune when visiting the Seattle Boat Shows this year. I got rained on driving up and driving back, but the whole time I was outside at the Lake Union Boats Afloat show I saw no rain.
Center
for Wooden Boats (CWB). Like many who visit the Lake Union Boats
Afloat show, I always wander next door to the Center
for Wooden Boats. I spent seventeen years in Sea Scouts sailing,
cruising, and repairing wooden boats, so CWB is a powerful magnet for me.
Imagine my surprise to see a Catalina 22 at the end of the gangway as I
approached CWB. Apparently the C22 had been donated and was being sold to
convert the donation into funds for CWB. I had to chuckle as I read the
one page write-up taped to boat, because the ad used the phrase "a classic
fiberglass sailboat". For a boat that's been in continuous production
for over thirty years, I guess the Catalina 22 qualifies as a classic.
  |
Lake Union Boats Afloat. The Boats
Afloat show at Chandler's Cove on Lake Union is my favorite show between
the two Seattle boat shows, because it features sailboats, trawlers, and
large power yachts.
Both Admiralty Yacht Sales of Tacoma/Seattle and Performance Yachts of Bellingham (both Catalina Yachts brokerages) had come to the show with boats from the C28 mkII to the C42 mkII. While seeing the latest from Catalina is always a delight, its also enjoyable walking through the offerings from companies such as Hunter Marine, Beneteau, C & C, Island Packet, J Boats, Jeanneau, and Tartan Yachts just to name a few. Even if all you were doing was dreaming about that next boat, the in the water boat show was great. |
Seattle
Boat Show. How do you explain the Seattle Boat Show?
Poooooooooooooower Boats! Geared toward trailerable boats and mid-size
cruisers, a sailor goes to this show to see the equipment booths and meet
factory representatives from many of the major marine electronics
companies. Although a small number of trailerable sailboats are on
display, it's the booths that are the big draw.
From riggers, to spars, and GPS electronics, to sail makers, the Seattle Boat Show is always worth a visit, particularly since it overlaps with the Boats Afloat Show. The free bus shuttle running between the two shows was very convenient, and the free parking coupon for Safeco field with the online purchase of show tickets couldn't have been any easier.
Bring Your Calendars and Your
Charts
By Dale Mack
I enjoy the planning stage for a cruise. There's never any poor weather and the seas are never choppy. In the planning phase, every cruise day is perfect, so you can let your mine run wild through the cruising guides as you ferret out all the special destinations you want to visit. I envy those able to spend more time on their cruises because I always find I have more desired destinations than I have time for.
While the destinations are the draw, it's actually the journey, particularly under sail, that create the lasting memories. I'll never forget my surprise in 1999 while on my first San Juan Islands cruise, to enter Thatcher Pass and count five bald eagles sitting in the trees. Or, in 2000, the look of amazement on my son's face as dolphins swam along side us as we headed to Sidney, B.C. One of my most recent memories was last year's cruise to Beacon Rock in the Columbia Gorge. The waterfalls, the woods, and sheer vertical cliffs of the gorge were spectacular. Whether you're sailing the Columbia River, trailering to the San Juan's, or just enjoying your local body of water, cruising brings with it its own special charm.
One of the tasks we hope to make some serious progress on at the March meeting, is judging the interest level in some organized local events along with sketching out a first draft of an itinerary for the San Juan Islands cruise in July/August. Although we've had a few traditional events from year to year, nothing is ever cast in concrete, so we are always flexible to consider new ideas. For example, not able to make the San Juan Islands cruise, how about attending the SYSCO Delta Cruise July 27 - August 4 on the Columbia River. Fleet 20 has tagged along on this cruise from Portland to Astoria and back in the past, so its a consideration for those wishing to stay closer to home. Another cruising idea is to head to Martin Slough near St. Helens for Memorial Weekend, and head to Beacon Rock in August or September, or reverse the destinations and dates.
Hope to see you at the March meeting.
| Racing |
No On-the-Water Registration Allowed this Year
By Dale Mack
The clubs that make up the Oregon Corinthian Sailing Association (OCSA), the non-profit organization that promotes racing locally, have decided NOT to allow on-the-water registrations this year. On-the-water registration has caused many race committees to reshape fleets and starting sequences on the fly, and it was felt that there is enough to do to prepare for a race without dealing with on-the-water registrations.
If you should miss the registration deadline for a series or regatta, then OCSA recommends you call the race captain for the series no later than the night before the race, to inform them verbally of you desire to participate. The race captain will pass the information along to the race committee. You will still need to submit a race entry form to the race committee.
SYSCO
General Meeting
By Dale Mack
Editor's Note: Many Fleet 20 racers usually join SYSCO because the membership fee also covers the cost of the Spring & Summer Series, along with the One-Design regatta.
February 18. The next Small Yacht Sailing Club of Oregon (SYSCO) General Membership meeting will be February 18, 7:30 pm Mars Meadow Chinese restaurant at Hayden Meadows (near West Marine). Meetings are always on the third Monday of each month. Come early for dinner and socializing (typically 6:30 pm). The program portion of the meeting is always entertaining and educational and starts at 7:30 pm.
Confused by the New Rules?
By Dale Mack
Starting a race isn't rocket science, but sometimes change can be a little stressful as we adapt. In 2001 OCSA choose to postpone the implementation of the Racing Rules of Sailing for 2001-2004 in order to give local clubs a chance to prepare since the rules weren't finalized until late. The biggest change most of us will notice is in the starting sequence for races. US Sailing has put together some materials to provide an overview of the new system.
The local interpretation of the new system will be presented in two separate clinics:
OCSA Race Management Clinic
March 27-28 (Wednesday and Thursday evening)
SYSCO Race Clinic
April 4-5 (Thursday and Friday evening)
| Technical Tips |
Adding
Swim Ladder Treads
By Dale Mack
The swim ladder from Catalina Yachts is a solid piece of equipment, but it does have one flaw, its tubing is hard on your bare feet. A boarding ladder upgrade kit is available from Catalina Direct that provides you with deeper treads.
The kit includes:
- Four treads already cut to length
- Stainless steel pop rivets
- Caulking-like adhesive
Installation is very straight forward:
- On a level surface (boat assumed to be on the trailer), lower the ladder into its down position.
- Starting at the top rung, place the tread on the tubing and mark the location where the two pop rivet holes will need to be drilled into the tubing.
- Remove the tread and use a center punch to further mark the holes.
- Dry fit the tread to verify the marks line up with the holes in the treads.
- Drill the holes.
- Dry fit the tread to verify all the holes line up. Look beneath the tread to see how much space exists between the tubing and the tread.
- Generously apply adhesive to the slot in the underside of the tread.
- Insert the pop rivets into the tread.
- Align the tread and pop rivets over the holes in the tubing and then press down until everything is seated.
- Use a pop rivet tool to securely attach the tread to the tubing.
- Clean up the excess adhesive that squeezed out.
- Repeat steps 1-11 for the next three treads.
- Let everything dry for the length of time recommended by the adhesive manufacturer.
| Upcoming Events |
March 23 (sa). Fleet 20 Meeting
March 27-28 (we-th). OCSA Race Management Clinic
April 4-5 (th-fr). SYSCO Race Clinic
April 18. SYSCO Spring Series Race #1
April 25. SYSCO Spring Series Race #2
April 27-28 (sa-su). SYSCO Spring Regatta
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.