The weather could not have been better for the Sail for the Cure on September 25th.  This year's game had the boats sailing a two lap windward/leeward course between buoy "14" and the channel marker (known locally as race mark #2) just upstream of the I-5 bridge.  The wind was a delightful 8-10 knots out of the southwest.

This year's game provided each boat with four lettered tennis balls and a bamboo stick with a fish tank net attached to one end for retrieving tennis balls that might end up in the river.  The objective of the game was to sail the course while trading tennis balls with other boats as your boat worked to form a nautical word of six or more letters.  Since everyone's collect of tennis balls kept evolving with all the trading, it made sense to revisit boats you might have already traded with.  Because of the nature of the game, getting around the course fast wasn't what it was all about.  Instead, boat handling skills mattered more as you kept changing directions in order to rendezvous with other boats and discuss possible trades.

I captured a couple of shots of Fleet 20 member Gary McLean aboard Sunrise (#10868) during the event.  I haven't heard the final numbers yet, but there were sure a lot of boats participating.  The activities back at the Portland Yacht Club after sail were well worth attending.  Laura and I had a lot of fun and plan to be out there again next year.

Catalina Rendezvous 2005
Gambling with the Weather and Winning
By Dale Mack, Crocus, #4248

The Catalina Rendezvous' string of sunny weekends ended last year at McCuddy's Landing on Multnomah Channel as it poured seemly non-stop throughout the rendezvous.  While the rendezvous itself was a success from the number of boats that attended, number of folks that drove in, and the quality and variety of the programs offered, my most memorable moment of the rendezvous was watching the audience strain to listen to Gerry Douglas, Vice President of Engineering at Catalina Yachts, as he made his presentation under a sheet metal roofed patio while the clouds just opened up and dumped on us.

Even if you hadn't attended last year's rendezvous the weather forecasted for the weekend of September 17-19 was looking iffy as the date drew near.  I was going rain or shine, so the only thing that matter was making sure I had the correct gear aboard to make the cruise pleasant.

Equipping for the Cruise

Crocus had been racing and day sailing all season so there wasn't much aboard beyond the basics and a few spare parts.  Good for racing, not so good for cruising.  For example all the cushions were at home along with the table.  Personal I find the table gets in the way, so even when it is aboard it is typically in the down position.

I decided to leave the cushions at home (mostly out of laziness) and just bring Laura's ground pad she used while backpacking in Europe for a month.  The pad turned out to be a big mistake.  It might work well on something softer than granite, but on the boat's hard fiberglass liner it didn't help much.  Note to self, leave the cushions on the boat next season.

Most of my food, galley equipment, eating utensils, paper goods, butane backpacking stove, and miscellaneous items came to the boat in a plastic RubberMaid "Action Packer" container that I placed where the table would normal reside.  When the table is aboard, I side the container into the starboard side quarter berth.

For cold storage I used a wheeled 40 qt. Igloo MaxCold ice chest.  This particular ice chest is narrower than most and fits between the keel trunk and the starboard side seats just perfectly so I don't have to worry about it falling over when sailing.  Making a 48 qt. ice chest the standard inside step for C22's built after 1985 was a great improvement in my opinion.  It's a feature I miss in my old-style Catalina 22.

For water, I just went with bottled water.  Even aboard my Catalina 30 where I have two built-in water tanks, Laura and I still bring bottled water (a habit left over from our time living in Singapore).

Friday

My plan was to leave the marina about 10 am and spend the next four to five hours enjoying a leisurely sail to Sand Island, St. Helens, the venue for the rendezvous.  Although the skies looked threatening, I hadn't been rained on while loading the boat up so I was feeling pretty lucky.  With everything ready to go I slipped on my foul weather gear, cast off the lines and headed out on my adventure.  The clearance at the R&R bridge (2 nm downstream from my slip) was 34 feet plus so the bridge remained closed as I passed underneath.

I had intended to hoist the sails once pass the bridge but there was no wind so I just kept motoring.  I left the marina with a tarp bungeed across the companionway opening, so when I encountered misty conditions and light rain as I neared the Willamette River it was no big deal.  Thirty minutes later I was unzipping my jacket as things had dried out, and I was heating up.  The wind never did show, so I ended up motoring all the way, yuk!

About an hour and a half after I arrived it rained hard for an hour, but by then my boom tent was in place and I was quietly reading a book and enjoying the sound of the rain on the trap.  Three other boats arrived on Friday and I had the pleasure of being invited aboard Michael and Kathleen Lewis' C42, Wind Raven for dinner which I happily accepted.

Saturday

It was wonderfully peaceful waking up on the boat Saturday morning.  All you could hear were birds singing in the trees ashore.  The gray skies and the crisp air reminded one of being on the coast.

A special treat this morning was a low tide which I took advantage of to walk all the way around Sand Island at the water's edge.  The river side of Sand Island provided a view of hundreds of fishing boats lined up and down the river enjoying the end of the season.

Sand Island is an Oregon Marine Park, so ashore there are facilities like composting toilets, campsites, hiking paths, grassy clearings, picnic tables, and trash cans (although the park service asks that you carry out what you bring in).

As the day went on the clouds burned off and folks started to emerge from their boats and mingle.  Three more boats arrived bringing the total to seven (1-C22, 3-C27, 1-C30, 2-C42).  Friday's weather and the damp forecast appeared to have discouraged others from attending.  Those that had come were enjoying a sunny warm day (we hadn't seen rain since Friday afternoon).

Shore side rendezvous activities included things like horseshoes, and heaving line.  With heaving line you were provided with sixty feet of line with a weighted monkey's fist attached to the end.  Your objective was to stay behind a mark on the ground and then toss the monkey's fist and line so the line would lay across a six foot wide target forty feet away.  The system is used by ships and tugs to pass heavier hawsers (really big lines).  First a message line is passed, and then the message line is used to pull over the hawser.

The rendezvous was providing a ferry service, so throughout the day couples continued to arrive at St. Helens Marina and get ferried over to the rendezvous.  One of those couples was Fleet 20 alumni Bob Gales and Gail O'Neill.  Bob and Gail recently sold their C30 and are looking for their next boat.  Bob is currently the Commodore of CRACA (he's a past Fleet 20 Captain), and Gail is the Vice Commodore for the Oregon Women's Sailing Association (OWSA).

Chris and Ebie Mountford (Fleet 20 alumni) arrived on Saturday after having borrowed their son's Ericson 27 to get to the rendezvous.  Chris reported that it had been pretty calm all the way down.  Chris' description matched what we had been observing at Sand Island.  I had been chomping at the bite to go out sailing but we never got much of anything worth casting off the dock lines for.

The afternoon's potluck appetizers just sort of turned into potluck dessert as everyone hung around the tables enjoying the conversation and hearing about each other's adventures over the past few months.

We didn't break down the buffet until after dark, and by then folks were making their way ashore for the campfire, S'mores, and singing.  Yes singing.  There were actually enough people there who know the words to a few songs that we all joined in.  Sounds kind of corny, but it was a lot of fun.  Reminded one of summer camp, past season's, and why rendezvous' are so different than what we do the rest of the year.

Sunday

Sunny skies greeted everyone Sunday morning.  While there was a little wind blowing out of the northwest, I set my expectations low regarding any chance of actually sailing home based on my past experiences from cruises to St. Helens.

After saying my goodbyes, I started my trek home.  As predicted the wind died just upstream of Warrior Rock, so the decision to forego any attempt at sailing home was a good one.

The motor back to the slip took 4.25 hours.  While it was sunny, it wasn't hot, so except for the noise, the trip back was very pleasant.

Reflections

I'm glad I attended the rendezvous.  I didn't know everyone and yet everyone I met was delightful to talk with.  Although disappointed about the lack of sailing, I don't regret taking the boat.  Heck, I only burn about three gallons of fuel of the whole long weekend.

Most of all the weekend reminded me how much fun joint activities can be.  Especially when they are low-key like the rendezvous was.  As I watch the sailing season quickly drawing to an end, I'm already thinking about a couple of casual C22 raft-ups that would be fun to hold next season.

Cruising in Wet Weather
Simple Steps to Extend Your Season
By Dale Mack, Crocus, #4248

Long before I started racing in all kinds of weather, I was cruising in it.  Whether it was on San Francisco Bay in January, sailing amongst the San Juan Islands, or traveling on the Columbia River, rain just became part of the experience.

Day sailing in rain requires less gear and preparation then cruising, although my minimum list for cruising isn't that long.  Starting with the skipper and crew, you need a good set of foul weather gear.  By set I mean hat, coat, pants, and waterproof boots.  The goal here is to stay dry.  You'd be surprised how much the rain doesn't matter while sailing if you can just stay personally dry.  If you are sailing in colder weather like I sometimes do, then also include layered clothing under your coat and possibly pants, a second layer of thermal socks, and winter time sailing gloves.  For years my foul weather coat and pants was a simple yellow rain suit and it worked great.  Not until just a couple of years ago did I get a fancier West Marine set of foul weather gear as a birthday present from Laura. 

Once the skipper and crew are dry, you need to turn your attention to the boat.  Keeping the inside of the boat dry needs to be a priority.  I recommend sewing yourself an rain-fly for the cabin's companionway.  The cover proves a great way to keep rain and mist out of the cabin without having to install the hatch (crib) boards.  Plans for constructing the cover pictured on the left can be found by clicking here.

If you aren't handy with a sewing machine, you can follow the same plans while substituting a blue tarp for the Sunbrella fabric, and using contact cement in place of sewing.

If your are planning to cruise the boat in wet weather then you'll need to track down all those leaks around fittings, windows, and hatches that typically get noticed but then ignored when it comes to maintenance.  Since getting Crocus, I've been filling holes left behind by previous owners, and rebedding fittings.  Fortunately my windows don't currently leak, so I haven't had to tackle that project yet.  My boat is fitted with a poptop, so one of the other sources of leaks is the gasket.  My gasket is shot, so that's going to be one of this winter's projects.  While I don't get leaks from it when it rains, any spray over the bow or wind driven rain finds its way into the boat.

Once at the dock you are going to want to create a boom tent.  A simple blue tarp works great in this role.  The idea is to keep companionway dry and as much of the cockpit dry.  Without the stanchions and lifelines to help hold the tarp out and provide attachment points, this step is a little tougher.  I find a collect of bungee cords of various lengths gets the job done.  I've also used my whisker pole attached between grommets at the bottom of the tent to hold the lower edges out so that water running down the tent doesn't come into the cockpit.

The trick with keeping the cabin dry and comfortable is keeping the wet stuff out.  For that reason I'll bring along plastic hangers to hang up the foul weather gear inside the boom tent as it dries.  Since boots and shoes are going to track in water, I also bring a couple of old bath towels to use as door mats.  The last piece of equipment in my wet weather arsenal is a synthetic chamois that easily absorbs water.

Cruising in the rain isn't my preferred activity, but the onset of rain needn't ruin your cruise if you leave the dock prepared and follow a few simple procedures.

2005 Cruising Schedule

Note:  Fleet 20 cruising is a no host affair.  Most of our destinations overlap with the cruising schedule of the Columbia River All Catalina Association.

Synthetic Chamois
Dealing with Morning Dew
By Dale Mack, Crocus, #4248

In keeping with our theme of dealing with water I thought I'd share a product I've used for over fifteen years.  The synthetic chamois called The Absorber  holds more water and absorbs faster than towels or real a chamois.  The Absorber when moderately wet leaves your surfaces wonderfully dry.

After you're done using it, just fold it in half, roll it up wet and tuck it in its plastic storage tube.  I've always put it away clean and have never had a problem with mildew or odors.

The manufacture claims:

• Absorbs three times faster than chamois

• Unharmed by grease, oil, and solvents

• Machine washable

• Resistant to most chemicals, detergents, ammonia, etc

• Resists tearing and shredding

I can attest to the product's durability because I'm still using the same cloth I received as a gift from my sister more than fifteen years ago.  The Absorber is sold in many automotive stores, as well as places like Walmart, Kmart and Target for around $15.

Catalina Newsletters of the Northwest
By Dale Mack

Checkout these links to Northwest Catalina newsletters and local racing:

Columbia River All Catalina Association (CRACA) www.ColumbiaRiverCatalina.org Sail Portland www.sailpdx.com Oregon Women's Sailing Association www.owsa.net

Catalina Assoc. of Tacoma and South Sound (CATSS) home.earthlink.net/~catss/CATSS Web Page.htm Catalina Association of Puget Sound (CAPS) www.capsfleet1.com/News Letters.htm Small Yacht Sailing club of Oregon (SYSCO) www.sailpdx.com/sysco.htm

October

• 8, SYSCO Awards Banquet
• 22-23, Cruise:  Government Island - East Dock

November

• 5, OCSA Beach Party at PYC (open to all sailors)

See the calendar

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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.