2006 Catalina 22 Nationals

Skip Meisch (Slow Flight, #6850) of Seattle Fleet 6 and I have both decided to take our boats to the 2006 Catalina 22 Nationals being held on Scotts Flat Lake near Nevada City, CA, June 19-22.  We are hoping to entice other sailors from Catalina 22 National Sailing Association Region 9 (Oregon, Washington, and Idaho) to join us.  I’m especially looking forward to some lake racing where I won’t have to worry about a two knot plus current as is common on the Columbia River.

So why go you might ask?  Well it isn't to win.  I've got no illusions about how I will do considering my racing skill level and the tired condition of Crocus' bottom, keel, and sails.  I'm going because its like belonging to a car club and attending a rally.  I'll get to see some totally tricked out C22 race machines, racer/cruisers, and cruisers.  Best of all I'll get to meet Catalina 22 enthusiasts that will run the gamut from those who primarily race their boat to those that have so much cruising gear aboard they epitomize that romantic vision of the Catalina 22 anchored in some quiet cove silhouetted against a golden setting sun.

Catalina 22 Region 9 Championship Regatta, June 24

The Catalina Association of Puget Sound (CAPS) hosts an annual one day NW Catalina Regatta.  Skip Meisch and I are considering using the regatta to reestablish recognizing a Catalina 22 Region 9 Champion. Plans are still in the early stages, but we hope to have everything worked out by March.

The sailing is held just outside  Shilshole Bay Marina, Seattle, home of the Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle, whose clubhouse plays host to the regatta's shore side activities.  I experienced the regatta in 2005 when CAPS hosted the Catalina 30 National Regatta at the same event where I was crewing about a C30.  The day of sailing is followed by an awards dinner.

Getting the boats to the Regional Championship should be interesting for Skip and me since we will have just finished four days of racing at the Nationals on June 22nd and the Regional’s are June 24th. We figure at an average speed of only 50 mph we should be able to travel the distance in 16 hours. The plan is to launch at Shilshole Friday evening/night and step the masts Saturday morning.

Commodore's Cove
Undiscovered Treasures in the Portland Area
By Dale Mack, Crocus, #8244

One of my favorite spring time anchorages is  near Commodore's Cove at the I-205 bridge.  I emphasize spring time because later in the season you might see almost no water in the anchorage as the river's level lowers with reduced summer flows out of Bonneville Dam.

I reach the anchorage by staying the in Columbia River eastbound shipping channel until I pass under the I-205 bridge (north is the top of the photos).  Once under the bridge I turn south and follow the bridge.  It's not uncommon to find a yacht club tied up to the beach between the bridge and the west end of Government Island.  I typically transit the area about equal distance from the bridge and the beach.  A depth sounder is always nice to have when exploring unfamiliar destinations like this, especial since the river's bottom can change from year to year.

The bottom in the anchorage is soft mud.  You'll also see folks drop a stern anchor and ease the boat's bow into the gentle sloping southern bank.  There is almost no current in the anchorage except for a tidal flow which is almost undetectable.

This a is a great overnight destination.  You feel like you are a million miles away from civilization.  If you have a raft bring it because the anchorage is a nice place to explore.

Notes:

• 5.8 nm upstream from the Interstate Bridge
• The anchorage is protected from the river's current.
• Spring and early summer is the best time to choose this destination because fluctuating water levels can make the area too shallow later in the season.
• Great location to swim and bring the dinghy.
• Boats typically anchor or beach on the southern shore.
• The anchorage shallows as you move east.

Catalina 22 Racing
By Dale Mack, C22, Crocus

Local Catalina 22 racing has at its core a tradition of casual competition focused more on helping one another evolve as sailors.  Since all of us are primarily cruisers and day sailors, it's a fun environment in which to experience this aspect of sailing.

Don't think of this as an invitation to going racing as much as a built in excuse to get out on your boat once a week.  Our racing season starts Thursday, April 13th, with the full schedule listed below.

• Spring Series, Thursday, April 13, 20, 27, and May 4, 18
• Summer Series, Thursday, June 8, 15, 22, 29 and July 13
• One-Design Regatta, Sat. & Sun., August 12-13

Even if you can't make all the races, it is still worth coming out.  Nothing accelerates your learning like racing.  And it is a blast!

Ten Myths about Racing

MYTH:  I'm a cruiser not a racer.  Ok, and your point?  I day sail, cruise overnight, and race my boat.  Racing just adds the element of trying to sail with some purpose to selected destinations along the race course.

MYTH:  Racing is too intense.  Only if you care too much about the results.  While it is fun to win, most of us that race don't finish first.  Besides the challenge of getting the boat around the course, the real rewards come from being on the boat with others, and meeting back at the dock after the race with the other crews.  As for other fleets (i.e. J/24, Cal 20, Martins, etc.) that might be a more intense on the race course than us Catalina 22 folks we just stay out of their way (except for the few of us who know the rules well enough now to insist on our rights out on the course).

MYTH:  I don't know enough not to make a mistake.  If you aren't making mistakes you aren't learning.  The best racers simply make fewer mistakes than the rest of us.

MYTH:  The rules seem pretty complicated, I just don't have the time.  If you know the rules of the road for sailing vessels (i.e. starboard tacked boat has the right away over port tacked boat) then you know enough to get started in sailboat racing.  Yes there are lots of additional rules about mark roundings, passing, and starts, but you can pick it up over time.  Just race with the philosophy that if in doubt, stay out of the way.

MYTH:  Racing is to punishing on the boat.  This isn't the Americas Cup.  No one wants to break their boat.  Catalina 22's are built amazingly stout.  I've cruised San Francisco Bay, Monterey Bay, Lake Tahoe, the California Delta, the San Juan Islands, the Canadian Gulf Island, the Columbia River and numerous lakes and reservoirs on the west coast, and I can say from experience that some of the most punishing conditions I've been in occurred while cruising.  I'm not saying nothing will break, but in my experience the breakage I've seen had nothing to do with racing and had everything to do with fatigue that would have shown itself in non-racing conditions.

MYTH:  The boat isn't setup for racing.  If the boat is ready to sail then it is ready to race.  Yes there are lots of go fast extras you can add to the basic boat, but they are a waste of money until your skills reach a point where you can benefit from having the gadget on the boat.  The KISS model works best here.

MYTH:  I don't have crew.  Your crew is already waiting for you, you just need to ask.  Fleet 20 has members who have expressed an interested in crewing for others.  If you announce your intention to race in 2006 and your need for crew, I'll work with you to secure your boat a crew.

MYTH:  It costs too much.  Is $6 a race too much?  Considering the entry fees covers event insurance, maintenance and use of the mark setting boat, and maintenance and use of the buoys (marks) and signals used in the race, it's a pretty good value.

MYTH:  I don't know anything about starts and finishes.  If you are new to racing this one might be true.  What you don't know I can teach you.  Once you understand how to read the course board, figure out which start you are in, and then follow the signals that lead up to your start, you'll be ready to go..

MYTH:  I don't have the time.  Life's journey is about the choices we make.  Something under valued is going to be less appealing to make time for that something valued.  I can't guarantee you'll enjoy racing.  I'm a cruiser first, racer second.  Those of us that race all know each other.  We casually compete on the water and retell the stories once ashore.  We talk about the successes, the mistakes, and the joy of having experienced it as a group.

If you are tired of sailing by yourself, consider joining us and trying your hand at racing.  Pease contact me if you are interested in racing your boat or crewing for someone in 2006.

Dale Mack
360-260-4196
celtic-myst@comcast.net

Adding a Cunningham
Main Luff Tension and Draft Control
By Dale Mack, Crocus, #8244

I spent years using the main halyard as my only means of main luff tension control.  If the sail developed vertical wrinkles just aft of the luff then there was too much tension and I'd back off a little.  If the luff was scalloped between each luff slug I'd increase tension.  Once set I tended to leave it alone once I was sailing.  If your sail is already all the way up, or in the case of C22 Class Racing at the masthead black band, then the only way to tension the luff is to have a method of pulling down on the luff.

Many sail makers cut the main so that it's most efficient when the point of maximum draft (deepest part of the sail) is about 40-45% behind the mast in moderate winds (see image A).  As the wind's strength increases draft tends to move aft as shown in image B.

In stronger winds you may want to depower the main by flattening it.  The process makes the sail less aerodynamically correct and helps to reduce some of its heeling effect on the boat.  By increasing backstay tension the top of the mast moves backward and the middle section of the mast moves forward (to the extend the aft shrouds will permit).  This step will help flatten the upper 2/3 of the sail.  The bottom 1/3 of the sail is flattened using the outhaul. Tightening the backstay moves the point of maximum draft aft.   A Cunningham will tighten the sail's luff and move the draft forward and back to its correct position approximately 40-45% behind the luff.

Cunninghams can be as simple or as complicated as you what to make them.  A simple Cunningham might include installing an eye strap 10" below the boom on one side of the mast and a small cleat on the opposite side of the mast.  Use a bowline to attach a length of line to the eye strap and then pass the line through the Cunningham grommet and down to the cleat.  Crocus is setup with a 8:1 cascaded Cunningham with the end lead aft to the cockpit (follow the Photoshop colorized purple lines in the photo).

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

January

• 7 - 15, Portland Boat Show
• 6 - 13, Seattle Boat Show
• 6 - 15, Lake Union Boats Afloat Show

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.