From the Captain
By Dale Mack, Crocus, #8244
celtic-myst@comcast.net

Sorry for the delay getting the February issue of the newsletter out.  I manage to come down with the flu at the start of the month and here we are at the midpoint and I'm finally starting to feel about 80% back to normal.  Needless to say I miss the Seattle Boat Shows so I'm feeling a sense of withdrawal.

The Portland Boat Show was fun.  I stood booth duty for both the Columbia River All Catalina Association (CRACA) and for the Small Yacht Sailing Club of Oregon (SYSCO).  Besides having fun just people watching, I enjoyed meeting familiar faces and sharing information about Fleet 20 with prospective new members.

Don't forget to RSVP if you're planning to come to the Fleet 20 Rigging Workshop February 24th.  The workshop will be a real casual affair where you can ask lots of questions and play with the rigging on a couple of Catalina 22's.

Frozen in the Ice

It's a rare sight to see ice on the Columbia River in the Portland/Vancouver area.  Some folks say that about once every twenty years things get cold enough for the river to freeze so people can actually walk on the ice around their boats.  I haven't been here long enough to see that yet, but on January 15th I got a chance to see several boats at Tomahawk Bay Moorage frozen in the ice, including a Catalina 22.  It was incredible, the ice was 1/2" to 5/8" thick.  As I walked on the docks there were cracking sounds all around.  I was surprised to see that the ice spanned the full width of the fairways between the docks, a distance of fifty to sixty feet.

The next day the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area got several inches of snow and many schools closed for most of the week.  Sailing seemed a long way off when the boat was sitting under four inches of snow.  Today the snow is long melted, the temperatures are starting to rise, and new buds are forming on some of the trees and scrubs.  Lets hope we've seen the last of the snow for the season.  I'm ready for the return of blue skies, steady breezes, and the annual tension between working on the boat and doing yard work.

New Catalina Yachts Dealership

Catalina Yachts has awarded the local dealership to River City Sailing (RCS).  The dealership had formerly been with Sailboats of Oregon.  Roger Londberg, the senior broker at RCS, is interested in servicing the needs of the local Catalina community from new or used boat acquisition or selling, to parts.  Roger has offered to save you shipping expenses by including your Catalina parts order with items RCS is already having shipped to Portland.  RCS encourages you to stop by their office if you have any questions, or just to chat.  Their office is located at Tomahawk Bay Moorage 515 NE Tomahawk Island Drive, Suite 103, Portland, OR 97217.  Roger Londberg can be reached at 503-740-6160 and at roger@rivercitysailing.com .

Boating Projects

What happen to the time?  Crocus goes back into the water within a month and I haven't finished my winter projects, not to mention that I'm hosting the Fleet 20 Rigging Workshop on February 24th.  Project-wise I actually feel pretty fortunate.  Except for pulling all four cabin windows and installing the aluminum window reseal kit I purchased from Catalina Direct, everything else on my list could wait another season or even be done once the boat is back in the water.  So what's on your list?  Here's mine:

2007 Project Wish List

• Install PVC conduit in mast for wiring prior to internal halyard upgrade
• Convert from external wire/line halyards to all-line internal halyards
• Install aluminum window reseal kit
• Install swing mount for depth sounder
• Refinish interior Teak
• Polish hull
• Repair mainsail cover
• Replace poptop gasket

Future

• Install cockpit scuppers through the transom
• Upgrade to 1/2" chain plates
• Upgrade to 1/8" forward and aft shrouds
• Install backing plates for all the bow hardware
• Re-condition and fair the keel
• Relocate Battery to V-berth to get weight out of the stern (now class legal)

Cruising

I enjoy cruising.  While racing provides the weekly excuse to get out on the boat, it's cruising when I feel a sense of adventure even if just overnight.  Some of you are probably thinking about heading north this summer to visit the San Juan Islands or even the Canadian Gulf Islands.  If you'd like to do it in the company of others let me know.  Between the Catalina 25 Fleet 94, Catalina 20 Fleet 20, and a variety of other Northwest C22 sailors I often hear about folks interested in cruising with others.  I'd be more than happy to help people connect.  Laura, Sean, and I definitely appreciated going to the San Juan's and Gulf Islands with three other boats our first time.

Be sure to checkout the cruising article from Don Woodhouse (Togarty, #7260).  Don put in at Olympia, WA and cruised all the way to Princess Louisa Inlet in British Columbia, Canada.  Don's a great storyteller, and his article makes for an interesting read.  To top the trip north, Don went south and soloed from San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico to Cabo San Lucas in mid-January.  I look forward to reading the story about that trip in a future issue.

Spring Cleaning

Have you been aboard your boat since you put it away for the winter?  I'm still learning to live with a boat that leaks.  My previous C22 (#14286) was always dry and I never had mildew issues.  Crocus on the other hand seems to absorb the water right out of the air.  Believe it or not my problems with water in the bilge are the worst when the boat is sitting on the trailer.  It's weird to have the bilge completely dry in August while the boat rests in a slip and then find an inch of water in the bilge in December while the boat has been under a trap on the trailer.  I know the windows leak along with the threshold to the cabin.  I've also noticed that the overhead and the hull tends to sweat, but it's hard to believe that with the trap on I'd still be having this much water.  Another source of water are the two air vents found on the old-style C22's port quarter.

Crocus gets an annual wipe down with a diluted bleach solution so the mildew problem has been diminishing over the years when compared to Crocus' "chia-pet" past (one of Crocus' previous owners stored magazines and newspapers in the bilge which turned into paper Mache and an excellent growth medium for mold when the boat filled with eight inches of water at some point in its past.).  My Fall routine is to remove all the cushions, sails, lines, and anything else that is fabric or paper.  The last couple if years I've had problems with delaminating plywood compartment covers so I may start pulling them in the future.

Are You Thinking About Racing in 2007
By Dale Mack

Are you interested in racing your boat but aren't sure where to find crew?  Perhaps I can help.  Each year a number of folks contact me to express an interest in crewing.

If what's holding you back from racing your boat is a concern that you don't have enough experience or knowledge, please talk to me.  I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.  Racing Catalina 22's is not some cutthroat affair.  Each Thursday evening is just a convenient excuse to go sailing.  Having a specific course and destination makes it just that much more fun.

Here's the Catalina 22 race schedule for 2007:

SYSCO Spring Series

1. April 19
2. April 26
3. May 3
4. May 17
5. May 24

SYSCO Summer Series

1. June 7
2. June 14
3. June 21
4. June 28
5. July 12

CYC Summer Series

1. July 26
2. August 2
3. August 9
4. August 16
5. August 23
6. August 30

The CYC Summer Series is new for us this year and is targeted at that feeling of withdrawal that set in last year when the SYSCO Summer Series ended.  As always you don't have to race in every race.  For example I already know I'm going to miss the August 16th race because Laura, Sean, and I will be upriver on the boat at Beacon Rock State Park.

If you'd like a free introduction to how racing is conducted on the Columbia River I highly recommend the SYSCO Race Clinic being held Thursday March 29th at Rose City Yacht Club.  I'm an instructor for the clinic.  The Thursday classroom setting is followed on Friday March 30th with an on the water practice for starts.  The Thursday class finds boats for everyone that wants to go out on Friday.

Hope to see you on the starting line.

March 14, 7:00 pm at Portland Yacht Club

OCSA Race Management Clinic.  The Oregon Corinthian Sailing Association invites all sailors to participate in an evening of instruction and discussions.  This extremely informative seminar is not just for race captains. The seminar will focus on the planning and coordination involved in putting on a sailboat race. There will be something for everyone. The topics will include courses, timing, calculations, planning, promoting, handling protests, and more.  Registration is not required and there is no cost.  Portland Yacht Club, 1241 NE Marine Drive, Portland, OR

March 29 - 30, 6:30-8:30 pm 3/29 & 6:00 3/30 at Rose City Yacht Club

SYSCO Race Clinic.  The Small Yacht Sailing Club of Oregon (SYSCO) invites all sailors to attend its FREE  Race Clinic. The Thursday evening classroom and Friday evening on the water clinic is targeted at new racers and those who have never raced before.  This extremely informative seminar is perfect for new racers. The clinic will teach you how to enter a race, read and understand the course board, how to start and finish, pass along some local knowledge of racing on the Columbia River, along with other topics.  Registration is not required and the clinic is free.  Rose City Yacht Club, 3737 NE Marine Drive, Portland, OR 97211, 503-282-2049.

Puget Sound and British Columbia September Cruise
By Don Woodhouse, Togarty, #7260

It had been a great summer of racing and cruising on the Columbia River for me on Togarty with various crew members, but I was feeling ready to expand my horizons and visit the salt water. Last year my friend Scott Sloan had put his wooden motor trawler in at Swantown Marina in Olympia and cruised to the San Juan's where my wife Debbie and I met him with my C22.  We spent six days going from island to island and had a great time. So when he proposed a three week cruise to British Columbia I was anxious to take my boat and go. The plan was for us to trailer Togarty to Olympia and he would drive the truck and trailer home and then return in a week to Edmonds with his Devlin 25 "Tuffy" and meet up in Port Townsend for the wooden Boat Festival. The hope was that we could make Desolation Sound and return to Anacortes.

Olympia

The day I launched at Swantown was the Olympia Harbor Days. It was a full on boaters festival with booths of food and tugboat competitions. The narrow channel out of the bay was lined with hundreds of pleasure craft as I headed out. I was accompanied by a couple of tugs and cruising vessels as I headed up the South Sound. I rounded Anderson Island and made the Tacoma Narrows at high slack tide. From the Narrows it was a short motor to Gig Harbor where I planned to drop anchor.

Gig Harbor

Gig Harbor was nearly full of boats and it was hard to find a spot with room to swing with so many boats around. There was an outdoor bandstand and music played until about 10 o'clock. In the morning I had a breakfast and coffee onboard. I pulled anchor early, gave the outboard a hard twist on the throttle, and pointed the bow at Bremerton. The lack of wind and my desire to make some time had used up a significant amount of fuel.

Bremerton and Port Orchard

Bremerton Blackberry Festival was in full swing as I tied up to the dock. I went to shore to sample the food and bluegrass music. When I returned to the boat the sun was shining and the wind was starting to come up. I used the sails to get across to Port Orchard Marina (there is no fuel dock in Bremerton). With a full supply of gasoline I left Port Orchard under sail and sailed nearly to Agate Pass. Motoring out to the main Sound the Seattle skyline was in view to the east and the sun was beginning to set. Checking the chart, Kingston seemed like a natural choice for the nights anchorage.

Kingston

Kingston is the terminal for the Ferry from Edmonds. The town has a lot of activity near the Ferry Dock. I found a Hamburger place so I didn't have to eat my own cooking. I used a guest slip at the Kingston Marina but was stuck on the idea of anchoring out. The plan was flawed as the entire cove gets the wave from every Ferry that comes to the dock and is not really protected from swell from the Sound. It didn't make for good sleeping and I fretted about the hold on the anchor. I was up at five AM making coffee and oatmeal and preparing to leave.

Fog fog and more fog. I followed the shoreline but had no more than 1/8 mile visibility. Why hadn't I bought a radar reflector ? A fleet of small pleasure craft was trolling for salmon along the thirty foot line just off shore. I fell in with them until I got to Point No Point and the fog turned terrible. I decided to do some fishing of my own to wait out the fog. When things improved a bit I pushed on. I knew I would lose sight of land as I crossed the mouth of the Hoods Canal and I didn't want to enter the shipping lanes. I plotted a course that would bring me into to Indian Island and motorsailed by compass and watch for about an hour. I hit it perfectly on schedule but the fog got even worse so I dropped anchor and waited. I could hear cars crossing a bridge and construction workers hammering but I still couldn't verify for certain my location until the fog lifted. It finally cleared, as all fogs do, and I found the narrow channel that leads under the bridge and on to Pt. Townsend.

Port Townsend

I pulled into Pt. Hudson Marina and was assigned a slip along side "Pirate" an elegant wooden sailing vessel that was featured on the cover of Wooden Boat Magazine. I was allowed the slip for three days but had to be out before the Boat Show. Before I left home I had removed the wheels and seat from my old road bike and crammed it in behind the aft dinette seat. It was time to dig it out! I really had never been to P.T. and I really loved it. Good food, great people and they were all in a buzz over the upcoming event. I took a walking tour along the docks and saw some of the early arrivers for the Boat Show. There were manufacturers of kayaks and rowing skiffs lining up demo boats on the grass for people to sample. I pedaled into the Old Town and found that quite a few people were beginning to take anchorage near the Dock. It would be two more days until Sloan arrived with "Tuffy" so I used the time to wash clothes and clean and organize "Togarty". I know most people don't like the old sliding galley in a C22. But I do. I guess it's the same reason I like my old brass backpacking stove. It works! I could fire up the stove and have a French Press coffee in about 10 min. and if you can follow instructions and properly pressurize and preheat the burners you don't burn the curtains. What I didn't like was the slow drip from the inside of the water tank that kept the starboard seat cushion damp all the time. Also I found other sources of water (at first I was really worried that I had developed a leak especially since in a moment of inattention I bounced the keel off of a rocky bottom near Kingston). I began to log and eliminate them one by one. Leaky solar shower in lower rear starboard compartment, throw it away! Drips from the hardware through the cabin roof. Totally my fault , poor rebedding job after sanding and refinishing the teak. Water finding it's way around the poptop seal (also my fault I used cheap automotive weather stripping). Side note; all these problems except the leaky sink tank I worked on this fall. I drilled out the holes through the cabin roof oversize and filled them with epoxy.. Then redrilled through the epoxy plug to make a truly watertight connection. I ordered and replaced the poptop seal from Catalina Direct and had enough extra to do the front hatch.

Now I know that most prudent sailors would have all their leaks plugged and plans made long before taking on such an extended cruise. But "you don' know what you don't know" as the saying goes. I was finding that a long cruise was a sure way to find what I didn't know. Fortunately Sloan was coming and he has a lot more experience in such matters as extended cruising and life on board.

Anyway....I moved to the anchorage off the Old Town Dock, left a float attached, and sailed out into the bay while talking to Sloan on the VHF. He had brought a digital camera (I didn't) so he took some picture as we came back to my anchor. I had left my encono-dingy AKA S.S.GIjoe on the anchor. Sloan had the real-deal with a Honda 5hp. The Boat show went as Boat Shows go. OOhh,,,Awe, ..nice boat, and all that stuff. Devlin had about five boats in the show including a cute little sailing model about 15'. His deal is to build wooden stitch and glue boats. I was informed that means plywood is sewn together with wire, covered and reinforced with epoxy and glass, then the wire is puled out and the whole thing is covered inside and out with a finish coat of epoxy. The process allows for "One Off" construction. Because there is no mold like in fiberglass construction, the design can be changed very easily for each build.

When the morning to leave came Sloan said he needed to visit the Devlin display briefly, and I should start out for Sidney Island. His boat being much faster (10 knts or so) would catch up along the way. He also gave me his hand held GPS since I had been navigating with eyes and charts to this point. I found a general long/lat. for Sidney Island popped it in and motored out for my Juan de Fuca crossing. I found out later that I had plotted a course directly into the Point Wilson rip which under some conditions can really knock a small boat around. We were on a strong flood tide and I was dealing with 4' waves and 15-20 knt winds. Really not too bad except for the occasional 6' wave . I was wearing all my raingear and getting a regular rinsing when Sloan called on the radio and said to go along Whidbey to avoid the rough water. This helped a lot and the crossing improved as the winds increased to 20-25. I really should have reefed at this point but I decided to point high until the jib just started to wrinkle and then occasionally bear off and run on a beam reach. This scalloping and the following tide was producing land speed around 8mph according to the GPS and my average was 6.5 for the main body of the crossing.

British Columbia

We pulled into Port Sidney Marina to clear customs. This place is nice! New and fancy. The town is very nice too. We found a burger place and then returned for showers at the Marina. At $5 Canadian per shower they were a bit spendy. Sidney Island has a small Dock and mooring buoys. The dock was full so we used a buoy and rafted.

It was on to Gulf Islands from there. I felt better having Sloan and "Tuffy" along for support. The fact that he had been to the Gulf Islands and had a nice chartplotter seemed to make him the "wagonmaster" for our Canadian Adventure. Him being a motor trawler though had it's downsides too. If the wind came up a bit and I began to sail he would radio and ask why I was "going the wrong way". I'm sure it was good natured teasing.

We fueled and ate at Garden Bay and then anchored for the night at Thetis Island. The next day we went through Dodd Narrows and on to Nanaimo. We were a bit early to enter the narrows at slack so we just floated around for a while and had a snack. I swam and found the temp to be not that bad (68) for Sept.. Then boats began to line up for the parade through the narrows. The routine was to announce your intent on 16 VHF and if there were no replies with conflicts continue. I saw some "swirlies" but nothing really scary at the time we went.

Scott went ahead to scout the anchorage of Nanaimo Harbor as I was once again "going the wrong way". When I dropped sails I was greeted by an Urban skyline to the west and every imaginable type of vessel anchored in the cove to the east. I used the binocs to spot "Tuffy" and I anchored within reasonable swing space from her. Sloan came over in his dingy and we motored for town. I got a latte' from a beautiful French-Canadian girl who told me where the public library with internet was located. I caught up on some e-mail, then we walked to the grocery store to reprovision for the next leg of the trip. The weather forecast was not great and I had some apprehension about crossing the Straits of Georgia. Sloan had talked to his father in Buffalo New York and he had told him of some rough crossings he had made in his 37' Nordic Tug the year before. We decided the best bet was to leave at the crack of dawn and head for Secret Cove, a protected little harbor on the mainland BC coast with fuel and ice. I motored until land was in sight, then sailed to Merry Island. No big deal, not worth the worried sleep the night before. I fueled up the outboard and bought stove fuel in Secret Cove. When we pulled out into the Malispina Straits the sky began to look unfriendly and I was taking wind and waves on the nose. After a few hours of this action Sloan radioed me that there was a good sheltered spot to anchor up in Ballet Bay. By the time we made the turn I was beat-up by the constant pounding and splashes in the face. The little 6 horse Merc was working hard against an out flowing tide and my spirits were a bit shaken. As soon as we entered Ballet Bay that all changed. Once we entered the little back bay things looked great. We rafted together and I made coffee. Then with warm dry clothes on we made a dingy tour of our new temporary home. I was excited to find loads of clams and oysters but a sign warning against Shellfish toxin deterred my harvest. We visited a couple on their Nordic 42'. What a difference from the Spartan accommodations of little "Togarty". I slept like baby.

Surviving the squall. Youth camp at Malibu. Princess Louisa dock. Chatterbox Falls

Princess Louisa Inlet

The next morning we made the decision, based on the weather to abandon plans for Desolation Sound and sail up the Jervis Inlet to Princess Louisa Inlet. I will never regret that choice. The scenery was spectacular and with the exception of some grouchy folks at the fuel dock near Sechelt Rapids it was a perfect morning. With each turn into a new arm of the Jervis inlet the views improved until snow capped forested peaks dropped sharply to the deep wide inlet. I wanted to sail so Sloan chugged ahead. I had a C&C 25' (I think) in sight and I seemed to be making ground on her. My intensity on trying to catch another sailboat distracted me from the black curtain of evil clouds that formed around the bend on the final reach to the entrance of Princess Louisa.

White Squall!

"White Squall !" "White Squall !" it was Sloan on the radio mocking the movie by the same name. He said "you don't want any part of this wind, drop your sails". I did, but I thought he was being melodramatic. When it hit, the jib was pulled from the bungees I had tied it down with (why hadn't I installed a jib downhaul?) and I was forced to go forward and gather it up, but not before one hank was blown out and some seams separated from the violent thrashing. I had my foulies on but the wind and hail was doing a number on me.

I later sat in the companionway with both stove burners blazing until I entered the Malibu Rapids. The squall had passed and a steady rain continued as I slid past the Christian Youth Camp at Malibu.  As we motored up to Chatterbox Falls, the rain quit and the hail and wind was all but forgotten.

When I tied up to the dock a greeting party of fellow cruisers came up to admire "Togarty" (they were too kind) and ask about the ride in. I felt like I was in cruisers paradise with a dozen other lucky people. "Tuffy" gathers admirers where ever she docks so the welcome wagon moved on to see the mini trawler.

A Capable Cruiser

I had been living on board for almost two weeks, I was hundreds of miles from where "Togarty" had first tasted the salt this year and was totally satisfied and a little proud of my Catalina 22 for bringing me all this way with nothing more than a wet head.

Don Woodhouse, Togarty, #7260

Checkout these links to Northwest Catalina newsletters and local racing:

• Columbia River All Catalina Association (CRACA)
• Sail Portland (hosted by Oregon Corinthian Sailing Association, OCSA)
• Small Yacht Sailing Club of Oregon (SYSCO)
• Oregon Women's Sailing Association (OWSA)
• Catalina Association of Tacoma and South South (CATSS)
• Catalina Association of Puget South (CAPS out of Seattle)

Upcoming Events

February

• Open House:  17, SYSCO Social and Membership Drive @ RCYC
• Workshop:  24, Fleet 20 Rigging Workshop

March

• Clinic:  14, OCSA Race Management Clinic at PYC
• Clinic:  29, SYSCO Race Clinic at RCYC
• Clinic:  30, SYSCO Race Clinic at RCYC
• Catalina Meeting:  28, Sail care and trim, North Sails Oregon, 6:30 pm

See the calendar